Scanning Around With Gene: Coffee in My Cup

19

Originally published January 8, 2010

I’m a latecomer to the whole coffee thing, having taken up the beverage in my thirties, mostly out of boredom after meals as I sat playing with my napkin while others enjoyed their hot drink.

But after the slow beginning I was hooked, and soon I lined up at Starbucks for my daily coffee fix along with everyone else. In honor of us addicts, today’s column surveys coffee advertising from 1942 to 1963 that I’ve culled from various magazines. Click on any image for a larger version.

At the beginning of this period, coffee was still being presented pretty much as a stimulant, which was pitched as a good thing. If you needed a little extra boost to get the housework done or plow through a tedious day, there was nothing like a good cup of coffee.

Coffee has always been pitched as a social drink, as well, as seen in this series from the early 1960s.

We like to think that it’s only recently that you can get a really good cup of coffee, but before the ’50s and the advent of “convenience” supermarket-style products, most coffee was sold locally and was of decent quality. Many coffee ads focused on quality, and some of the coffee-growing regions began promoting the benefits of their own beans. Below, for example, is an ad from 1946 promoting shade-grown coffee beans.

Like most other kitchen-related activities, making coffee was seen as women’s work, though when instant coffee first came around it was pitched as easy enough that even a man could make a cup.

By the late ’40s, the stimulant qualities of coffee were beginning to be a drag on some people, so a whole movement started around decaf and the benefits it brought. Suddenly caffeine was the devil.

Have you heard of Kaffee Hag? Did you know that coffee once came in tea bags? These and other coffee-industry missteps are on page 2.


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Gene Gable has spent a lifetime in publishing, editing and the graphic arts and is currently a technology consultant and writer. He has spoken at events around the world and has written extensively on graphic design, intellectual-property rights, and publishing production in books and for magazines such as Print, U&lc, ID, Macworld, Graphic Exchange, AGI, and The Seybold Report. Gene's interest in graphic design history and letterpress printing resulted in his popular columns "Heavy Metal Madness" and "Scanning Around with Gene" here on CreativePro.com.
  • Anonymous says:

    Gene,
    As always, a great posting! I ALWAYS look forward to seeing your articles and wonderful scans. Keep up the great work.

  • Anonymous says:

    Cafe Nola in Frederick Maryland. cafe-nola.com

  • Anonymous says:

    The iconic New Orleans coffee place, formerly in the French Market.
    Nothing fancy, just the same café au lait they’ve been serving for the last 100+ years. Oh, and with a side order of beignets, served plain so you can add as much or little powdered sugar as you want.

  • Anonymous says:

    In New York (Upper West Side). In the mid ’80s, this is where I had my first cappuccino and cannoli. Was also introduced to iced coffee there. Besides the delectable treats, it was the atmosphere that was so amazing. Cozy and warm on the inside, plus there were tables in the outdoor garden for sipping al fresco. I’ve since read that it closed. What a heart-break. It was the epitome of charm, and a favorite memory of living in NY.

  • Anonymous says:

    My faithful stainless steel percolator makes the best! No matter what brand of coffee it brews. Family & friends beg for a cup when they visit.

    Thanks Gene for enticing me to pour another cup! ;)

  • Anonymous says:

    I LOVE LOVE LOVE these! I would have them all hanging in my house if I could. Thank You for sharing them! :)

  • Smavitz says:

    Another great post Gene! I’m still humored by the Coffyryte toaster-looking coffee maker. The perils seem obvious. Bread clogging the filter or water flooding the electric elements. Either way, I’m sure ‘alert’ is not the only by-product of this beverage. And who could resist a product called ‘Kaffee Hag’!?!

  • Anonymous says:

    My kitchen!

  • Anonymous says:

    Thanks Gene. Another great collection from the past. And always look forward to that first cup in the morning (and not from Starbucks!)

  • Anonymous says:

    Hey Gene

    Loved the time line on Coffee. It sure is a timeless beverage. Today over 500 million cups are drank in North America every day. There is a shift coming in Coffee, Cafe 2.0 or the Next Generation of coffee. For information on why this is new and how the coffee consuming public is embracing it https://www.getcoffeeinfonow.com

    thanks so much for all you do!
    Fred
    https://www.ganologic.info

  • Anonymous says:

    I’ve been a coffee fan since I was in my early twenties. I would go with my friends to an all night restaurant after a night on the town. I started drinking it because of the free refills. The caffeine never seemed to bother me then. I had to put in lots of cream and sugar. Becoming more health conscience in later years, I got rid of the sugar first and then the cream. I also started trying to get less caffeine. My current Starbucks order is a grande half-caf no room. While I have reduced the amount of caffeine in each cup, I’m drinking twice as much … go figure.

  • Anonymous says:

    The Coffyryte brewer-toaster: that’s a Bruce McCall spoof, right?

  • Anonymous says:

    These ads bring to mind the mediocre coffee many of us put up with in the fifties, sixties and even much later–a result, I suppose, of (relative) North American ignorance of coffee and the vigorous promotion of it. I wouldn’t want to go back to those bad old days except via Gene’s magic time-carpet!

  • Anonymous says:

    Blue Bottle Coffee in the San Francisco Bay Area – super trendy? Yes, but it lives up to the hype.

  • Anonymous says:

    Port City Java: Wrightsville Beach, NC

  • Joan L says:

    WaWa or Dunkin’ Donuts. Oddly, I only seem to go to Starbucks for tea (iced) or baked treats!

  • Sarah says:

    Pictures of coffee cups, coffee pots, coffee paraphernalia always attract my attention. Enjoyed this post so much

  • Rich Martin says:

    I live on the East Coast and I’m in my 60s, been drinking coffee forever. Done a good amount of travel around the world. By far the Europeans can brew a good cup of coffee, spoiled me. Haven’t found a coffee shop or restaurant in the USA that can compare, might as well drink tea. For a good cup of coffee brew your own, Melitta 100% Columbian (not the Classic) and don’t skimp on the grounds. Enjoy your cup of Joe!

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