In the late nineteenth century advertising became serious business.

For the fist time national magazines and journals were able to reach potential customers across the country.

A. Cressy Morrison (1864-1951) believed in modern advertising in such publications. He wrote, “I should like to see all those who are as deeply interested in advertising, and as proud of the intellectual possibilities which it presents as I am, delve more deeply into its intricacies and if possible develop from their discoveries the principles which will ultimately form the basis for a just claim that advertising is a science.”

Since Pabst enjoyed the status of America’s premier brewery at that time, it is no surprise that advertising which enabled marketing and  selling its products became serious business for the brewery.

Cressy, hired in 1889, proved the man for the task.

A. Cressy Morrison, seen in this photo of 1895, was hired to promote the Pabst products, particularly the Pabst Extract or Best Tonic.

In my effort to write my version of narrative nonfiction I will center the book on the Pabst Tonic marketing director A. Cressy Morrison (1864-1951).

Cressy arrived from the East coast in 1889 and worked at Pabst til 1897.  Those were the years when Pabst was the biggest brewery in the world.

He was young, age 24, when he arrived in Milwauee.

What’s amazaing about Cressy is that when he was in charge of promoting the Pabst Tonic the brewery produced a series of pamplets called the ‘Secret’ booklets.

Cressy had to be the writer for this series though I continue to  search for evidence to establish that fact.

If he did write them, he wrote well. They are fun to read, and actually funny at times with the humor included in them.

Cressy played a signficiant role at Pabst in its new promotion department, located not too far from the Captain’s office.