This is an important archival lead rather than a complete labor history. Verify worker identities, roles, and the advertising sequence from primary collections.
The passage pairs labor contribution with a concrete claim about changing public representation.
Cowdery states that African Americans—enslaved in some places and periods, free in others—performed much of whiskey-making’s difficult labor and that some attained distilling authority. He then describes an Early Times advertising image whose Black distillery crew became white in later versions and disappeared in still later versions.
Chapter 15, “Piano C. Red at Maxwell Street (with an Appearance by Old Grand-Dad Bonded Bourbon),” section “The Holy Trinity”
Chapter 15, “Piano C. Red at Maxwell Street (with an Appearance by Old Grand-Dad Bonded Bourbon),” section “The Holy Trinity”
September 29 fresh review: all 283 supplied sheets read and surveyed visually, 13 enlarged details. This paraphrase and locator were reconciled. Verified means source fidelity, not independent confirmation of every historical claim.
Evidence
Cowdery states that African Americans—enslaved in some places and periods, free in others—performed much of whiskey-making’s difficult labor and that some attained distilling authority. He then describes an Early Times advertising image whose Black distillery crew became white in later versions and disappeared in still later versions.
Location and context
Chapter 15, “Piano C. Red at Maxwell Street (with an Appearance by Old Grand-Dad Bonded Bourbon),” section “The Holy Trinity”; Chapter 15, “Piano C. Red at Maxwell Street (with an Appearance by Old Grand-Dad Bonded Bourbon),” section “The Holy Trinity”.
The passage pairs labor contribution with a concrete claim about changing public representation.
Assessment
This is an important archival lead rather than a complete labor history. Verify worker identities, roles, and the advertising sequence from primary collections.
September 29 verification
September 29 fresh review: all 283 supplied sheets read and surveyed visually, 13 enlarged details. This paraphrase and locator were reconciled. Verified means source fidelity, not independent confirmation of every historical claim.