Old Blackhawk Beer Advertisement Independent Malting Co. Davenport

 

Another fun brewery advertisement for Old Blackhawk Beer, brewed by the Independent Malting Co. This one is from The Daily Times. July 16, 1907.

Advertisement Holsman-Stevens Auto Company Des Moines

(Des Moines Register. June 23, 1918)

Interesting advertisement for the King Auto from Holsman-Stevens Auto Company in Des Moines. It has a tie in to the races at the Des Moines Speedway. It give a good look at how automobiles had changed from 1894 to 1918.

Sioux City Brewing Company Heidel-Brau Beer

 

(The Sioux City Journal. July 12, 1914)

The Sioux City Brewing Company opened in 1899, founded by Joseph Baumgartner and Abel Anderson. Its brick brewery became part of a growing industrial city filled with packinghouses, railroads, factories, and plenty of thirsty workers.

Its beers included Bavarian Export, Extra Pale Select, Western Brew and Alpen Rose. By 1914, newspaper ads were also pushing Heidel-Brau, promoted as “The Royal German Beer.” The name would survive long after the original brewery was gone.

Ownership changed around 1908, when George Kingsbury and F. L. Eaton bought the company. They took over at a tricky time to be in the beer business. Iowa’s temperance movement was getting stronger, and brewers and saloon owners were facing an ever-growing pile of rules.

Sioux City Brewing tried to work around them.

One answer was Justus Beer, a low-alcohol brew made much like regular lager, except fermentation was stopped early. It contained only one-half of one percent alcohol. Even that wasn’t simple. A dispute over Justus helped produce an Iowa Supreme Court case in 1910.

Still, the beer kept flowing.

By the 1910s, Sioux City Brewing was selling several brands and distributing its products beyond Sioux City. Heidel-Brau advertisements from 1914 show a brewery still actively fighting for customers.

Then Iowa pulled the plug.

Statewide prohibition arrived in 1916, ending legal beer production. Sioux City Brewing shut down, and its brewery went quiet.

For the moment, anyway.

The company—and Heidel-Brau—would eventually get another life after Prohibition.

Barney Oldsfield Sold A Lot Of Iowans On Peerless Automobiles

 

(Omaha Daily Bee. August 21, 1904)

Barney Oldfield didn’t just race cars. He scared the hell out of people with them.

 

In the early 1900s, most Americans were getting used to automobiles. Oldfield was tearing around dirt tracks at speeds that seemed insane. 

 

His daredevil antics made him America’s first racing superstar. Crowds came just to see what he’d do next—and maybe to see whether he’d survive another day at the track.

 

In 1904, Oldfield became a spokesperson for Peerless, a Cleveland automobile maker. His racing machine, the Green Dragon, was a stripped-down monster built for speed.

 

And Oldfield knew how to sell a show.

 

He raced at fairgrounds and horse tracks, challenging other drivers. Chasing speed records. Newspapers followed him everywhere. Peerless quickly figured out that having the country’s most famous driver behind the wheel was pretty good advertising.

 

That’s exactly what this ad was selling.

 

It promised spectators a chance to see a Peerless driven by “the world’s most fearless driver—Barney Oldfield.” You weren’t just going to see a car race. You were going to see Barney Oldfield.

 

The Green Dragon made Peerless famous. And Barney Oldfield made automobile racing a spectacle Americans couldn’t stop watching.

 

This advertisement was published in Omaha, but targeted at Iowa and Nebraska drivers. It sold cars. Lots of them.

 

Blue Label Beer Advertisement Sioux Falls Brewing and Malting Co.

 

The Sioux City Journal. June 9, 1907.

Blue Label wasn't brewed locally, but it was widely available in Western Iowa in the early 1900's. The Native American warrior gives it a unique look. As the add says, "Order a trial case," from the Sioux Falls Brewing and Malting Co., Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Budweiser Beer Advertisement Jos. E. Rosenfeld Council Bluffs

 

The Evening Nonpareil.April 29, 1913.

I really like this early Budweiser advertisement. It shows the Anheuser-Busch Plant in St. Louis, and references the local distributor - Jos. E. Rosenfeld in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show Comes To Davenport July 9, 1913

The Daily Times. July 8, 1913.

Buffalo Bill brought his Wild West Show to Davenport on July 9, 1913, and gave the city a front-row seat to the Old West.

The show had played in Moline on July 8, then crossed the river for a July 9 stop in Davenport. The grounds were set up on Telegraph Road next to the baseball field, but the real action started downtown.

Thousands packed the streets for the parade. Kids climbed curbs. Men tipped hats. Women craned their necks for a better look. Leading the procession were Buffalo Bill and Pawnee Bill.

The parade had about everything you could imagine. Cowboys, cowgirls, ropers, riders, old stagecoaches, soldiers, and performers from all over the world. A cowboy band played on horseback. Mexican Rurales rode in formation. Elephants and camels lumbered along behind them.

Native American performers were a major draw. Iron Cloud led the procession. Reports said he had been twelve years old at the time of Custer’s defeat at Little Big Horn in 1876. Another man, Yellow Hand, was the son of a chief who fought there.

The Davenport Democrat and Leader called it “a pleasing blending of the Wild West.”

After the parade, everybody headed for the showgrounds. The afternoon performance kicked off at 1 p.m. The evening show opened at 8.

Neustadt's Deptatment Store Davenport Dave Neustadt

 

The Daily Times. July 11, 1913.

This was a new one on me. I'm guessing it was a department store that featured clothing and shoes, but I wasn't able to find much about it online. What I like best is the picture of the building and the owner, Dave Neustadt. The store was located on the corner of Second and Main Street in Davenport.

Bernhard & Turner Auto Company Advertisement

 This advertisement for the Rauch & Lang Worm Drive Automobile was published in the Des Moines Register, circa 1912-1915. Bernhard & Turner Auto Company ws located at 508-10-12 Seventh Street in Des Moines.

Klemme Auto Company Advertisement Davenport 1911

 

The Davenport Democrat and Leader. February 5, 1911.

Here's another great advertisement featuring early automobiles from 1911. Do you think every car they built was a convertible? or did they just look good in the ad?

Klemme Auto Company was located on Brady Street in Davenport, Iowa, and carried Buick and Oldsmobile vehicles. 

Velie Motors Corporation Advertisement 1917

 

The Daily Times. May 31, 1917.

This advertisement for the Velie Motors Corporation really caught my eye. It has a great picture of the manufacturing plant, across the river from Davenport in Moline, Illinois, and look at the lines on that car.. It's a classic. At $1185, it would cost just over $30,000 in today's money.

And you can be sure the cars were hand-crafted. They produced just fifteen cars a day. That's 450 cars a month if they worked seven days a week, or roughly 5,000 cars per year.

Coliseum Rollaway Grand Masquerade Davenport 1908

 

The Davenport Democrat and Leader. January 19, 1908.

This one surprised me. A masquerade skating party in 1908. if the advertisement is to be believed, everyone was required to wear a mask. And no intoxicating beverages were served.

Rollerskating must have been a big thing, because they offered a Masquerade Skate every evening and Sunday afternoon.

Balkan Princess At The Burtis Theater Davenport 1913

 

Colorized image, showing the cast of The Balkan Princess

The Balkan Princess was performed at the Burtis Opera House on March 30, 1913. The Daily Times descibed it as a "bubbling musical comedy." It was filled with sentiment and happiness and told the story of the romance between Princess Stephanie of Balavia and Grand Duke Sergius. 

Coca-Cola Advertisement 1914

 

Coca-Cola was Iowa's drink of choice in 1914. And as we learn from the ad, it wasn't just for men or women. Coca-Cola was "Everybody's Drink." This advertisement was printed in the Des Moines Register on September 20, 1914.

Advertisement Clemens Automobile Company Des Moines, Iowa

 

This advertisement for the 1915 Overland Model 80 automobile was published in the Des Moines Register, August 23, 1914. It was available from the Clemens Automobile Company, located at Fourth and Grand Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa.

Brown-Williams Auto Co. Advertisement Des Moines 1909

This advertisement for the Brown-Williams Auto Co. appeared in the Des Moines Register on January 17, 1909. The dealership was located at 512 Grand Avenue in Des Moines, Iowa.

 

Torpedo Motorcycles Advertisement 1909

This advertisement for Torpedo Motorcyles was published in The Daily Times on April 3, 1909. The cycles manufactured by The Hornecker Motor Mfg. Co, in Geneseso, Illinois, were sold by John Vollertsen in Davenport, Iowa.

Cadillac Advertisement Davenport Auto Show

Check out this sexy new Cadillac convertible that was featured at the 1912 Auto Show in Davenport, Iowa. This advertisement for the Iowa Auto and Tire Company was published in The Cedar Rapids Gazette. February 24, 1912.

1912 Velie Motor Vehicle Co. Advertisement

 

This advertisement for the Velie Motor Vehicle Co., Moline, Illinois, was published in The Daily Times on February 24, 1912.

1905 Olds Motor Works Advertisement Davenport Iowa

 

If you lived in Davenport in 1905, the Oldsmobile Touring Car might have been the automobile for you. This advertisement for Mason's Carriage Works was published in The Daily Times on April 8, 1905.