Beer In Ads #2956: Haake-Beck Tastes Better

April 6, 2019 By Jay Brooks

Saturday’s ad is for Haake-Beck, from 1951. 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. It was created by German artist Heinz Fehling, who also did several posters promoting beer for the German Brewers Association. He also did commercial work, like this for example, with the tagline “schmeckt besser!,” meaning “tastes better.”

Beer In Ads #2955: Cool Beer Couple

April 5, 2019 By Jay Brooks

Friday’s ad is for kühles Bier, or “Cool Beer,” from 1950. 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 may have been part of posters promoting beer by the German Brewers Association, since it’s nearly identical to one with a woman on the beach and another one with a man, all of which were created by German artist Heinz Fehling. But I can only find this monochrome version of this one, so I’m not sure if they actually ever used it in the prmotional campaign.

I also found this cover of sheet music for a song called “Das Bier Lied,” of “The Beer Song,” which was also illustrated by Fehling around 1950 or 51.

Beer In Ads #2954: Thirst Becomes Beautiful Through Beer

April 4, 2019 By Jay Brooks

Thursday’s ad is for an Durst wird durch Bier erst schön, or Thirst Becomes Beautiful Through Beer, from maybe the 1960. 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 part of posters promoting beer by the German Brewers Association, though I’m not sure exactly when. I think it was created by German artist Heinz Fehling.

Beer In Ads #2953: The Beer Glass

April 3, 2019 By Jay Brooks

Wednesday’s ad is for an untitled work I’m calling The Beer Glass, from 1960. 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 if this was part of posters promoting beer by the German Brewers Association, the Swiss Brewery Association, or something entirely different. It was created by Swiss artist Willi Eldenbenz.

Below is a more crude scan or photo of the same illustration printed in a magazine, or book, which gives some idea of how it may have been used. It seems likely that whatever was on the facing page gives this more context.

Beer In Ads #2952: The Smoking Beer

April 2, 2019 By Jay Brooks

Tuesday’s ad is for an untitled work I’m calling The Smoking Beer, from 1960. 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 if this was part of posters promoting beer by the German Brewers Association, the Swiss Brewery Association, or something entirely different. It was created by Swiss artist Willi Eldenbenz. If you didn’t already notice it, take a close look at the shape that the smoke from the cigarette creates.

Beer In Ads #2951: The Bicycle Beer Clown

April 1, 2019 By Jay Brooks

Monday’s ad is for Der Fahrradclown, or the Bicycle Clown, from 1966. 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 part of a series of postcards promoting beer by the German Brewers Association. It was created by German artist Jo Müller.

Beer In Ads #2950: The Boat Beer Clown

March 31, 2019 By Jay Brooks

Sunday’s ad is for Der Bootclown, or the Boat Clown, from 1966. 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 part of a series of postcards promoting beer by the German Brewers Association. It was created by German artist Jo Müller.

Beer In Ads #2949: The Babysitting Beer Clown

March 30, 2019 By Jay Brooks

Saturday’s ad is for Der Kinderwagenclown, or the Baby Carriage Clown, from 1966. 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 part of a series of postcards promoting beer by the German Brewers Association. It was created by German artist Jo Müller.

Beer In Ads #2948: The Standing Beer Clown

March 29, 2019 By Jay Brooks

Friday’s ad is for Der Stehclown, or the Standing Clown, from 1966. 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 part of a series of postcards promoting beer by the German Brewers Association. It was created by German artist Jo Müller.

Beer In Ads #2947: Hurra! Bier!

March 28, 2019 By Jay Brooks

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.

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.

« Previous Page