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.

Thursday’s trade card is for Bock Beer generically, that was apparently created in Bavaria, Germany, sometime after 1850 but before 1900 or so. I think this would be considered a Victorian Trade Card, popular from the 1870s until around 1900. They were typically created via lithography, which gave them vibrant colors. Their popularity as far as I can tell was primarily in the United States, so I suspect that whoever claimed this was Bavarian was simply incorrect and it seems more likely it was created here. This features a brewer’s star and a banner with the phrase “Hopfen und Malz Gott erhalts!” which I believe was a parody of “Bayern und Pfalz, Gott erhalt’s”, or “God save Bavaria and the Palatine”, which were two parts of the Bavaria that were separated and reunited a few times.