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My Goodness My Guinness

Poster
ca. 1939 (printed)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This is a poster advertising Guinness. John Gilroy (1898-1985) invented many memorable Guinness characters. Perhaps the most popular of these were those in his zoo-keeper series (from 1935), which he created after a visit to Bertram Mills’s Circus. He depicted himself as the zoo-keeper. These humorous posters were successful ‘reminder’ advertising, that ‘Guinness is good for you’. They continued into the 1950s.

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleMy Goodness My Guinness (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Colour lithograph on paper
Brief description
'My Goodness My Guinness' [ostrich design]. Colour lithograph poster, one of a series advertising the product of Arthur Guinness Son & Co. Ltd.. Designed by John Gilroy. Great Britain. 1936.
Physical description
'My Goodness My Guinness' [ostrich design]. Colour lithograph poster, one of a series advertising the product of Arthur Guinness Son & Co. Ltd.. Signed.
Dimensions
  • Height: 1528mm
  • Width: 1024mm
Marks and inscriptions
Signed.
Credit line
Given by Ogilvy Benson & Mather Ltd
Subjects depicted
Summary
This is a poster advertising Guinness. John Gilroy (1898-1985) invented many memorable Guinness characters. Perhaps the most popular of these were those in his zoo-keeper series (from 1935), which he created after a visit to Bertram Mills’s Circus. He depicted himself as the zoo-keeper. These humorous posters were successful ‘reminder’ advertising, that ‘Guinness is good for you’. They continued into the 1950s.
Bibliographic reference
Summary Catalogue of British Posters to 1988 in the Victoria & Albert Museum in the Department of Design, Prints & Drawing. Emmett Publishing, 1990. 129 p. ISBN: 1 869934 12 1
Other number
16/A5 - V&A microfiche
Collection
Accession number
E.152-1973

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Record createdMarch 3, 2003
Record URL
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