Tuesday’s ad is for Blatz Beer, from 1951. The ad is part of Blatz’s “I lived in Milwaukee, I ought to know” series from the later Forties and Fifties that featured prominent celebrities, sports figures and famous folks from Milwaukee claiming to know “Blatz is Milwaukee’s Finest Beer” because they lived there, or near there, at some point in their lives. This one features actress Pamela Britton, who was born and raised in Milwaukee.
Monday’s ad is for Blatz Beer, from 1948. The ad is part of Blatz’s “I lived in Milwaukee, I ought to know” series from the later Forties and Fifties that featured prominent celebrities, sports figures and famous folks from Milwaukee claiming to know “Blatz is Milwaukee’s Finest Beer” because they lived there, or near there, at some point in their lives. This one features Max Gene Nohl, who was a famous deep sea diver from Milwaukee.
Here’s a fun little piece of history. In the September 2, 1947 issue of Look magazine, journeyman freelance author Don Wharton wrote an article examining the different types of drinkers one might encounter in mid-20th century America, as long as one kept to the mainstream America filled with white, affluent males. In his introduction to What Kind of Drinker Are You? he alludes to eleven different types, at least “according to doctors, psychiatrists, bartenders and drinkers of all types.” They admit that their types couldn’t cover everyone, but believe 95% of the population should be able to find themselves among the types. I thought the article I found online was complete, but it only shows ten. However in the text describing “Pick-Up Drinkers,” they refer to the “Week-End Drinker,” so that must be the missing eleventh type of drinker.
The descriptions of each type of drinker provide a fascinating insight into how people thought about drinking in the late 1940s, shortly after World War 2 ended.
Which type are you?
Sunday’s ad is for Blatz Beer, from 1949. The ad is part of Blatz’s “I lived in Milwaukee, I ought to know” series from the later Forties and Fifties that featured prominent celebrities, sports figures and famous folks from Milwaukee claiming to know “Blatz is Milwaukee’s Finest Beer” because they lived there, or near there, at some point in their lives. This one features dress designer La Verne Sunde, who was apparently well-known locally in her day as a fashion designed in Milwaukee.
Saturday’s ad is for Blatz Beer, from 1949. The ad is part of Blatz’s “I lived in Milwaukee, I ought to know” series from the later Forties and Fifties that featured prominent celebrities, sports figures and famous folks from Milwaukee claiming to know “Blatz is Milwaukee’s Finest Beer” because they lived there, or near there, at some point in their lives. This one features Pat Harder, who that year was a star Fullback for the Chicago Cardinals football team, which today plays in Arizona. He played in Chicago from 1946-1950, before being traded to the Detroit Lions, where he played his remaining years, retiring after the 1953 season. Harder was born and raised in Milwaukee.
Friday’s ad is for Blatz Beer, from 1951. The ad is part of Blatz’s “I lived in Milwaukee, I ought to know” series from the Fifties that featured prominent celebrities, sports figures and famous folks from Milwaukee claiming to know “Blatz is Milwaukee’s Finest Beer” because they lived there, or near there, at some point in their lives. This one features Uta Hagen, an actress born in Germany but raised in nearby Madison, Wisconsin.
I came across this interesting patent design for a beer tumbler this morning for Budweiser that was patented on June 10, 1879 by C. Conrad. Liquor importer Carl Conrad is one of the more forgotten names from the history of Anheuser-Busch. He was at least partially responsible, along with his longtime friend Adolphus Busch, for the original recipe of Budweiser and in fact early bottles of Bud, prior to the 1920s were sold under the company name “C. Conrad and Co.” before A-B got the rights from Conrad. He apparently also designed this glass for the beer in 1879. I”m not sure if they were ever made, but they certainly look somewhat familiar. Anybody know?
Thursday’s ad may not be a real ad, I’m not entirely sure. It’s for a Brasserie Belden, which I can’t find any information about at all. And the nature of the ad, more like a political attack ad, makes it seem more like a spoof than a real ad that someone might have actually ran. It has the look of an older ad, with the paper staining, at least after World War II, although it’s easy enough to fake that using PhotoShop. I don’t recall where I found this one and the fact that I can’t find any additional information about it on the interwebs further leads me to suspect its veracity, although it’s too funny not to share all the same. “Be a man. Drink Belden.”
Wednesday’s ad is for Biere Paillette, from Brasserie Paillette in Le Havre, Seine-Maritime, France. This one shows a seagull swooping in for a sip of beer floating on the sea. Beautiful.
Today is the birthday of the late Alan Eames, one of the first Americans who wrote extensively about beer, especially in a serious way, mining history and culture for his topics. I never met Alan, though I talked to him on the phone a few times. When he passed away a few years ago, my friend Pete Slosberg bought his library, and donated much of it to the Brewers Association in Boulder, Colorado, for their library. When Pete and his wife moved to San Francisco, he gave me several boxes from the library, mostly old newsletters, press releases and other miscellaneous stuff, including the poem below.
By coincidence, today is also the day when many people celebrate the Greek philosopher Aristotle’s birthday around 384 B.C.E. Nobody’s sure of the exact date that Aristotle was born, and I’m not even sure why today is used by so many sources, but it’s as good a day as any, I suppose. Anyway, I was browsing through boxes of Alan’s papers and found a Xeroxed copy of a 17th century poem from one of Eames’ books, “A Beer Drinker’s Companion,” from 1986, which also mentions Aristotle. The author is unknown, but it seemed appropriate because of the connection between Alan Eames and Aristotle and their mutual birthday today. Enjoy.
Beer and Women
While I’m at the tavern quaffing,
Well disposed for t’other quart,
Come’s my wife to spoil my laughing,
Telling me ’tis time to part:
Words I knew, were unavailing,
Yet I sternly answered, No!
‘Till from motives more prevailing,
Sitting down she treads my toe:
Such kind tokens to my thinking,
Most emphatically prove
That the joys that flow from drinking,
Are averse to those of love.
Farewell friends and t’other bottle,
Since I can no longer stay,
Love more learn’d than Aristotle,
Has, to move me, found the way.