Advertising Art of Coshocton
The Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum is honoring Coshocton’s advertising art history in a special exhibit, Advertising Art of Coshocton, September 23 – December 31, 2023. The exhibit features specialty-advertising items made in Coshocton from the 1890s through the 1950s. For many years, the city of Coshocton was the nation’s leading manufacturer of advertising art, shipping products worldwide. Lithographs on tin and paper, signs of every description, trays, calendars, and celluloid novelties advertised every kind of business, particularly breweries, soft drink manufacturers, ice cream factories, tobacco companies, and distilleries. Considered the birthplace of advertising art, Coshocton was once second only to New York City in the number of artists residing in our town compared to the rest of the country.
Curators of the exhibit, William Carlisle and Joe Kreitzer, have been researching and collecting advertising art from Coshocton for over 35 years. The exhibition includes pieces from Tuscarora Advertising Co., Standard Advertising Co., The Novelty Advertising Co., Meek & Beach Co., The American Art Works, W.F. Smith Co., and more!
Advertising Art of Coshocton is sponsored by Auer Ace Hardware and The Ohio Arts Council with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence, and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.
