1290 Dr Seuss and Schaefer Beer

Munsey –––––––––––––– Dr. Seuss & Schaefer Beer –––––––––––––––––––––
FINAL DRAFT
Cecil Munsey, PhD
13541 Willow Run Road
Poway, CA (USA)
Phone:
858-487-7036
e-mail:
[email protected]
Website Article:
No. 1290
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1
Sept. 2012
2,175
23
First Serial Only
Open
Open
History
Dr. Seuss drew whimsical “Seuss-ified”
Advertising Art in the early 1940s for
Schaefer Bock Beer and Narragansett Ale and Beer
(Fig. 1. Theodor [“Dr. Seuss”] Geisel)
(Fig. 2. 1940 Schaefer Bock Beer poster
by Dr. Seuss)
(Fig. 3. painted-embossed Schaefer beer
bottles)
(Fig. 4. Embossed Schaefer beer bottle)
Researched, organized, illuminated, and presented by
Cecil Munsey, PhD
Copyright© 2012
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“Donʼt cry because itʼs over.
Smile because it happened.”
Dr. Seuss
Dr. Seuss – the early years
Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known to the world as the beloved author and
artist Dr. Seuss, was born in March 1904, in Springfield, Massachusetts. Tedʼs
father, Theodor Robert Geisel, and grandfather were brew masters who owned
and operated the successful Kuhlmbach & Geisel Brewery in the city. In 1894 it
was renamed the Highland Brewery and five years later it became part of the
Springfield Breweries. In 1919 on the day Theodor Robert became president,
prohibition forced the brewery to close forever.
Although the Geisels enjoyed financial success for many years, the onset of
World War I (1914) and national Prohibition (1919-1933) presented both financial
and social challenges for German immigrants who made their living brewing beer.
Nonetheless, the family persevered and again prospered after “The Nobel
Experiment” of prohibition was repealed and the “Great Depression” (1930-1940)
ran its course.
A child during World War I, Ted acquired a sense of patriotism that would
remain with him his entire life. As a Scout, he worked to sell U.S. War Bonds In an
often-told story, he sold so many that he was supposed to receive an award, along
with 10 other boys, from former President (1901-1909) Theodore Roosevelt.
However, during the awards ceremony, Roosevelt found the he only had nine
medals to give, and when he got to Ted, standing at the end of the row, he asked,
“Whatʼs this boy doing here?” For the rest of his life, Geisel suffered from acute
stage fright, and sometimes he skipped speaking engagements altogether.
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Ted left Springfield as a teenager to attend
Dartmouth College (Fig. 5) in New Hampshire, where
he became editor-in-chief of the Jack-O-Lantern
(Fig. 6), Dartmouthʼs humor magazine (Fig. 7).
Although his tenure as editor ended prematurely
when Ted and his friends were caught throwing a
drinking party, which was against prohibition laws
and school policy, he continued to contribute to the
magazine, signing his work “Seuss.” This is the first
record of the “Seuss” pseudonym, which were both
Tedʼs middle name and his motherʼs maiden name.
(Fig. 6. masthead)
(Fig. 7. Jack-o-Lantern cover)
(Fig. 5. Ted Geisel as a
college student in 1925)
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To please his father, who wanted him to be a college professor, Ted went to
Oxford University in England after graduation. However, his academic studies bored
him, and he decided to tour Europe instead. Oxford did provide him the opportunity
to meet classmate, Helen Palmer, who not only became his first wife, but also a
fellow childrenʼs author and book editor.
Back home again
After returning to the United States, Ted began to pursue a career as a
cartoonist. The Saturday Evening Post and other publications such as Life
magazine, Vanity Fair, Judge, and others published some of his early pieces, but
the bulk of Tedʼs activity during his early career was devoted to creating advertising
campaigns for Standard Oil (Fig. 8) [which he did for 15 years], General Electric
(Fig. 9), Ajax Cups, Ford automobiles, Holly Sugar (Fig. 10), and others including
a bottle collecting favorite – Schaefer Beer [est. 1842] (Fig. 11). He also drew
advertising art for another bottle collecting favorite – the famous Narragansett
Brewery [est. 1890] (Fig. 12) of Cranston, Rhode Island.
(Fig. 8. ESSO gasoline (Standard Oil brand) ad)
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(Fig. 9. General Electric advertisement)
(Fig. 10. Holly Sugar advertising by Seuss)
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(Fig. 11. Narragansett Chief Gansett Dr. Seuss serving tray)
(Fig. 12. Shaefer Bock Beer poster from 1940)
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Schaefer Beer
Longest operating brewery in New York
City, last operating brewery in New York City
[as of 1976], and America's oldest lager beer
brewing company -- these honors, plus many
others, all belong to the F. & M. Schaefer
Brewing Company.
"F. & M." as most breweriana buffs know,
stands for Frederick (Fig. 13) and
Maximilian, the brothers who founded
Schaefer Brewing Company. Frederick
Schaefer, a native of Wetzlar, Prussia,
(Fig. 13. Frederick Schaefer)
Germany, emigrated to the U.S. in 1838.
When he arrived in New York City on October 23rd he was 21 years old and had
exactly $1.00 to his name. There is some doubt as to whether or not he had been a
practicing brewer in Germany, but there is no doubt that he was soon a practicing
brewer in his adopted city. Within two weeks of his landing, Frederick took a job with
Sebastian Sommers, who operated a small brew-house on Broadway, between 18th
and 19th Streets. Frederick obviously enjoyed both his job and life in America, and
the next year his younger brother, Maximilian, decided to make the arduous trip
across the Atlantic also. He arrived in June of 1839 and brought with him a formula
for lager, a type of beer popular in Germany but unheard of in the United States.
The brothers dreamed, and planned, and saved – and in the late summer of 1842
they were able to buy the small brewery from Sommers (Fig. 14). The official, and
historic, starting date for Schaefer beer was September 1842.
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(Fig. 14. Schaefer Brewery 1842)
Geisel drew the breweryʼs famous Schafer bock beer poster, in 1940, which
featured a charming Billy goat – see figure two.
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Narragansett Brewery
The Narragansett Brewing Company was founded in 1890 (Fig. 15) with
$150,000 in capital. A brick brewing house was built in Cranston, Rhode Island, and
in December 1890, the first beer was produced. The following year, the company
officially incorporated.
(Fig. 15. Narragansett Brewery logo)
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The grounds of the Narragansett Brewing Company eventually (Fig. 16)
included a barn, a stable, a blacksmith, seventy-five horses, forty-five wagons, gaspowered trucks, electric trucks, twenty-five refrigerated train cars and its own ice
plant.
(Fig. 16. Narragansett Brewery Cranston R.I.
poster of the brewery)
In 1914, when the company built the most modern bottling plant in the region,
it became official: Narragansett Brewing Company was the largest lager beer
brewery in New England (Fig. 17).
(Fig. 17. Narraagansett beer bottles and can)
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In the late 1940s Ted Geisel drew advertising art for this famous brewery
(Fig. 18) similar to that he had done for Schaefer Brewery.
(18. Dr.Seuss Coaster for Narragansett
Brewing Co. [Chief Gansett])
Rudolf F. Haffenreffer, a Rhode Island industrialist and philanthropist with
Massachusetts brewing interests, would eventually become president and chairman
of Narragansett Brewing Company and remain involved until his death in 1954. The
Haffenreffer brewery in Boston survived until 1965, at which time brands Haffenreffer
Lager Beer, Pickwick Ale and Pickwick Bock Beer were licensed to the Narragansett
Brewing Company.
Falstaff Brewing Company purchased Narragansett Brewing Company on
July 15, 1965 for $17 million in cash and $2 million in Falstaff common stock. The
plan was for the brewery to continue operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of
Falstaff, under Haffenreffer management, and that the Narragansett brand would be
retained and actively promoted.
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World War II art
As World War II began, Ted turned to drawing political cartoons. He drew
over 400 in two years for a New York City daily newspaper, PM. They mostly
opposed the viciousness of Hitler and Mussolini and were highly critical of
isolationists, most notably Charles Lindbergh, who opposed American entry into the
war.
In 1942, Theodor Geisel (Dr. Seuss) turned his energies to direct support of
the U.S. war effort. First he worked drawing posters for the Treasury Department
and the War Production Board.
Geiselʼs work for the war effort was reminiscent of Walt Disneyʼs. While
Geisel drew more than 400 posters, Disney drew insignia for the fighting services.
Of the insignia created during WWII, by the Disney staff, over 400 alone featured
Donald Duck. Pluto was second in the line of favorite Disney characters featured on
insignia. Many of the other Disney characters were used on other fighting fetishes.
While Disney characters were most often requested, Waltʼs artists filled requests for
bears, lions, tigers, eagles, mermaids, and many others. Disney created more than
2,000 insignia for the war effort. Such character insignia appeared on shoulder
patches, lapel buttons, decals, pin-back buttons, decorated mugs and glasses and
wall plaques. And all of Disneyʼs work was contributed at no cost.
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Dr. Suessʼs books
In 1936, Dr. Seuss wrote a poem tat was turned into a book (Fig. 19).
Interestingly, the book was rejected 27 times before bring published by Vanguard
Press (1926-1988).
(Fig. 19. And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street)
After the war, Dr. Seuss and his wife moved to La Jolla, California near San
Diego. Returning to childrenʼs books, he wrote what many consider to be his finest
works, including such favorites as “If I Ran the Zoo”, (1950), “Scrambled Eggs
Super! “ (1953), “On Beyond Zebra!” (1955),“If I Ran The Circus!” (1956), and
“How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (1957).
Using only 220 words, Seuss next wrote “The Cat in the Hat” (Fig. 20). This
book was a tour tour de force – it retained the drawing style, verse rhythms, and all
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the imaginative power of Seussʼs earlier works, but because of its simplified
vocabulary could be read by beginning readers. Using only fifty words he next wrote
“Green Eggs and Ham” (Fig. 21).
(Fig. 20. The Cat in the Hat [1957])
(Fig. 21. Green Eggs and Ham)
Dr. Seuss went on to write many other children's books, both in his new
simplified-vocabulary manner (sold as "Beginner Books") and in his older, more
elaborate style. The Beginner Books were not easy for Seuss, and reportedly he
labored for months crafting them.
At various times Seuss also wrote
books for adults that used the same style of
verse and pictures: “The Seven Lady
Godivas”, “Oh, The Places You'll Go!” and
his final book, “Youʼre Only Old Once”, a
satire of hospitals and the geriatric lifestyle
(Figs. 22 & 23).
(Fig. 22. Ted Geisel with book
“You're Only Old Once”)
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(Fig. 23. Dr. Seuss for older folks ­ Parental Guidance Suggested
as they warn in the film industry)
During a very difficult illness, Helen Palmer Geisel committed suicide on
October 23, 1967. Ted was grief-stricken. In addition to overseeing his business
functions, Helen had served as his primary companion, collaborator, and motivator.
After remarrying to Audrey Stone Diamond, Seuss on June 21, 1968 he
resumed his hectic schedule. Geisel produced films nearly every year through the
1970s, and two to three books a year almost without pause between 1957 and 1976.
After 1980 he slowed down, publishing one book a year, then every two years, until
his final book (see above) in 1990.
Seuss himself died, following several years of illness, in La Jolla, California on
September 24, 1991. At the time of this death he had written 44 childrenʼs books.
His books had been translated into more than 15 languages. Over 200 million
copies had found their way into homes and hearts around the world. His honors
included two Academy awards, two Emmy awards, a Peabody award and the
Pulitzer Prize.
To think, Geiselʼs early work included two of bottle collectingʼs favorite
advertising characters of the 1940s – cartooned advertising posters featuring (1) a
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charming billy goat for (New Yorkʼs) Schaefer Bock Beer and (2) the irrepressible
Indian, “Chief Gansett” for (Rhode Islandʼs) The Narragansett Brewery.
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Selected References:
Books:
The Western Brewer.Art, Science and Industry of Brewing in the World, Particularly
During the Nineteenth Century (A Supplelment to The Western Brewer,
1903), H. S. Rich & Co., publishers, 1903 (Page 213).
Anderson, Will. “The Beer Book – An Illustrated Guide To American Breweriana,”
The Pyne Press. Princeton, New Jersey, 1973.
Munsey, Cecil. “The Illustrated Guide to BOTTLE COLLECTING,” Hawthorn Books,
Inc., New York, 1970.
___________. “The Collectibles of Coca-Cola”, Hawthorn Books, Inc., New York,
1972.
–––––––––––. “DISNEYANA, WALT DISNEY COLLECTIBLES”, Hawthorn Books,
Inc., New York, 1974.
Internet:
http://en.wikiperida.0rg/wiki/Schafer_Beer
http://www.schaefer-beer.com/history/default.aspx
http://www.beerhistory.com/library/holdings/schaefer_anderson
http://www.schaefer-beer.com/about/
http://libraries.ucsd.edu/specccoll/dsads/
http://www.quotationspage.com/quotes/Dr._Seuss/
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/seuss1.html
http://news.yahoo.com/dr-seuss-beer-advertisement-1940-1336
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http://libraries.ucsd.edu/speccoll/dslenttowar/
http://now.dartmouth.edu/2012/04/dartmouth-names-medical
http://www.jeanstephengalleries.com/seuss-bio.html
http://www.catinthehat.org/history.htm
http://www.earlymoments.com/Dr-Seuss--His-Friends-Club/The…
http://www.narragansettbeer.com/2009/12/who-knew-dr-seuss-could-brew
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narragansett_Brewing_Company
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FAIR USE NOTICE
Fair use notice: Some material in this article was originally published by the sources above
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Cecil Munsey, PhD
13541 Willow Run Road
Poway, CA 92064-1733
Phone: 858-487-7036
E-mail: [email protected]
Munsey –––––––––––––– Dr. Seuss & Schaefer Beer ––––––––––––––––––––– 17
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