Frederick Pabst Autographs
Johann Gottlieb Friedrich "Frederick" Pabst (March 28, 1836 – January 1, 1904) was a German-American ship's captain and brewer and the namesake of the Pabst Brewing Company. Pabst was born in Prussia and emigrated to the United States with his parents when he was 12. He became a ship's captain and married Maria Best, daughter of a small brewery owner, Jacob Best. After a shipping accident, Pabst bought into his father-in-law's brewery company, learned the business, increased output, and helped the brewery to go public, after which he became president of the company in 1873. The company's name was later changed to the Pabst Brewing Company. Pabst also developed a popular resort north of Milwaukee, built a 14-story Pabst Building in downtown Milwaukee, helped organize the Wisconsin National Bank, and built Milwaukee's Pabst Theater.
Pabst was born on March 28, 1836, in the village of Nikolausrieth, in the Province of Saxony, in the Kingdom of Prussia. Friedrich was the second child of Gottlieb Pabst, a local farmer, and his wife, Johanna Friederike.
In 1848, he emigrated with his parents to the United States, settling first in Milwaukee, and then Chicago. The following year, his mother died in a cholera epidemic. In Chicago, Frederick and his father had to eke out a living; for a while they worked as waiters and busboys. Frederick soon gave this up, however – because he had enjoyed his voyage to America, he decided to become a cabin boy on a Lake Michigan steamer. By the time he was 21, Pabst had earned his pilot's license, and was captain of one of these vessels. In this capacity, he met Phillip Best, the owner of a small but prosperous brewery founded by his father, Jacob Best, in 1844 in Milwaukee. Pabst married Best's daughter, Maria, on March 25, 1862.
Read more about Frederick Pabst on Wikipedia
Affiliate disclosure: When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Traded items with a signature of Frederick Pabst
The most expensive item with a signature of Frederick Pabst (FREDERICK PABST - PROMISSORY NOTE SIGNED 05/17/1883) was sold in November 2025 for $764.85 while the cheapest item (Frederick Pabst Pabst Brewing Signed Album Page Cut) found a new owner for $6.50 in August 2011. The month with the most items sold (2) was March 2022 with an average selling price of $517.50 for an autographed item of Frederick Pabst. Sold items reached their highest average selling price in November 2025 with $764.85 and the month that saw the lowest prices with $9.99 was March 2011. In average, an autographed item from Frederick Pabst is worth $52.50.
Most recently, these items with a signature of Frederick Pabst were sold on eBay - click here for more items.
| Picture | Item Title | Price | Store |
 | FREDERICK PABST - PABST BREWING CO. STOCK CERTIFICATE SIGNED March 12th, 1889 | $159.10 |  |
| FREDERICK PABST - PROMISSORY NOTE SIGNED 05/17/1883 | $764.85 | |
| FREDERICK PABST - PROMISSORY NOTE SIGNED 10/12/1883 | $750.00 | |
| FREDERICK PABST Beer Magnate Signed Receipt PSA/DNA | $299.99 | |
| Frederick Pabst Beer Maker Signed BAS Beckett Autograph Auto Blue Ribbon Fred | $285.00 | |
| Frederick Pabst Brewing Co Blue Ribbon Beer Signed Document 1883 Autograph | $175.00 | |
| FREDERICK PABST PSA/DNA SIGNED 1876 STOCK CERTIFICATE AUTOGRAPH AUTHENTIC | $449.10 | |
| Frederick Pabst signed document BAS Authenticated Founder Pabst Brewing Company | $299.95 | |
| Frederick Pabst signed Receipt Beer 1876 | $56.00 | |
| Frederick Pabst signed Receipt Beer 1884 | $82.00 | |
| Frederick Pabst signed Receipt Beer Stock Cert 1873 | $9.99 | |
| Frederick Pabst signed Receipt Beer Stock Cert 1873 | $31.22 | |
| Frederick Pabst signed Receipt Beer Stock Certificate 1884 | $21.83 | |
| Frederick Pabst Signed Stock Transfer Blue Ribbon Beer | $29.99 | |
| Frederick Pabst Two signed Autographed Stock Transfer | $49.00 | |
