DRAFT Magazine

Cascade, Idaho, July 1941. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Russell Lee. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

I’m a fan of old time advertising. Okay, now that’s out of the way let’s take a step back from words today and saunter down dusty memory lane. A blog at the Denver Post recently featured roughly 70 stunning colorized images from 1939-1943, taken by the Farm Security Administration and now owned by the Library of Congress. Sure, those depicting bomber planes and backyard barbecues are certainly interesting, but I couldn’t help being drawn to the images spotlighting beer. Everything looks so hot, dry and secluded (minus the Pabst photo), it’s impossible not to imagine hiking down a long rural road, eventually quenching your parched, dusty throat with a longneck of Jax, or whatever. Take a look, and tell me you don’t wish you could jump in the middle of a Steinbeck novel.

Melrose, Louisiana, June 1940. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Marion Post Wolcott. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Belle Glade, Florida, February 1941. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Marion Post Wolcott. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress

Chicago, Illinois, May 1943. Reproduction from color slide. Photo by Jack Delano. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress