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POSTCARDS, PAMPHLETS & POSTERS

This section includes those items that are mostly made of paper and those of cardboard. These items are considered to be somewhat different than signs, which are often lighted, or made of a more durable material like metal, wood, plastic, glass, etc.  The pictures or posters on paper usually did not come with a frame and could simply be attached to a wall with scotch tape or thumb tacks, but many were often later framed.  Most cardboard items were a type of poster and often referred to as "prop-ups" because they usually had a built in fold out cardboard stand that allowed them to be propped-up and free standing  on a table, bar or other flat area.  A common theme with many of these items is that they were of old time subjects, or images of men.  And those in the late 1940s and early 1950s used old-time scenes or subject matter to correspond with the "old" style of Bavarian's Old Style Beer.

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PRE-PROHIBITION POSTCARDS & PAMPHLETS

PICTURES c. Early 1900s. Pictures before Prohibition are rather rare. An unusual picture from the Bottling Department advertising (Standard) Bavarian Beer, which is a colored sketching on metal is on the left below. Only a black and white rendering of the image below on the right was available, obtained from former Bavarian Brewing Co. archives.

Postcards

c. Early 1900s. Postcards were extremely popular around the beginning of the 20th Century.  As people traveled, they would send postcards to their relatives and friends, usually to let them know about their trip. At that time, there was an annual average of several postcards sent for each person in the U.S.  As shown below, they were also used to advertise various products, such as beer, and there could be some interesting sayings on the back of postcards as well. Please note that the postcard of the brewery complex, bottom right, is not exactly accurate. For a precise view of the brewery please see Letterheads.

Pamphlet

c. Early 1900s. A pamphlet, is also known as a leaflet or handbill, have been around for centuries. It can also be referred to as a flier or flyer. However, since the early 20th Century, a flyer can also has become known to usually mean someone who flies typically in an airplane. Less commonly used, it can also mean a trapeze artist.  Pamphlets have handed out to promote a product or service especially during gatherings of large number of people. The leaflet below was printed a century ago and both sides are shown.  Some interesting and somewhat amusing aspects of this pamphlet it promotes the health benefits and virtues of "pure and good beers," like Riedlin's Select and Bavarian Style  beers, to recovering invalids.  It also compares beer to liquid bread.  On the reverse side of the leaflet, the cost of the beer long ago was mentioned to be $3.50 for 48 small (11.5 oz.) bottles, or just 7.3 cents per bottle. Besides promoting the consumption of quantities of beer that could be delivered direct from the brewery, it is also noteworthy that customers were encouraged to return bottles and cases by receiving a significant credit for both. This reduced the actual cost of the beer considerably. Please click the images for better viewing. The provenance of this item is from the past owners of the Bavarian Brewery and it is now part of the Schott Family Collection at the Behringer - Crawford Museum.

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AFTER PROHIBITION POSTERS, STREET CARD ADS & PROP UPS

Posters were made that were sometime simply tacked on a wall, but that were also framed. There were also rectangular ads that were made for posting in street cars, and prop-up posters, as depicted and briefly discussed below.

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POSTERS c. 1942 - 1945.

The paper posters on the side from Bavarian Brewing Co. promoted the WWII defense efforts. These are some early posters after Prohibition when the Schott Brothers acquired the brewer in 1938.  They were likely posted on street cars in the area below the ceiling and above the window. Cincinnati had an extensive electric railway system that was dissolved in the mid 1950s. Other brewers also promoted the war efforts not only with posters, but also ads. All the local brewers in Cincinnati would sometimes take out and ad together to support defense efforts.  (See Ads: Bavarian's 1935 to 1945.)  Due to rations imposed in WWII, the production capacity was limited during the war years.   

POSTERS - Late 1940s & Early 1950s. The first image below is a colorful paper poster of a dancer entitled "Ripplin Rhythm." The original was done in 1948 by Rolf Armstrong, the famed pin-up artist from the 1930s and 1940s. The poster with a snowman was probably an used on street cars, like the previous posters above. The Schitzelbank poster from 1953 shows most of the usual images and names used in an old German folk and drinking song, which was modified to promote Bavarian's Old Style Beer.