LITHOGRAPHS

Lithographs were extremely important for the promotion of “XXXX” coffee. The entire area west of the Mississippi River was filling with homesteaders and transplanted families. Housing met the barest of needs and there was little room for decoration or cheer within its walls. But for the price of a 2¢ stamp and a proof of purchase for McLaughlin’s XXXX Coffee, one could choose from a vast array of beautiful lithograph
pictures “suitable for framing”. The standard size was 16x22”, large enough to brighten any room. Subject matter ran from celebrity to landscape, military, religious and architectural; handsome women and children were plentiful. And the quality of printing was of very high standard, a true compliment to the rural home. A company claim was that it distributed a high of 200,000 copies of a single lithograph (subject not mentioned). This is a significant number in as much as the population for the 38 states in the Union in circa 1880 was just over 50 million.

As a contemporary view of history, the company-issued lithographs are revealing. The earliest releases featured Christopher Columbus and the Spanish Court. Later images included Gen.’s Robert E. Lee, U. S. Grant, and Phil Sheridan—this last a post war resident of Chicago and namesake for Fort Sheridan, just 20 miles north of that city. A fine Civil War litho features the battle between the Monitor and the Merrimac. And Mrs. President Grover Cleveland is featured with “Baby Ruth” (after whom a candy bar was named), again with two children, and finally with three—all in addition to having her own individual portrait. Still later is Kaiser Wilhelm, also Queen Victoria, followed by Mrs. Potter Palmer (the “Palmer House”, an internationally known hotel of the era). Indeed, such a great variety of pictures is offered that one might think the company’s business was printing rather than coffee (especially when considering the huge selection of ephemera published as well). Truly, a picture was worth a thousand words.

Wanted

(finder’s fee paid for completed sales)

Religious theme - any
“War Vessels” - four of our great warships
“Roosevelt’s Charge” - Rough Riders at Santiago

We hope you enjoy the tasty sampling of McLaughlin’s Coffee Company’s memorabila you will find on this web site. And be sure to look for the highly detailed series of books coming soon that are written by the company’s founders grandson William F. McLaughlin. If you have any interesting information about the company or anecdotes you would like included in the books please contact Bill at:
wfmcl@embarqmail.com

The detail and high quality of the lithographic process is very evident in this close up view of the full-size print you see below.