Advertising past and present

In other words, Beethoven and his music used for commercial purposes, from the 19th century to the present day… The collection contains a large number of advertisements, posters, playbills, etc., for a wide assortment of products: from whisky to gas, pianos to underwear, beer to detergents, radios to records, and much more. The result is a surprising panorama of how Beethoven has been used as an instrument of persuasion to buy the most varied products, always with an insistence on their quality.

In the 19th century, although advertising was gaining ground with the spread of newspapers and magazines, it was still a limited phenomenon, especially in Europe, where memories of the composer’s tormented life and suffering were still very much alive. From the 1900s, as the Beethoven myth spread through the arts, literature and film, the advertising world caught on and his image and works were featured in print advertisements, posters and even satirical cartoons.

zoom_in © SOHMER & CO. GRAND PIANO 
Sheet published in the American humour magazine Puck, New York, July 1887, signed by the Austrian illustrator Joseph Ferdinand Keppler (*Vienna, 1838 – †New York, 1894). zoom_in LUDWIG HUPFELD
Die Mondscheinsonate von Beethoven auf Der PHONOLA [Op. 27 No. 2], clipping from an unknown German magazine, 5 December 1903, signed by renowned German illustrator and painter Karl Rumpel (*1867 - †Potsdam, 1939). zoom_in STEINWAY
Original advertisement from Country Life magazine, New York, December 1921, signed by the American illustrator Newell Convers Wyeth (*1882 – †1945). zoom_in © THE APOLLO REPRODUCING PIANO
If Beethoven could be heard by us today…, original extract from Country Life magazine, Illinois, USA, November 1921. zoom_in CONCERT, Le PHILIPS 535 à Multi Inductance, original extract from L'Illustration magazine, France, 28 September 1935. zoom_in © MAICO APPARECCHI ACUSTICI PER L'ITALIA
L'Udito di Beethoven, Italian magazine, Milan, early 1950s. In the centre is an extract from the Heiligenstadt Testament. zoom_in HANES clothing
Two great immortals, Beethoven & Hanes, original extract from Cook magazine, USA, 19 May 1962. zoom_in DOWNY FABRIC SOFTENER, USA
Original extract from Fine Cooking magazine, USA, August 1973. zoom_in © PHILIPS, Equipos Modulares modelo EMX –TAPC
Beethoven se lo recomienda, original page extracted from an unidentified Spanish magazine, March 1977. zoom_in © KENWOOD Sigma KA 1000
KENWOOD: Vous allez m'entendre, original page extracted from an unidentified French magazine, Paris 1981. zoom_in RADIO CLASSIQUE, Paris 101.1 FM
BEETHOVEN sous ma douche, extract from an unidentified French magazine, Paris 2014.