Thursday’s ad is for “Rainier Beer,” from 1940. This ad was made for the Seattle Brewing & Malting Co., who made Rainier Beer, and was later known as the Rainier Brewing Company of Seattle, Washington. This one is shows a gal and her horse because nothing says “For Good Cheer” like a cowgirl.
Wednesday’s ad is for “Rainier Beer,” from 1906. This ad was made for the Seattle Brewing & Malting Co., who made Rainier Beer, and was later known as the Rainier Brewing Company of Seattle, Washington. This one is the cover to a 1906 promotional calendar produced for Rainier Beer.
You can see it a little better in this image of the calendar, which appears to be unused.
Tuesday’s ad is for “Rainier Beer,” from 1917. This ad was made for the Seattle Brewing & Malting Co., who made Rainier Beer, and was later known as the Rainier Brewing Company of Seattle, Washington. This one is the sheet music to a song entitled “There’s Something Else Goes With It,” which is “Dedicated to Glorious Old Rainier.” The words and music were written by J. Louis MacEvoy.
Monday’s ad is for “Rainier Beer,” from 1910. This ad was made for the Seattle Brewing & Malting Co., who made Rainier Beer, and was later known as the Rainier Brewing Company of Seattle, Washington. This one is a tray that shows a woman sitting on a wooden bench emblazoned with “Pure Food” with her hand inexplicably over her head and a glass of beer in the other hand. I’m not sure what that pose is meant to convey. At the bottom is the tagline. “There’s New Strength and Vigor in Every Drop.”
July 5, 1862, Lewis Carroll sat down to start writing the work that would make him famous, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” which began with a story he told to his three girl companions the day before during an outing with the Reverend Robinson Duckworth, where they rowed a boat up the River Isis with the three young girls, and which they called the “golden afternoon.” The three girls were the daughters of scholar Henry Liddell: Lorina Charlotte Liddell, Alice Pleasance Liddell, and Edith Mary Liddell, ages 13, 10, and 8 respectively. The journey began at Folly Bridge, Oxford and ended five miles away in the Oxfordshire village of Godstow. During the trip Carroll, whose real name was Charles Dodgson, told the girls a story that featured a bored little girl named Alice who goes looking for an adventure. The girls loved it, and Alice Liddell asked Dodgson to write it down for her. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Beginning in the 1930s, Guinness began using Alice in Wonderland and the cast of characters from Carroll’s books in a lot of their advertising. That continued until 1959, and in addition to numerous ads, they also produced five booklets, beginning with “The Guinness Alice” in 1933, and finishing up with “Alice Versary: The Guinness Birthday Book,” which was published to coincide with their 200th anniversary in 1959. All of the booklets and advertising was done by their advertising agency, S.H. Benson Ltd., with illustrations by John Gilroy and later Ronald Ferns. A few years ago, I got a copy of Alice Versary, so here is the whole 16-page booklet.
Saturday’s ad is for “Rainier Beer,” from 1904. This ad was made for the Seattle Brewing & Malting Co., who made Rainier Beer, and was later known as the Rainier Brewing Company of Seattle, Washington. This one shows a clever self-pouring bottle that can fill four small glasses at a time. It’s too bad they never perfected that technology.
Saturday’s ad is for “Rainier Beer,” from 1904. This ad was made for the Seattle Brewing & Malting Co., who made Rainier Beer, and was later known as the Rainier Brewing Company of Seattle, Washington. This one shows a woman on the beach swooning with a ginormous bottle of beer behind her, and the curious text. “You Can’t Help Keeping Your Mind on Rainier Beer After Knowing What It Is Like.”
Friday’s ad is for “Rainier Beer,” from 1904. This ad was made for the Seattle Brewing & Malting Co., who made Rainier Beer, and was later known as the Rainier Brewing Company of Seattle, Washington. This one shows a trio of women on the beach pointing out to sea, where there’s a giant bottle of beer bobbing on the waves. Or it is surfing? The tagline is somewhat inscrutable. “For it is on the top which proves its high grade.” I’m not really sure what that means.
Thursday’s ad is for “Rainier Beer,” from 1904. This ad was made for the Seattle Brewing & Malting Co., who made Rainier Beer, and was later known as the Rainier Brewing Company of Seattle, Washington. This one shows what appears to be a sporting event so I’m not sure why it’s fashion that’s being held out as why you should drink Rainier Beer. I also can’t tell if the man in the foreground is using a megaphone or drinking it.
Wednesday’s ad is for “Rainier Beer,” from 1904. This ad was made for the Seattle Brewing & Malting Co., who made Rainier Beer, and was later known as the Rainier Brewing Company of Seattle, Washington. This one shows a woman in a bathing suit and the tagline starts out with “There Is Nothing Like Rainier Beer,” which is a fine headline. But then it continues, somewhat awkwardly, I’d argue. “There Is Nothing Like Rainier Beer While at the Sea Shore on your Vacation.” That’s a pretty specific time when when there’s nothing else like their beer. I’m pretty sure that’s not the only time they want you to drink their beer.
