From the 1930s through 1992, Milwaukee's transit agency produced weekly paper passes featuring hand-drawn numbers, dates and decorative graphics before transitioning to digital formats.

The passes began as an experiment by the Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Company in 1919 and entered full operation in 1921. Design remained utilitarian until the 1930s, when the agency moved production in-house, added color, public-service announcements, local event listings and illustrated civic history, and continued to produce hand-lettered artwork on art-board printing plates until 1992.

The archive now holds approximately 300 tickets dating from 1932 to 1969, a collection that includes a donation from type designer Tobias Frere-Jones. "The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Light Co. (TMER&L) and, after 1939, TMER&TCo. maintained its own print shop to design and print the passes," said John Giove, President and CEO of the Milwaukee Transit Archives & Museum. The shop operated through corporate transitions and continued after 1975 when the Milwaukee County Transit System assumed control.

The designs featured large hand-drawn numbers for the week of the year, date ranges, and small-print details framed by banners and rules, representing a consistent visual identity. In recent years, declining ridership following the pandemic has prompted some cities to seek ways to make transit more appealing, and the historical passes offer a precedent for regularly updated digital designs.

— Stephen Coles, Associate Curator and Editorial Director