Rare Graphic Antique Craigdhu Old Highland Whiskey Sign Andrew A. Watt WithTartan

  
This Is A Very Hard To Find Colorful Antique Sign For "Craigdhu Old Highland Whisky". Craigdhu Was Made By The Andrew A. This Is A 1 Sided Metal Sign Which Measures Approx. 9 1/4" Wide x 8 1/4" Tall. This Sign Features The Watt Family Tartan Diagonally Across It With Lovely Thistles. I Bought This Sign In The United Kingdom More Than 30 Years Ago. In Tiny Letters In The Middle Of The Silver Band At The Bottom Is The Name Of The Sign Maker: J. I Have Never Found Any Other Items Advertising Craigdhu Whiskey -- In Fact I Have Not Been Able To Find Any Reference To "Craigdu" Whisky At All.

Based On My Research, I Believe It To Be From Pre-1921 Because Of The History Of Andrew A. Here Is An Interesting Story Behind The Company Which Created Craigdhu. The Watt Influence In Derry Became Substantial In 1839 When David Watt Secured Full Ownership Of The Abbey Street Distillery. Originally From Ramelton In Co.

Donegal, The Watt Family First Came To Derry In 1762. By 1824, Andrew Alexander Watt, Davids Father, Was A Leading Merchant In The City With Premises At 9 Bishop Street. In The 1830s Watt Entered Into Partnership With Ross T. Smith In The Abbey Street Distillery. Full Ownership Soon Followed And With Control In The Watt Family Hands, An Expansion Was Undertaken To Make The Abbey Street Distillery In The Bogside The Largest In The U.

And One Of The Greatest In The World. It Made A Fortune For The Watt Family.

According To An Article In The Derry Journal -- In 1921, After Workers Clashed With Management, The Watts Responded By Closing The Whole Process Forever. It Sent Shock Waves Through The Entire Whisky Industry And Left A Legacy Of Poverty In Derry That Was To Last For Decades. That Day A Crowd Of Workers Moved Forward And Blocked The Gates. Andrew Watt Stepped From His Rolls.

He Was Ready For A Fight. It Is Said That The Watts Reputation Was That They Were Stubborn And Flinty And Never Flinched From A Dispute. Andrew Watt Maintained That Tradition Well.

It Is Said That Even Before The Strike Was Called, Old Hands About The Bogside Had Cautioned Dont Fight With The Watts. Yet There Was Total Frustration Amongst The Workers, Who Insisted They Couldnt Live On The Wages They Were Getting.

So, Suddenly, Andrew Watt Was Prevented From Entering His Own Distillery And Worse Still He Was All But Submerged In A Crowd Of Enraged Workers. What Happened Next Must Rate High In The Annals Of Derrys Dark Days.

Andrew Watt Asked To Be Helped Up On To One Of His Own Whiskey Barrels And From There He Addressed The Crowd With The Menacing Words - Well Men, I Shall Put It To You Like This What Is It To Be? Will You Open The Gates?

The Workers Retorted Angrily- The Gates Stay Shut! Shut They Are, And Shut They Shall Remain! In That Instant The Watts Whiskey Enterprise Disappeared Forever. Over 300 Jobs Were Lost, Including The Talents Of Some Of Irelands Finest Whiskey Blenders.

Also Left Jobless Were Coopers, Carpenters And A Host Of Other Tradesfolk And Office Staff, Many Of Whose Parents And Grandparents Had Worked For Watts For Generations. Watt, He Left The City Never To Return.

In Doing So He Turned His Back On What Would Be A Multi-Million Pound Business In Todays World. Looking Back, The Outcome Can Only Be Viewed As A Total Disaster.

For The Last 30 Years This Sign With Its Interesting History Has Hung In My Office. This item comes from a smoke free environment and does not have any odor. Every attempt has been made to provide an accurate detailing of the condition of the listed items.

Please review the photographs carefully as the photos are part of the description. All pictures are of the actual item you will receive, we do not recycle pictures. We try to answer all timely questions so please ask! Your feedback is important to us.

The item "Rare Graphic Antique Craigdhu Old Highland Whiskey Sign Andrew A. Watt WithTartan" is in sale since Friday, January 22, 2016.

This item is in the category "Collectibles\Advertising\Merchandise & Memorabilia\Signs\Original\Pre-1930". The seller is "dmq2014" and is located in Sedona, Arizona. This item can be shipped to North, South, or Latin America, all countries in Europe, Japan, Australia.

• Type of Advertising: Advertising Sign
• Country/Region of Manufacture: Ireland
• Brand: Craigdhu Old Highland Whiskey
• date of Creation: Pre-1921