Talbot Brewery, XXX Colonial Ales

Gold had been found at Talbot during the late 1850s, and the town was reported to have had a floating population of 50,000. Prospects were good for a brewery and Moritz Cohn of the Victoria Brewery at Bendigo opened a branch brewery at Talbot in 1861 — Talbot lies some 70 km south-west of Bendigo.

The Maryborough and Dunolly Advertiser of January 1862 carried an advertisement for the Talbot Brewery, Back Creek, advising that the brewery had been completed and that ales and porter were available. Moritz Cohn took a leading part in the civic affairs of the district and became the mayor. 

The mining of gold began to decline, and in 1866 the population had dropped to 8000. With the con­tinuing decline, Moritz Cohn sold the Talbot Brewery to George Jacobson in 1872 and returned to Bendigo. Jacobson shifted the brewery from Elgin Street to Talbot Street in 1881.

This poster looks rudimentary but it was effective in advertising the brewery. George would have used his local printer in Talbot, usually the newspaper office, to produce this poster. It was made utilising the letterpress printing method with metal and wooden type.