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Tooth's
Posters
Sean Fagan of RL1908.com
From
the 1930s until the '70s, Tooth's Rugby League
posters were a familiar feature on the outside
of pub walls across New South Wales. Few remain
today.
This
Rugby League poster above depicts a Test
match battle between Australia and Great
Britain.
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The
displays were used by Tooth and Co. for
Tooths Beer advertising from the mid 1930s
to 1969. Over 6000 were made, today only
a handful remain.They were often commissioned
and completed for a particular hotel, depending
upon its location or desired image.
The subject matter and appearance varied
extensively. These works were not mass-produced
advertising graphics. They are considered
more as a unique, small-series works of
commercial art in a popular style.
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The
poster above depicts a traditional battle
between South Sydney and St George.
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The
original displays were oil paintings on
glass which were then mounted on the outside
walls of hotels. Various other sports were
displayed including cricket, tennis, fishing
and horse racing.
By
the early 1930s Tooth's had beaten-off most
of their competition. They launched the
poster art as part of a major advertising
drive to ensure they remained at #1 across
New South Wales. At the same time Tooth's
utilised heavy advertising in the newspapers
and remodelled many hotels. Most of the
posters were designed to compliment each
hotel's style.
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The
above Tooth's poster depicts a Sydney club
match between Eastern Suburbs and St George.
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Most
of the original displays were destroyed
during the 1970s and early 1980s when many
of the state's hotels were renovated or
demolished. Tooth’s itself rescued some
and kept them in its Sydney offices.
A
handful still remain in place today and
are generally regarded as relics of a bygone
era, even though their appearance evokes
warm memories for many. The Tooth's Breweries
brand ceased trading in 1983.
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This
scene above depicts the
Newtown Bluebages and the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
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The
above Tooth's Poster images are reproduced from
postcards that were released in the 1990s.
There are thought to be no remaining retail stocks
in existence.
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