Classic Ads, Signs And Photos

By. Jim Crooks

One of my favorite parts of my job as Narragansett’s sales & marketing guy over the past 4+ years has been receiving all of the e-mails with pictures from Gansett days gone by. Often, they accompany stories of how a teenager’s first sip of beer was stolen from dad’s garage fridge, or of an uncle who used to work at the brewery, or a grandfather who cherished his old Gansett beer lighted sign, or the local store that still has the old Gansett sign out front from 50 years ago. We have also received a lot of really cool old Narragansett print ads that span the decades of the 20th century when New England’s finest was on top of the local beer world. Here are some of my favorite pics that we’ve received:

Light box with color wheel

These were made in the 1930’s and 1940’s, and occasionally we’ll come across one on E-Bay. They can go for as much as $400 - $500. This particular light box now lives at The Abbey in Providence, RI.

Gansett event photo - 1960’s

This picture was taken during the set-up process for an event in the 1960’s. It reminds me of our current crew scrambling to get ready for a beer fest.

Alfred Sirois

A picture of a Gansett worker from 1963 in Caribou, ME...love that outfit! Looks like he’s about to make a call on the rotary phone or type up some invoices on the typewriter....classic!

1950’s lighted sign

While not quite as elegant as its predecessor from the ’30’s, this might be my favorite sign that Gansett ever made...it’s straightforward and gets the job done while also doubling as a clock.

Turk’s Head ad - 1930’s

This is a very cool ad from the 1930’s touting the brewing advantages provided by Narragansett’s tremendous production capacity at that time.