Two years ago I decided to concentrate on Bock ads for awhile. Bock, of course, may have originated in Germany, in the town of Einbeck. Because many 19th century American breweries were founded by German immigrants, they offered a bock at certain times of the year, be it Spring, Easter, Lent, Christmas, or what have you. In a sense they were some of the first seasonal beers. “The style was later adopted in Bavaria by Munich brewers in the 17th century. Due to their Bavarian accent, citizens of Munich pronounced ‘Einbeck’ as ‘ein Bock’ (a billy goat), and thus the beer became known as ‘Bock.’ A goat often appears on bottle labels.” And presumably because they were special releases, many breweries went all out promoting them with beautiful artwork on posters and other advertising. With Spring approaching, there are so many great examples that I’m going to post two a day for a few months.
Sunday’s ad is for an unspecified Daufer’s Celebrated Bock Beer, which was published on June 7, 1897. This ad was for Daufer & Co., which was located in Allentown, Pennsylvania from 1860 until 1938, although it was known by a variety of names over that time period. It’s curious that it’s available “Saturday and Monday,” meaning not on Sunday, until you realize that at the time in Pennsylvania they had Blue Laws, which prohibited the sale of alcohol on Sundays. They were still in place when I was growing up in Pennsylvania, before moving to California in 1985. This ad ran in the Allentown Leader, also of Allentown, Pennsylvania.
