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Rare Narragansett Beer Poster Drawn By Dr. Seuss!

Rare color lithographed poster, drawn by Theodore Geisel, the author/artist who would later become famous as Dr. Seuss.

The Famous Narragansett Bock beer was first produced on February 8th, 1912, by the Narragansett Brewery, of Providence, Rhode Island, which held a Bock Beer Festival on the brewery grounds every spring until the Festival got a bit too crazy in the 1970's.

Well known for it's "Hi, Neighbor! Have a 'Gansett" slogan, Narragansett Brewery struggled mightily during the Prohibition years. In an effort to revive the brewery after suffering significant financial losses, Narragansett approached a young artist to design a new mascot as part of a marketing campaign.  The artist, Theodore Geisel (who would go on to fame as Dr. Seuss), created Narragansetts' iconic "Chief Gansett" character.  This was not Geisel's first beer promotional art, as he also produced a poster for Schaefer Bock Beer which also employed a similarly Seussian character.

The Geisel family had a prior American brewery history, as his father and grandfather were both brewers. After arriving in America from Germany, the family owned a brewery in Springfield, Massachusetts named Kalmbach & Geisel (affectionately called "Come Back and Guzzle" by the locals) which was renamed Highland Brewery and later Springfield Breweries.  During prohibition, the Geisels were forced to close the brewery and Theodore's father found work as the city's Park Superintendent. 

The following is drawn from Ian Donnis' Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel’s Rhode Island connection (March 12, 2012)

[O]ne of the most interesting facts that we found was both his father, Theodor Robert Geisel, and grandfather Geisel were brewers. In fact his German immigrant grandfather owned the Kalmbach and Geisel Brewery, or Come Back and Guzzle by the locals, in Springfield. In 1894 it was renamed the Highland Brewery and five years later it became part of the Springfield Breweries. But in 1919 on the day Theodor Robert became president, prohibition forced the brewery to close forever. . . 

Although he never got his chance to brew in the family business, it’s clear he stayed true to the roots of his German heritage and tied it in with his New England heritage for Narragansett Brewing. His Chief Gansett illustrations were iconic during Rudolf Haffenreffer Jr.’s reign as president of Narragansett. And the Seuss tray and coasters have become hot breweriana items for collectors everywhere. ‘Tis the season for ‘Gansett and Dr. Seuss classics, they are both “TOO GOOD TO MISS!”

Rarity

The poster is apparently very rare on the market.