Tuesday’s ad is for Blatz, from 1953. Apparently Milwaukee in olden days had Sousaphone players wearing Lederhosen serenading restaurant diners but nowadays, thanks to Blatz, it’s a violinist. I’m sure I’m in the minority here, but I actually love a good oompah band. I also have to wonder. How did they fill two pilsner glasses with only one bottle of beer?
Friday’s ad is for Blatz, from 1951, featuring that manly entertainer, Liberace, who is apparently from Milwaukee. Who knew?
Thursday’s ad is for Blatz, whose 1949 claims they they were “Milwaukee’s first bottled beer.” It’s also a celebrity endorsement ad, albeit a rather odd choice. Perhaps there was a series of these done with Milwaukee residents, since the top line reads “I’m from Milwaukee and I ought to know…” The endorsement comes from local dress designer La Verne Sunde, whose “good taste” is demonstrated with inset photos of her fitting someone with a dress she’s created. I’m not quite sure how that translates to beer knowledge, but I guess it’s no sillier than a baseball player doing the same thing.
Another gem I found in the digital archives of the Library of Congress is this series of photos and illustrations used in a pamphlet made around 1900 by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Co. The title of the pamphlet was “Schlitz, the beer that made Milwaukee famous.” Each of the photos in the Library of Congress were made from the original negatives and the photos depict the brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Today, Pabst owns the Schlitz brands and re-introduced it in bottles in 2008.
The Brewhouse. Original caption: “View in brewery of Schlitz Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.”
The Wash House. Original caption: “Men washing kegs in brewery of Schlitz Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and insert of exterior of the building.”
The Bottling Department. Original caption: “Two views of men and women working in bottling department of brewery of Schlitz, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.”
The Shipping Yard. Original caption: “Kegs of beer being transported on horse-drawn wagons at brewery of Schlitz Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.”
Thursday’s ad is for a classic Schlitz ad from 1951. Like many ads from that time period, it was drawn by Bill Fleming. His work has a distinctive look to it. I confess I have a “thing” for old Schlitz memorabilia, especially their Schlitzerland campaign and the period of years where they used the globe logo prominently, as I also had an obsession with globes, too. This one is still funny nearly sixty years later.
