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.
Friday’s poster depicts a goat, a man and a woman along with beer and food. The lithograph was created in 1884 by H. Schile & Co. of 14 & 16 Division St. in New York City. Henry Jerome Schile was born in Germany, and emigrated to the U.S. in 1851, settling in Manhattan, which is where he opened his own print company. The text at the top of the poster reads: “A Oldbairisch Dirndl Un a luschdiger Bua” which is roughly translated as “An Old Bavarian dirndl and a very funny Bua” (slang for Lederhosen). The text at the bottom is more inscrutable, “A Moas’l BocK Bier un a Sam’l dersu” which was stumped by Google translate. Anybidy know?
