Sierra Club CupSierra Club Cup
Circa 1966The "Sierra Cup" has been in use within the Sierra Club since 1905. I have seen an early picture showing Ansel Adams wearing his cup on his belt.The earliest and most collectible design of the Sierra Cup was stamped "Sierra Club of California" and has become quite rare. Pre-World War Two cups were stamped of tin plate, but after WW II they were changed to stainless steel. The Sierra Club librarian stated, "There have also been a few special limited editions stamped for special events or awards." Nowadays, the Sierra Club no longer supplies this cup to mountaineering stores. Image compliments Elizabeth P.
Related note: during the past few decades there has also been a proliferation of imitation cups made by a large variety of outdoor companies. Some of the older ones from classic gear companies are collectible in their own right. Also of interest in the History of Gear is that such "branding" was not limited to Sierra Cups, as evidenced by the image at page bottom, which involves The North Face, and again Holubar Mountaineering.
