old graphic well-printed in three colors by one of the leading Boston printing houses. Don’t rely on merely drinking your morning coffee: this label is a real eye-opener. As can be seen by the copyright date the Confederate flag under Uncle Sam’s foot—and his nonchalant whittling—are wishful thinking.

Thanks to Mr. Sekela’s sleuthing I am happy to be able to offer some information on the man and firm cited in the copyright: Henry Hardwick Faxon, born in 1823, was a lifelong resident of Quincy, Massachusetts. After an apprenticeship to a shoemaker and a brief period in that trade he  opened a retail grocery in Quincy. In 1854 he sold the business and became a member of Faxon, Wood & Company, retail grocers in Boston. The firm later changed its character from retail to wholesale and its name to Faxon Brothers & Company; our label dates from this period. Although Faxon had retired from the firm before the opening of the Civil War he profited largely from shrewd trading during it—much of it in liquor. He subsequently became a strict temperance man and devoted the rest of his life to that cause. He was very active in the Republican party and elected to the State legislature in 1864 and 1872.