Classic Tin Cup

Jacob Bromwell’s signature Classic Tin Cup beholds a very special place in American history and literature, treasured by those of us who truly appreciate a time when ol’ fashioned items were keepsakes to folks like us. What was usually placed or poured in tin cups Mr. Bromwell crafted were made by none other than Mother Earth. Water, tea, coffee, and even lemonade were sipped with pride while remaining chilled for a period of time to the amazement of those who partook of it. His tin cup was considered a luxury for its time, enjoyed by those, for instance, who needed a moment…just a moment to sit by a campfire on a cozy night listening to crickets chirping through the night or gunfire at a distance during the Civil War era.

Our fullsome tin cup is still made for thou as it was way back in 1819 when our company was born and consequently fashioned a respectable place in the midst of the manufacturing community. Our cup continues to make Ma’s and Pa’s smile, with delight, the world over. Once your friends, neighbors, and folks you work with take notice of thou enjoying your favorite beverage from our one-of-a-kind tincup, knock on wood, they will be pleased to have learned of such a relic and want one, too. Proof is in the pudding; trust us when we tell you how pleased thou will be!

To fully appreciate Jacob Bromwell’s Classic Tin Cup is to showcase a short lesson on the United States Civil War, the bloodiest war on the battlegrounds of American soil. As many of you war buffs and rein actors know, this epic war claimed more lives than the American Revolutionary War, World War I, World War II, the War of 1812, and Vietnam War combined. Slightly less than one billion soldiers were killed from the time the Civil War started, in 1861, and ended in 1865. The Civil War resulted from an argument between several southern and northern states dealing with the idea of slavery and the taxation of cotton exportation. President Abraham Lincoln did his very best to keep the states united, but failed to succeed when both sides rejected a peace treaty. Instead of choosing peace, the states chose sides whereby the south became known as the Confederacy and the north, the Union. Union states included Delaware, New York, and Alaska. Confederate states included California, Florida, and Kansas. One major accomplishment of this war was America’s slaves gaining their freedom. Also, the New England cotton farmers were required to pay a twelve-percent duty fee on all exported cotton products. The price for these social changes was beyond description and acceptance.

The tincup was the Civil War’s companion in times of nourishment. Whenever a soldier wanted to boil tea or coffee, it always came to the rescue, keeping his favorite drink hot for an unusual amount of time, much to his delight and surprise. Usually green and raw, the coffee beans had to be roasted over a campfire, which took place in the Classic tin cups of those soldiers fortunate enough to own, or borrow one. It also may be interesting to note that many a tincup was filled with the forbidden beer and whisky. Henceforth, the tin cup also took on the nickname, beer mug. Also, Jacob Bromwell’s mug was often filled with bacon and either acorns, chicory, or cornmeal for a makeshift meal or snack… also cooked over an open fire. The armies also supplied fresh vegetables including carrots, onions, and potatoes which were often cooked the same way.

During that era, there was a famous doctor, Dr. John Hay Terrill, who was known to greatly lessen the death rate of soldiers stricken by the widespread smallpox simply by giving his patients uncooked sauerkraut, often eaten with a fork right out of the soldiers’ beer mugs. Any soldier of that era would have told you the tincup was the most important possession of mess gear he ever had. Why, it was even used to wash out their socks, in addition to the socks of farmers wherever farming took place. To this day, what a practical item Bromwell’s tincup has proved to be!

Why, the tin cup became so very popular since Jacob Bromwell, himself, promoted it that in 1882, a gold and placer mining town in Colorado was named Tincup, which stands at an elevation of 10,157 feet above sea level. Early Tincup was a violent town. The town marshall, Harry Rivers, died in a gunfight in 1882 and marshall Andy Jameson was shot to death in 1883. The town’s population declined as the mines grew exhausted followed by the closing of the post office in 1918. The final town’s election took place in 1918. There’s no beating around the bush; to name a town after the tin cup was pretty darn special!