THE BEGINNINGS
- Of Bavarian Brewery
THE BEGINNINGS
- Of Bavarian Brewery
ADS - From Newspapers
SIGNS: NON-LIT e.g. MIRRORS, BANNERS & OTHERS
Non-lighted wall signs for both inside and outside display have been a popular way for brewers to advertise for decades. They are usually relatively inexpensive and can be varied in size to fit in many different places. This section deals with examples of non-lit signs and a couple banners after Prohibition. For examples before this era, please see Pre-Prohibition Signs.
MIRRORS / GLASS
Mirrors and reverse painted glass have been a popular means to create beer signs, even before Prohibition. The reflection from the mirror or glass would help provide some attraction. Following are some examples of mirror signs for the Bavarian Brewing Co. For an earlier mirror sign made around 1900 Please see Signs: Pre-Prohibition.
Circa 1946 - 1957. These Bavarian's Old Style Beer Mirrors date from 1946 until the mid 1950s. The larger sign below measures about a foot wide, and could easily be hung, or also propped on a shelf. Besides consisting mostly of a mirror, it also includes a paper strip at the bottom emphasizing "A Man's Beer." The smaller sign below measures 8 by 4 inches and could be placed on a shelf with a cardboard stand.
NON-LIT SIGNS
Examples of Bavarian signs and a banner displayed below chronologically within two groups.; those for Bavarian's' Old Style Beer and those for Bavarian's Select Beer.
Circa 1946 - 1957. All the signs below are from the Bavarian Brewing Co. The banner emphasizes the brewer's trademark and shield as well as its slogan. The next two items the first row have similar frames, but one emphasizes the slogan and the other emphasizes the trade mark and a different slogan - …brewed the old style way. In the middle row the first two items features Bavarian's main "A Man's Beer" slogan. But the last two images indicates "That Women Like Too!" as well as "...And Her Too" which began around 1953, and tries to incorporate a feminine touch with the inclusion of what appears to be a planter with some flowers.
Circa 1957 - 1959. The following signs are for Bavarian/s Select Beer from Bavarian Brewing Co. The larger sign below is similar to the blacklit signs that were made during this period, probably from around 1957. The oval sign was dated in early 1959, just before the merger with Bavarian Brewing Co. and IBI.
Circa 1959 - 1966. The following signs are for Bavarian/s Select Beer from International Breweries Inc. (IBI). The first sign used a phrase from around 1961. iiTYWYBAB sign is supposed to generate the question; What does it mean? The answer is; "If I tell You Will You Buy A Bavarian's?" A similar saying was used in Steinbeck's Grapes of Wrath where iitywybad was used in a scene at a bar. It was explained to mean: "If I tell you will you buy another drink?" As this "word" or group of letters has been used by others, sometimes there have been certain minor variations. For example, the "a" for "another" is sometimes replaced by an "m" for "me" and the last "d" for drink is replaced with a "b" for Beer - or Bavarian/s. The sign with Mel-O-Dry was used from about late 1961 through 1963. The banner sign is from around 1964 using the "Bold Beer" slogan Bavarian/s started that year until it closed in 1966, and recognizes the first place taste award Bavarian/s received in Belgium in 1962. IBI provided a dual image sign in the early 1960s that changed as the sign was viewed at a different angle. Shown are the two images produced by this sign.
Circa 1967. This is one of the few signs known from Associated Brewing Co. (ABC), which acquired the rights to brew Bavarian/s when IBI went out of the brewing business in 1966. ABC brewed Bavarian/s primarily at their Evansville plant through the late 1960s.
