A MAD MAN'S SWEATSHIRT from the famous © 1962 Beethoven series

Howard Luck Gossage [1917-1969] was one of the original "MAD MEN"

H.L Gossage's agency was based in a repurposed firehouse in San Francisco, in the late 1950s/60's. HLG was frequently referred to, as "The Socrates of San Francisco,"He never did a TV commercial in his life; and sometimes turned down business in order to keep his staff under 13 people.

At the time, many of his peers regarded him as an oddity ,but HLG, was a natural and active fundraiser, He helped launch the environmental movement and left a legacy of brilliant communication campaigns, which for the first time showed that advertising isn’t just about selling a product, it can be used to change the world.

 When dying from leukemia in July 1969, he lamented: ‘I’ve never done anything that means anything to anyone in this world except maybe inventing the Beethoven sweatshirt.

And for those of you who'd like to go a little further with this post ,here's a court report dating from April 1962 regarding  copyright infringement on the famous sweatshirt line :plaintiff the Weiner&Gossage company who created the original sweatshirts back in 1961 ....

 

The Ramsey Lewis trio sporting the Bach version of the sweatshirt