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Jay R. Brooks on Beer

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Beer In Ads #3257: Brasserie Gruber

February 12, 2020 By Jay Brooks

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Wednesday’s ad is for a Brasserie Gruber & Cie, from 1898. From the late 1800s until the 1980s, poster art really came into its own, and in Europe a lot of really cool posters, many of them for breweries, were produced. I’ve been posting vintage European posters all last year, and will continue to do so in 2020. This poster was Brasserie Gruber & Cie of Melun, which “is a French commune located in Seine-et-Marne in the region Île-de-France.” It was founded in 1888 and continued until 1943. After World War II, it continued to brew beer under a variety of trade names, before closing for good in 1985. The name of the artist is on the poster in the bottom right hand corner, but I can’t quite make it out. It looks sort of like Finney Eomissel, but I know that’s not right.

Gruber-and-Cie-1898

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers, Breweries Tagged With: Advertising, France, History

Beer In Ads #3256: Wissembourg Beer Jester

February 11, 2020 By Jay Brooks

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Tuesday’s ad is for a Wissembourg Beer Jester, or King, from 1880. From the late 1800s until the 1980s, poster art really came into its own, and in Europe a lot of really cool posters, many of them for breweries, were produced. I’ve been posting vintage European posters all last year, and will continue to do so in 2020. This poster was part of a series in which “[t]he joyful King celebrates the German way — with beer, of course!” One auction site describes the series as follows. “This poster was created by the C. Burckardt printing firm, and is part of a larger series of posters that were produced during the 1880s and 1890s. The company was based in the Alsatian town of Wissembourg, along the French border with Germany, and was also known for their cutout puppets, puzzles for children, educational charts, and religious depictions. These posters were created during a time that the Alsace region belonged to Germany, when the town was still called Weissenburg. All posters in this series have been printed via stone lithography, in multiple panels.” They claim he’s a king, but his grin says jester, to me.

Wissembourg-beer-jester-1880

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, France, Germany, History

Beer In Ads #3064: Bieres Sodibo

July 24, 2019 By Jay Brooks

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Wednesday’s ad is for Leurs Bieres Sodibo Gold Mohur Imperial Hawk, from 1928. 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. I’m not sure exactly what this poster was meant to advertise or what the name of the brewery, although I think the beer’s name was Gold Mohur Imperial Hawk. It was created by French artist Le Maire.

Bieres-Sobido-1928-LeMaire-lg

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, France, History

Beer In Ads #3014: Buvez Les Bières De Garde

June 4, 2019 By Jay Brooks

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Tuesday’s ad is for Buvez Les Bières De Garde, from 1930. 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. This poster is for the Brasserie de la Arnould Mochez, located in France. It was founded around 1821, changed locations at least twice, and ceased operations for good in 1940. I’ve been unable to find information about the artist.

buvez-bieres-de-garde

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, France, History

Beer In Ads #3004: Birra Napoli Visions

May 25, 2019 By Jay Brooks

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Saturday’s ad is for Birra Napoli, from 1922. 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. This poster is for the S.A. Birrerie Meridionali, located in Naples, Italy, which was founded in 1904.  This poster was created by French artist Achille Mauzan. He was “born on the French Riviera, but moved to Italy in 1905, [and was] known as a decorative illustrator designing during the Art Deco movement, though he also painted and sculpted.” From 1919 to 1923, Mauzan worked for the Maga agency started by Giovanni Magagnoli, during the time this poster was made.

Mauzan-birra-napoli

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, France, History, Italy

Beer In Ads #2997: Birra Metzger Gambrinus

May 18, 2019 By Jay Brooks

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Saturday’s ad is for Birra Metzger, from 1910 or 1912. 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. This poster is for Birra Metzger, founded in Turin, Italy, in 1848. The brewery was bought in 1944, but closed in 1975. In the last few years, however, it’s been relaunched as Metzger 1848. It was created by Italian-born French artist Leonetto Cappiello.

1912-Birra-Metzger-Torino

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, France, History, Italy

Beer In Ads #2977: Pelforth, The Pride Of France

April 27, 2019 By Jay Brooks

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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.

Pelforth1jpg

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, France, History

Beer In Ads #2947: Hurra! Bier!

March 28, 2019 By Jay Brooks

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Thursday’s ad is for Hurra! Bier!, from 1937. 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. This was not part of the series of posters promoting beer by the German Brewers Association, the Swiss Brewery Association, and others, in the mid-20th century, but it seems to be in the same spirit of promoting beer generally. Many websites attribute it to French painter and lithographer Théodore Géricault, but he died in 1824, so it seems unlikely he created it nearly 100 years before the beer poster’s heyday, so it must have been someone else. The language appears to be German, so it likely wasn’t done in Géricault’s native country. It appears to have been made in Vienna, Austria by printmaker Paul Gerin, at least that appears on at least one copy of the print I found online. The small logo that’s visible above her left shoulder is for Gallery Otto, an Austrian art gallery that was founded in 1934, so the date at least makes sense. But there’s still no credible information about the artist who created the poster, which is a shame.

Théodore-Géricault-hurra-bier

Because I couldn’t leave it there, I did finally discover that the original may have first appeared in the September 1937 issue of an Austrian magazine. The scan below is from that magazine, called simply “Wiener Magazine” (Viennese Magazine) which I found at ANNO – AustriaN Newspapers Online, described as “Historic Austrian newspapers and magazines online.” It appears to have been on page 100, which seems to be the back page of the magazine. Sadly, there’s still no information about the artist, but there is some satisfaction in possibly having found the origin of the art.

hurra-bier-1937-poster

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, France, History

Beer In Ads #2906: Bière Du Fort-Carré

February 15, 2019 By Jay Brooks

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Friday’s ad is for Bière Du Fort-Carré, from around 1900. From the late 1800s until the 1940s, poster art really came into its own, and in Europe a lot of really cool posters, many of them for breweries, were produced. This poster is for Brasserie de Fort-Carré, in Saint-Dizier, France. It was founded in 1796. They were bought out in 1953, and the brewery was closed, although more recently a new company is bringing it back. This poster was created by Italian and French artist Leonetto Cappiello. It depicts French king Francis I in 1544 during a historical incident during a siege led by the Spanish and Bavarian troops of Spanish rival Charles V.

Bieres-Fort-Carre_c1900_by_Leonetto_Cappiello

In later years, the poster was also used to create a sign for the brewery.

Bieres_Fort-Carre_c1900_by_Leonetto_Cappiello

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, France, History

Beer In Ads #2901: Bières La Semeuse

February 10, 2019 By Jay Brooks

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Sunday’s ad is for Bières La Semeuse, from 1900. From the late 1800s until the 1940s, poster art really came into its own, and in Europe a lot of really cool posters, many of them for breweries, were produced. This poster is for possibly a brewery in Alsace region of France, maybe Strasbourg, but I’m not sure. La Semeuse means “The Sower” and was a “French pictorial allegory invented by Oscar Roty around 1887, presenting a young woman wearing a Phrygian cap sowing seeds at sunrise, and who has become over time one of the symbols of the French Republic,” of which this seems to be at least based on that.

Bieres_La_Semeuse_c1900

Filed Under: Art & Beer, Beers Tagged With: Advertising, France, History

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