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.
Monday’s ad was created for Heute Bock, which was published around the 1880s or 1890s. Heute in German means “today” and humorously Google translates the full text as “Today I’m Crazy.” This poster was made for an unspecified German brewery. The chromolithograph is marked as “Plate No. 407” and identified by the initials “C.A.W.,” which was a common “lithographer’s monogram mark on late 19th-century commercial chromolithographs and advertising posters produced in Germany,” especially around Munich.
