Pabst Advertisements
Pabst Brewing Company was at one time the largest brewery in the nation. Begun in 1844 by Jacob Best, the brewery went under the name Jacob Best Brewery. Frederick Pabst took control of the business in 1869, changing the name to the Frederick Pabst Brewing Company in 1889. The brewery’s signature beer was Pabst Blue Ribbon. Having won the first place prize for beer at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the Pabst brew is still labeled with a blue ribbon. Pabst survived prohibition by turning to the production of alternative products such as near beer, sodas and cheese. After prohibition, Pabst increased sales throughout the nation, making it the largest in the country. However, financial difficulties came about in the 1970s and 1980s. 
Pabst closed the Milwaukee plant in 1996; however the famous Pabst Blue Ribbon is still being produced by MillerCoors.
The Pabst Brewing Company began advertising their product from the very beginning. Early ads ran in newspapers and city directories. They also produced show cards and posters. The company compiled many of these advertisements into scrapbooks, which were donated to the Milwaukee County Historical Society. The advertisements in the scrapbooks date from the late 1800s until prohibition. Included with the advertisements are many clippings of the Pabst Brewing Company. Together these albums provide a wonderful historic record of the early years of the Pabst Brewing Company.
