Cream City Minnow Buckets- Overview

The earliest Geuder & Paeschke catalog I've been able to access is from 1892, and no fishing items were offered. In the 1896 catalog, the fishing items were pretty limited.  Three tackle boxes were listed; based on the catalog illustrations they were not stenciled with the Cream City logo, and it's unclear what color they were painted.   So these boxes would be difficult to identify today. 

The 1896 catalog also offered two minnow buckets; they did not have model names, being referred to simply as "Single" and "Double"  The first was a single bucket (no wire insert), in eight and ten quart sizes; this would be most similar to the bucket which would later be called the Acme.  There was little stenciling on the bucket (no graphics of fish, etc), and the company name was not stenciled. The second bucket (the "Double") was a round two-piece bucket, also offered in 8 and 10 quart sizes, with a floating wire insert; the outside bucket had a cover.  The color is not mentioned.

The 1898 catalog offerings were identical to 1896.  By 1904 the product line had expanded significantly, to include ten different models, each with their unique model names.  All were painted japanned tin (no galvanized buckets had appeared yet). Note that the Cream City logo was not stenciled on these buckets (but was typically stamped on the back). The different buckets could be roughly divided into two types:

• Single Buckets- no wire inserts, these were simply tin pails with a hinged lid and wire handle.  This catagory included two very small versions (the "tiny" one quart, and "midget" two quart), as well as the Acme (which came in multiple sizes, between 6 and 10 quart)
• Two-Piece Buckets- these consisted of both the single outer pail, plus an insert, and were only offered on the 6 quart and larger buckets.   The insert (most commonly made of wire mesh,

  

  Wire Mesh Insert

  sometimes in perforated tin) allowed the fisherman to remove the minnows and place them directly into the lake or stream, to provide fresh oxygenated water.  The better wire inserts were built with a strip of tin at the bottom, to retain at least a little water when the insert was out of the water (this protected the minnows when the insert was lifted out of the water). The inserts came in two main varieties:

• "Floating"- this was the most common variety, and contained a waterproof chamber to keep the insert afloat.  This was more convenient when fishing in a boat (the insert could be tied to a rope & allowed to bob along the surface, easier to reach).
• "Sinking"- a few buckets offered sinking inserts.  My assumption is that sinking inserts were preferred for situations where the minnows may be kept in the water longer, like off a pier or dock (sinking inserts could be kept well below the surface, so they wouldn't blow around in high winds or storms, or bang against a pier). 

Most buckets were painted green (in various shades), while some were maroon, blue, or red.  Most were round, while some were oval (I don't know the benefits of each, personal preference I guess). Some had sunken lids, which allowed the fisherman to place ice on top (cold water holds more oxygen, allowing the minnows to survive longer).  Some of the two-piece buckets contained two lids (one for the main bucket, the other for the insert). The premium buckets were offered in "IX tinplate", which is about 1/64 inch thick. Galvanized buckets appeared sometime between 1905 and 1908, with the Champion and Peerless models.

Fishing items were offered alongside all the other Cream City products in annual catalogs, as well as fishing-only leaflets like these:

The company advertised its minnow buckets in most sporting periodicals of the day; most of what I've turned up has been from the 1910-1915 timeframe.  From Field & Stream, 1911:

From Outing Magazine, 1912:

Forest & Stream, 1912:

By 1907 the Novelty float appeared, and by 1911 galvanized buckets were available.  The painted buckets now carried the Cream City logo, along with the model name. Over time the galvanized pails took over, replacing the painted versions.  For details regarding each of the models see the page links to the right.

Stenciled minnow buckets appear in various turn of the century images: