original late-nineteenth century dug amber slender st. louis weiss shaped bottle manufactured for chicago bottler william pfeifer. the slender body, steep shoulders and long tapering neck are finished with an applied rounded tapered collar. it was likely closed with a metal lighting stopper. the front body features a clean strike in the form of a heavily whittled circular plate, in which embossed block lettering reads "wm pfeifer / chicago" with the 'm' raised and underlined in the abbreviated "william". the base is smooth with a moderate indentation from manufacture with a two leaf mold. crudities are typical of its age and date of manufacture and include allover whittling and some surface wear. william pfeifer operated a brewery bearing his name from 1888-1918, though it may have changed address and iteration several times during that period. according to a 1912 publication, ed j. birk & bro. consolidated with william pfeifer weiss beer company. additionally, it is unknown whether william pfeifer was related to philip pfeifer, who partnered with nikolaus bassler in the bottling business in mascoutah,, illinois during the 1860's ( his son philip pfeifer jr. took over the works at bassler's death in 1885).