Albany Ales & Steamed Clams Lamp

During the late 1800s, this tin and glass sign stood in front of the Joe Wilsey Tin Shop on Main Street, Schoharie. The stairway on the other side of the sign was the entrance to a saloon downstairs, which later became a print shop. Given its location in front of a tin shop, it can be theorized the unique glass and tin sign was custom designed and created by Joe Wilsey’s Tin Shop, which was later owned by his son Charles Wilsey.

In addition to sides advertising “Bologna and Sausages” (which is no longer in place) and “Oysters In Every Style”, the sign featured a side advertising “Albany Ales & Steamed Clams”.

According to the Albany Institute of History & Art, who featured the sign in there “The Capital Region in 50 Objects” exhibition,

Albany Ale and the Upper Hudson Valley’s ale brewing tradition began nearly 400 years ago with the earliest Dutch settlers. By the 1650s, twelve breweries were operating in the village of Beverwijck (present day Albany) and the surrounding region.

Over the next 150 years, commercial ale brewing grew in and around Albany, and the area became known as a brewing hub in colonial and post-Revolutionary War America. By the 1860s, Albany and Troy alone boasted twenty to thirty breweries. Most of the breweries of the Upper Hudson Valley produced Albany Ale—a strong, pale, mild ale.