The Louis Roesch Company was one of more than fifty major printing and lithography firms in San Francisco around 1906, which together employed over five thousand workers. Roesch was a pioneering and prominent craftsman who specialized in high-quality lithographic labels and posters, especially for California’s booming agricultural and wine industries. The company became well known for producing beautifully detailed, multi-color labels for crated, canned, and bottled foods, and for many Bay Area wineries. The company’s beautifully produced postcards were not considered a major part of their output, and are extremely rare. At the time, the printing industry was represented by a large number of German-American proprietors, and like the Louis Roesch Co., most San Francisco printing businesses were located north of Market Street before 1906, then relocated after the earthquake to the more industrial areas of South of Market and Mission districts. Today, stunning printing archives of Louis Roesch Co. can be viewed at Stanford University Libraries and the California Digital Library. In this SLO Wine Country Story, we shall visit a handful of prized California wine postcards and a wine label or two printed by Louis Roesch.
The Louis Roesch Co. Leading Lithographers & Printers – c1907
This magnificent advertising postcard is announcing, with great detail, Roesch Company’s new post-earthquake facility at Mission and 15th Streets. The new building was considered unique as it included spaces for other tenants, such as meeting rooms and retail shops, alongside the heavy printing equipment sector. In its public role, Roesch Hall served as a significant social hub for the local German-American community, hosting meetings for various fraternal and social organizations and events. Louis Roesch (1856–1916) was a native of Stuttgart who came to America at an early age in 1872 and established his San Francisco firm in 1879. A leader in the printing industry, he was a distinguished familiar figure in the business community, including membership in the Olympic Club, Native Sons of the Golden West, San Francisco Advertising Club, and the German Benevolent Society. Following the founder’s death in 1916, Louis Roesch, Jr. (1893-1959) succeeded him and operated the business for several decades until his death in 1959. The Louis Roesch Co. and building were last owned by Michael Davos from 1986 to 2010, when it was demolished in 2011 to develop a condominium complex. A historical marker has been erected on the site.
Grape Picking Festival And Ball, 23rd Grand Annual – San Francisco – 1918
A gorgeous announcement and invitation was printed by the Roesch Co. on the occasion of “The Only Original Event of its Kind in America. Don’t Miss It. Free Admission to Visitors in National Costumes … Dancing from 2 pm till 1 am…” The worthy Harvest Festival, which originated in the late 1890s, was being sponsored by the German Association “For the Benefit of the Sick.” The spectacular German-Baroque three-story venue, whose design was influenced by the Heidelberg Castle, was originally built in 1912 as Das Deutsche Haus to serve as a hub for forty-three German societies and fraternities. In September 1918, it was renamed California Hall in an effort described as a general “process of physically removing the presence of German influence” in San Francisco following the entry of the U.S. into World War I. Still called California Hall to this day, it is a designated S.F. landmark. Surely the fine Roesch lithography company produced a lovely postcard of this major, historically important building. It is waiting for me to find it.
Hotel St. Francis, San Francisco – c1905
The estate of Charles Crocker, one of the “Big Four” railroad magnates and founder of the Central Pacific Railroad, commissioned the construction of a luxury hotel for the west side of Union Square. When the St. Francis Hotel opened in March 1904 — two 12-story towers on the southwest corner of the Square, as this richly hand-colored Louis Roesch Co. postcard documents — it became one of the city’s most prestigious addresses. Two years later, just as construction was beginning on the double-width north wing, most of downtown San Francisco was destroyed by the 1906 earthquake and fire. The St. Francis survived with only cosmetic damage and was able to reopen in late 1907 while construction continued on the new wing. From its beginning, the St. Francis was celebrated for its extensive wine cellars. In an earlier SLO Wine Country Story about the S.F. Earthquake, we met “Francis” the wine cellar dog, on a postcard titled “Whence all but him had fled.” The caption described his ordeal, “Five days through fire and earthquake, without food, in the Hotel St. Francis wine cellars.” We know he knew his vintages.
Joseph Herrscher Co., Inc. 1903, San Francisco – c1909
Roesch Litho produced a dramatic advertising postcard for the industrious Jos. Herrscher wine business. The firm was founded in 1903 as Herrscher & Samuel – Wholesale Wines & Liquors on Market Street: Joseph Herrscher (1862-1938), President, Max Samuel, Vice-President. At the time the firm was established, both gentlemen were successful merchants doing business in San Francisco and the East Bay in the wholesale and retail markets, including wines and liquors. Post-earthquake in 1907, the firm became Jos. Herrscher Co. at Front & Merchant Streets, and operated until Prohibition. Notice the bustling street scene and the Simon Wine Co. horse-drawn wine wagon loading up at the storefront. The Mesa Grande Vineyard Co., prominently lettered on the building, was first listed in a 1908 S.F. City Directory and operated until Prohibition. Unfortunately, if Mesa Grande was other than a business name and was an actual vineyard site, its location and history remain a mystery.
Joseph Herrscher Co., Inc. 1903, San Francisco – c1909 (Back Of Card)
On the back side of Joseph Herrscher’s exquisite mailing card, we find a most unusual treasure. Affixed to the card is an actual gilt-edged “Select Vintage” neck label illustrated with a sketch of a winery worker at a wine press with a vineyard background. The printed message stresses the important meaning of the Neck Label on a bottle of wine: Absolute Purity and Finest Quality.
Mount St. Helena, Beringer Bros, Vineyards, Napa Co – c1906
There cannot be a more beautiful postcard to promote one’s wines. The brothers Beringer, Jacob (1844-1915) and Frederick (1840-1901), were born in Mainz, the capital of the largest wine district in Germany, and were experienced in winegrowing and coopering when they arrived in New York in 1868. Jacob proceeded to Napa Valley to serve as foreman at Charles Krug Winery on the northern edge of St. Helena. The brothers founded their winery, which they called Los Hermanos (The Brothers), in 1876 when they pooled their resources and bought the ranch across the road from Krug. (Louis Roesch set up his San Francisco printing company a few years later.) By 1878, Jacob was producing 100,000 gallons of wine. The total would soon grow to 200,000 gallons, all perfectly stored in tunnels dug by Chinese laborers into the hillsides behind the winery. In 1884, Frederick joined his brother in St. Helena and built his historic manor and architectural gem, the Rhine House. Beringer Bros. Winery played an important role in Napa Valley winemaking right through Prohibition, while Roesch printed a good many of the Beringer wine labels until at least the 1940s. I have also seen a couple of colorful Roesch Co. post-Repeal 1930s’ folding brochures that open to display a 9″ x 12″ full-page, illustrated Bay Area map “Showing the Main Highways to Beringer Bros. Winery and Other Interesting Points.” But our absolutely exquisite Roesch postcard remains the sole Beringer postcard produced by the firm yet seen.
Giersberg, Napa, Theo, Gier Wine Co. Oakland, Cal.- c1908
German-born Theodore Gier (1860-1931), one of the most successful and powerful wine men in pre-Prohibition California, was a public-spirited and progressive Oakland citizen, a recognized business leader whose activities included operating a popular bar and saloon, founding a local bank, and being a major city philanthropist. At the time of our postcard, Gier owned or leased some one thousand vineyard acres in Napa Co. and Livermore Valley — growing almost 120 different varieties for production and experimental purposes. In 1900 he purchased and developed his Sequoia Winery & Resort property in the Mayacamas Mts near Napa City and built an impressive three-story stone wine cellar on the site in 1903. Gier, a charismatic luminary, enjoyed hosting any number of groups at his mountain vineyard, whether the wine trade, or a German singing group from Oakland or San Francisco, or fraternal organizations, all of them in which Gier was a significant member, including a benefactor for Das Deutsche Haus. He most certainly would have connected with Louis Roesch to produce this typically lush and rich wine promotion postcard featuring a composite artistic view of “Giersberg.” On the back is printed “The Giersberger Wine,” a poem “Dedicated to Col. Theo. Gier,” that begins, “In Napa Valley where the Giersberger flows, and on the hillside slope the sunbeam glows. O, of that I am dreaming, it’s there I would roam, Where the Giersberger slumbers in its rock-ribbed home.” [The full Theo. Gier Wine Country Story appears in the SLO Newsletter, June 2025.]
Beringer Bros, California Burgundy, Private Stock Label – c1940s
With great gratitude, we should categorize this pure & simple, eye-catching wine label produced by Roesch Litho as “A Wine Historian’s Delight.” This small piece of paper records so many particulars about the winery, including a summary of worldwide award-winning wine competitions since 1887, the winery’s founding date, Bonded Winery number, percent of alcohol in the wine, and the identity of the brilliant label company.
Nanking Fook Woh Co., San Francisco, L. Roesch Litho – c1910
This fantastic building was located on the corner of Grant and Sacramento streets in the heart of San Francisco Chinatown, then the largest Chinese enclave in North America. Nanking Fook Woh Co., was a premier Chinese bazaar that specialized in importing and selling fine oriental goods, including large vases and vessels, furniture, artifacts and antiques. The company name translates to “Nanjing (Capital) Good Fortune,” Nanjing being a major city of China. The impressive structure, with a Mandarin Tea Parlor upstairs and a pagoda-style roof, featured distinctive glass display windows along both Grant and Sacramento streets, at street level and above. Over the years, the Chinese population has been recognized for their enormous role in the success of California’s wine history. It is a pleasure to offer this stunningly beautiful postcard as a toast to all and to the sheer beauty of Louis Roesch Lithography.
