Archives West Finding Aid
Table of Contents
Rainier Brewing Company Advertisements and Other Materials, 1935-1998
Overview of the Collection
- Creator
- Rainier Brewing Company
- Title
- Rainier Brewing Company Advertisements and Other Materials
- Dates
- 1935-1998 (inclusive)19351998
- Quantity
-
3 boxes , (3 linear feet)
plus oversize posters - Collection Number
- 1999.64
- Summary
- Items from the Rainier Brewing Company in Seattle, mainly advertising and marketing materials.
- Repository
-
Museum of History & Industry, Sophie Frye Bass Library
P.O. Box 80816
Seattle, WA
98108
Telephone: 2063241126 x102
library@mohai.org - Access Restrictions
-
The collection is open to the public by appointment.
- Languages
- English.
- Sponsor
- Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Historical NoteReturn to Top
The Seattle Brewing and Malting Company, located in the Georgetown neighborhood of Seattle, was founded in 1893. Its plant was the largest brewery west of the Mississippi by the early 1900s, and with ensuing additions it became the sixth largest in the world by 1912. The company's Rainier Beer was popular throughout the West, but when Washington went dry in 1916, the brewery went idle. After Prohibition was repealed, Fritz Sick and his son Emil bought the brewery and the rights to use the Rainier brand, expanding their operations as they became increasingly successful. G. Heileman bought the brewery in 1977; it then had a string of owners finally ending with the Stroh Brewing Company in the mid-1990s. The Rainier brand struggled in the 1980s and 1990s, despite a creative and popular advertising campaign. When Stroh's left the beer business, a company called General Brewing bought the recipe and the rights to the brand.
Content DescriptionReturn to Top
This collection mainly consists of advertising and marketing materials from the Rainier Brewing Company, including broadcast ads, print pieces (including posters) and miscellaneous promotional materials.
Use of the CollectionReturn to Top
Restrictions on Use
The Museum of History & Industry is the owner of the materials in the Sophie Frye Bass Library and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from MOHAI before any reproduction use. The museum does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the copyright owners.
Preferred Citation
Rainier Brewing Company Advertisements and Other Materials, Museum of History & Industry, Seattle
Administrative InformationReturn to Top
Location of Collection
14a.4.5-7 (Boxes 1 & 2)Location of Collection
5a.1.3 (Box 3 - videotapes)Location of Collection
VI.a.17 (posters)Acquisition Information
The collection was donated by the Stroh Brewery Company in 1999.
Separated Materials
These materials are part of a donation that also included a number of artifacts. These artifacts are cataloged and stored separately by MOHAI's Collections Department.
Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top
Series 1: Advertisements and Other Paper Materials Return to Top
Advertisements, marketing materials, table signs, and other promotional items created by the Rainier Brewing Co. This series also contains two magazines as well as the memoirs of the company's onetime owner, Emil Sick. Sick was also the owner of the Seattle Rainiers baseball team.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box | ||
| 2 | 1999.64.44: Table signs, poster, scorecard |
undated |
| 1 | 1999.64.55: Stock certificate ledger |
circa 1935-1937 |
| 2 | 1999.64.57-.58: Bound sets of plans for G. Heileman Brewing Co. Inc. |
1988 February |
| 1 | 1999.64.59: Henry Weinhardt promotional brochure (2 copies) |
1997 |
| 1 | 1999.64.60: Henry Weinhardt porter and amber ale brochure (2 copies) |
circa 1997 |
| 1 | 1999.64.61: Henry Weinhardt blackberry wheat ale brochure |
circa 1997 |
| 1 | 1999.64.62: Emerald City Ale brochure |
1990s |
| 1 | 1999.64.63: Emerald City Ale ad slicks |
undated |
| 1 | 1999.64.64: Rainier Ale 22-ounce bottle brochure (2 copies) |
circa 1993 |
| 2 | 1999.64.65: Stand-up display ad |
1993 |
| 2 | 1999.64.66: Pad of joke quizzes “What to do if you sight a Mountain Fresh
Rainier” |
undated |
| 2 | 1999.64.67: Rainier Brewing Co. recycling program information sheet (2 copies)
|
undated |
| 2 | 1999.64.69: Original art for advertisement “Return of the fresh” |
undated |
| 2 | 1999.64.70: “Designated driver” ad layout |
undated |
| 1 | 1999.64.71: Rainier Draft advertising box (includes video) |
undated |
| 2 | 1999.64.73: Mounted photograph of hand pouring can of Rainier beer into
glass |
undated |
| 1 | 1999.64.75: Brewers Digest magazine |
1968 November |
| 1 | 1999.64.77: Fine Lettering, Illuminating & Heraldry
by Jeannie Rodway |
1960 |
| 1 | 1999.64.78: Pacific Coast Review magazine |
1970 October |
| 1 | 1999.64.79: Seafair guide, 40th anniversary issue |
1989 |
| 2 | 1999.64.80: Rainier “R” layout |
undated |
| 1 | 1999.64.81: "Wild MFR" postcard (2 copies) |
undated |
| 1 | 1999.64.83: Draft Revenue Chart (bartender training tool) |
undated |
| 2 | 1999.64.84: “Egghead” Rainier Beer advertisement |
undated |
| 2 | 1999.64.85: Rainier “R” layout |
undated |
| 1 | 1999.64.86: Memoirs of Emil G. Sick as told to Ruth Duquet |
1971 |
| 1 | 1999.64.87: Fair Market Value Study of Rainier Brewery (photo album) |
1979 August 20 |
Series 2: Videos Return to Top
These are primarily advertising pieces. One video has TV news coverage of an employee strike.
| Container(s) | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Box | ||
| 3 | 1999.64.88: Rainier Light "Belly Faces" Re-do |
1982 February 25 |
| 3 | 1999.64.89: Rainier Video Games |
1982 March 5 |
| 3 | 1999.64.90: Rainier Beer, Trimming Hedges (:30) |
undated |
| 3 | 1999.64.91: Rainier Beer, Seattle (:30) |
undated |
| 3 | 1999.64.92: Best of Rainier Beer |
1974-1986 |
| 3 | 1999.64.93: Rainier: Workers' Beer, Mr. Sick, Northwest Ingredients, R2 -- New Beer
|
undated |
| 3 | 1999.64.94: Rainier Brewery clips on KING 5, KIRO 7, and KOMO 4 News |
1997 July 3 |
| 3 | 1999.64.95: G. Heileman/Rainier Draft: "Rainier is Here -- Opener" and "Rainier is
Here -- Closer |
1991 September 2 |
| 3 | 1999.64.96: Rainier RainBeer Revival Media Highlights |
undated |
| 3 | 1999.64.97: Rainier Beer -- Frogs Croak Rainier |
undated |
| 3 | 1999.64.98: Heckler Associates -- Concept Development and Production Direction
|
undated |
| 3 | 1999.64.99: Heckler Associates -- Rainier Reel |
1998 March 30 |
| 3 | 1999.64.100: The Stroh Brewery Co./Rainier AC (audiocassette) |
undated |
Series 3: Posters Return to Top
About a dozen oversize posters advertising Rainier Beer.
Names and SubjectsReturn to Top
Subject Terms
- Advertising -- Washington (State) -- Seattle
- Beer -- Washington (State) -- Seattle
- Posters -- Washington (State) -- Seattle
- Video recordings -- Washington (State) -- Seattle
Personal Names
- Sick, Emil, 1894-1964
Corporate Names
- Sicks' Rainier Brewing Co.
Geographical Names
- Seattle (Wash.)
Finding aid prepared by Julie Kerssen
2006
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
