Druehl & Franken

​What are these?  
Recently these were found digging.  Such nice quality porcelain and stenciled.   It turns out they fit the tops of old corks perfectly and provide an easy way for product branding.   Of course, now we have to have more information on these early Utah entrepreneurs.  
Druehl and Franken was a Drug store in the late 1890’s at the busy corner of the Walker Bank Building.
​There was not as much information on the other partner James L. Franken.  We do know he was the president of the Pharmaceutical Association in 1910.  Here we see a quote in a 1905 Drug store publication where he praises an advertising contractor.
​Here they display one of the ads explaining why it is effective.  
​By Franken was bought out in 1918 and byt 1920 it was all sold to the Owl Drug company.  Druehl lived the Hollywood lifestyle in California until his death in 1926   Yes, drugstores were a good business!
​We have a glimpse of Mr. Druehl with his obituary.
Frank August Druehl was born 7 January 1852 in Bützow, Mecklenburg-Schwerin. He immigrated to the United States about October 1869, appearing in the Chicago city directory for 1870-1871 and is also enumerated on the 1 June 1870 Federal Census, when Frank was working as a clerk for a druggist.On 2 September 1872 he married Mary C. Boesch and in November 1872 he became a naturalized citizen.
Frank and Mary had four children: Louisa (died as infant), Ella Josephine Adelaide, Walter Frank and Hugo William Druehl, all born in Chicago before 1880. Sometime after 1880, Mary and Frank divorced and on 15 Apr 1884 Frank married Martha D. Wilson. By 1890 he had moved to Salt Lake City, Utah, where he operated the Busy Corner Drug Store for many years.
In Salt Lake City, Frank partnered with James L. Franken in the Druehl & Franken Drug Company; together they also invested in Liggett's Rexall corporation and became quite wealthy as a result. In 1903 Frank purchased the Robinson Drug Company in Colorado Springs, which son Hugo managed for a few years before brother Walter took control. In 1918 Frank and Hugo purchased Franken's share of Druehl & Franken and renamed the company The Druehl Drug Company. In 1920 they sold the company to the Owl Drug Company and Frank retired from active business pursuits.
About 1910, Martha was diagnosed with breast cancer and Frank moved her into an apartment, leaving their large and elaborate house on 527 East South. After Martha died in 1911, Frank is believed to have lived mostly in hotels, such as the Hotel Utah in Salt Lake and the Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles. 

​Here we have a notice about their expanding business in 1895.  By 1903 they had created the Western Drug and Manufacturing Company and expanded by the purchase of the Robinson store in Colorado.