Book Review: Whiskey: An American Pictorial History

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Book Review: Whiskey: An American Pictorial History

Unread postby bourbonv » Sun Nov 07, 2004 3:34 pm

Whiskey: An American Pictorial History, by Oscar Getz. New York: David McKay Company, Inc. 1978. Contents, Preface, Postscript, Index, Illustrated, Pp. 207.

This book was written by Oscar Getz with the collaboration of Irv. Bilow to be a companion piece to his whiskey memorabilia collection at the Barton Distillery. This collection went onto be the core of the present day Oscar Getz Museum of Whiskey History. It is also one of the earliest attempt to tell the story of American distilling in print. The book is interesting and the writing is decent. The real gems of the book are the illustration of items from Getz's collection. Jugs, bottles, photographs, labels, manuscripts and books are all part of this collection and they are shown throughout the book.

The book is telling the history of American Whiskey from the founding of this country through prohibition with only a single chapter dealing with the time after repeal. The history is sometimes well researched and at other times dependent more upon legends and marketing than history.

This book is still a very good one to have in a distilling library. The illustration make it worth having and the timeline chart of the whiskey excise tax is also very handy to have on hand.

Mike Veach
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Unread postby bunghole » Mon Nov 08, 2004 9:33 am

Mike,

The Waynesboro Library has exactly one book on bourbon, and this is it. I've checked it out a few times, and I was the only one to do in the past five years. Oh well. :?

Doesn't the Getz have inexpensive paperback versions available in their small gift shop?

:arrow: ima :idea:
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Unread postby bourbonv » Mon Nov 08, 2004 12:15 pm

There is a smaller, condensed version of the book in paperback, but not really worth the expense.

Mike Veach
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Unread postby angelshare » Sat Jan 15, 2005 2:32 pm

When we visited the Getz museum in January 1997, we bought the hardcover version for what I thought was a very reasonable price of $13. Is the hardcover price a lot higher now?

We agree, the photos are quite enjoyable viewing!
Dave & Tina
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