Yesterday, searching for some information about the phrase “Eat, Drink and be Merry” — it’s from the Bible BTW, Luke 12:19 — when I discovered this historial gem, a booklet put out by the Christian Moerlein Brewing Co. in 1890. It was published in their hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, by The Henderson-Achert-Krebbs Lithographic Company. The advertising booklet for Moerlein’s Beer is part of the John and Jane Adams Trade Card Collection, which is in the San Diego State University Library’s digital collection. A few of the poems are from children’s literature, which would undoubtedly drive the anti-alcohol winguts even nuttier if it was published today. I’m not sure who this advertising piece was targeting, but it sure looks like it was for children.

The cover.

Page 1:

No wonder Rip would go away,
And in the mountains roam,
For without Moerlein’s Lager Beer
There is no joy at home.

Page 2:

Mary had a little lamb,
It’s fleece was white as snow,
And every where that Mary went
Why Moerlein’s Beer did flow.

Page 3:

This is a happy little crowd,
As they drink, and laugh, and eat
‘Tis Moerlein’s Beer they praise aloud,
For they know it can’t be beat.

Page 4:

On and on we go, over hill and dale,
Bless me, ’tis pleasant riding on the rail,
Moerlein’s Lager Beer, always kept on ice,
Oh, it’s quite refreshing, and it’s awful nice.

Page 5:

Who steals my purse, steals trash,
But he who robs me of my bottle of Moerlein’s,
Robs of that which not only enriches him,
But makes me poor indeed.

Page 6:

Now to every story some moral you’ll find
And the moral to these is the very best kind
“If long would you live and ill health never fear
Drink plenty of
Pure Moerlein’s Lager Beer”

Back cover.

Moerlein’s was originally founded in 1853, and was reintroduced in 1981, and then again in 2004 as Moerlein Lagers & Ales.