Vintage Olympia Beer Can Era 1950's
Viridian Eclection
The Piece
A lithographed steel beer can from the Olympia Brewing Company of Tumwater, Washington, in the twelve fluid ounce size.
The top is a steel flat top with no pull tab, the form that preceded the pop top and that required a church key to open. The construction is lithographed steel throughout.
The graphics carry the brand at its most recognizable. A horseshoe encircling a waterfall, long read as a device of good luck and of purity, sits at the center of the design, and the label describes the contents as a Pale Export Type, likely a lighter lager style beer. The copy emphasizes the artesian water of Tumwater, and the slogan It's the Water is the marketing hook the brewery built its identity upon.
History & Provenance
Olympia Brewing Company was founded in 1896 by Leopold Schmidt and gained its following on the natural artesian water it used in brewing. That water was the argument of the advertising and the reason the horseshoe and waterfall device appears on the can at all.
The company passed to larger brewing conglomerates over the years, Pabst among them, and brewing in Tumwater ceased in 2003, which closes the period in which cans of this kind could be filled.
The can most likely dates to the 1950s or the early 1960s, before pull tabs became widespread. The flat top and the lithographed steel construction are typical of that span. Olympia kept this label design in use for many years, so precise dating is difficult without inspecting the seam, the bottom, or any date codes.
Product Details
| Brand | Olympia Beer |
| Brewery | Olympia Brewing Company, founded 1896 by Leopold Schmidt |
| Origin | Tumwater, Washington |
| Era | Likely 1950s to early 1960s |
| Form | Steel flat top can, no pull tab, church key opening |
| Materials | Lithographed steel |
| Capacity | 12 fluid ounces |
| Style | Pale Export Type, likely a lighter lager style beer |
| Marks | Horseshoe and waterfall device, artesian water copy, and the slogan It's the Water |
| Condition | Mint |
| Dimensions | To be confirmed |
Why It Belongs in Your Home
Flat top cans are collected for what they record. This one carries a complete piece of American regional advertising on a single surface, the horseshoe, the waterfall and the artesian water claim, in the flat bright colors of mid century lithography.
Condition is what separates one example from another in this field, and rust, dents and fading are the usual faults. This can has none of them.
It reads well on an open shelf, in a bar or a games room, or grouped with other packaging of the period where the color does the work. Small in scale, specific in detail, and from a brewery that no longer exists.
Every piece is packed with professional-grade materials: multiple foam layers, double-boxing, directional and fragile handling labels. For large furniture we use custom timber crating. We photograph packing before dispatch and can provide images on request.
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Local pickup is available at Viridian HQ (Reno, NV) with 2–4 days notice. Contact us to arrange. Private viewings also available.
All antique and vintage items are sold as described and all sales are final. Each listing includes detailed condition notes and photographs so you can make a fully informed decision. We encourage buyers to ask questions — about condition, dimensions, finish, provenance — before purchasing.
Antiques are irreplaceable and one-of-a-kind. Carrier handling is outside our control once a piece has left our facility, and major carriers including FedEx do not insure antiques. We do everything within our power to ensure safe transit, but cannot accept liability for carrier damage. If damage occurs in transit, we will provide full documentation to support your carrier claim.
Have a question? — we're happy to provide additional photos, condition detail, or discuss the piece directly.
