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 poster is for Heuite ff Bockbier (which translates as “(Today, Very Fine Bock Beer!”), which was created in 1893. This poster was a generic chromolithograph that any brewery could license and place their own name on to advertise their bock beer. The poster was created by German painter, illustrator, draftsman, postcard designer, and watercolourist Arthur Thiele. The use of the abbreviation “ff” is common in advertising in Germany at this time, and it apparently was short for a colloquial idiom or phrase “pfeifendeckel-fein” which means “top-notch” or “top-tier” to refer to a premium product.