Saturday’s ad is for Pelforth, The Pride of France, from the later 1960s. From the late 1800s until the 1960s, poster art really came into its own, and in Europe a lot of really cool posters, many of them for breweries, were produced. Pelforth is a French brewery founded in 1921 in Mons-en-Barœul by three Lillois brewers (though one sources says 1914). It was originally called Pelican, after a popular dance at the time, but changed its name to Pelforth after World War II. The name is a mash up of Pelican and “forte”, which means strong – and this is the style of beer they brew, including a blonde, brune and amber. Today, the brewery is owned by Heineken.
