At the Munich Oktoberfest, where more steins are used and purchased today than anywhere else, an annual contest produces a winning design that is used on the official Oktoberfest stein. It was common in Germany in the past to give engraved steins engraved to commemorate special dates and events, and many manufacturers have produced series of themed steins similar to the plates and porcelain figures made in many places in Germany and elsewhere for Christmas and other occasions.
Regimental steins have been a German military tradition since the nineteenth century. Commemorative steins were occasionally made prior to German unification, but the Franco-Prussian war that led to the creation of the German Empire led to an increase in the manufacture of steins for different branches of the Imperial Army and Navy and for reservists completing their active duty.
Occupational steins were made for most of the professions and many businesses. As for soldiers, steins were frequently given to newly-minted doctors and lawyers, and sometimes honored retirees in the way that gold watches have done in Britain and the United States. Sometimes sentimental and sometimes whimsical steins depicted aspects of the daily work of pediatricians and schoolteachers and dentists. A whimsical vein was also evident in character steins, which were modeled in the shape of a person or an animal. These sometimes depicted figures from folklore, or were made to illustrate certain types of people or personality types. Steins were initially flat and had designs and pictures painted on them, but as earthenware was replaced by increasingly durable stoneware, three-dimensional or relief designs came to be used, and these sometimes extended into the handle of the stein, which was sometimes made of stoneware and sometimes of metal.
It is the lid that distinguishes a stein from a mug, and these often indicate the age and manufacture and can help determine the price for collectors. The most common and least costly is a conical or steeple-shaped lid, while flat pewter lids are often engraved on the top. More ornate pewter lids with a conical shape and a finial, a design or a figure, on top are made for limited edition steins aimed at the collector.
Ornamented lids with an outer pewter surface and a glass or stoneware inset containing a figure or bearing a design are also prized by collectors. Some other prized lids, particularly with three-dimensional designs, are made of stoneware and attached to the lip by a pewter fitting.
Many steins are so ornate that it seems a shame to drink from them, and in fact many are never used for the intended purpose but are instead sought by collectors. Stein Collectors International is an American and European group of beer stein enthusiasts that this year celebrates its 50th anniversary, and two prominent groups (AlteGermanen and Die Krugsammler e. V.) seek to preserve the German stein tradition on its home ground.
Regimental steins have been a German military tradition since the nineteenth century. Commemorative steins were occasionally made prior to German unification, but the Franco-Prussian war that led to the creation of the German Empire led to an increase in the manufacture of steins for different branches of the Imperial Army and Navy and for reservists completing their active duty.
Occupational steins were made for most of the professions and many businesses. As for soldiers, steins were frequently given to newly-minted doctors and lawyers, and sometimes honored retirees in the way that gold watches have done in Britain and the United States. Sometimes sentimental and sometimes whimsical steins depicted aspects of the daily work of pediatricians and schoolteachers and dentists. A whimsical vein was also evident in character steins, which were modeled in the shape of a person or an animal. These sometimes depicted figures from folklore, or were made to illustrate certain types of people or personality types. Steins were initially flat and had designs and pictures painted on them, but as earthenware was replaced by increasingly durable stoneware, three-dimensional or relief designs came to be used, and these sometimes extended into the handle of the stein, which was sometimes made of stoneware and sometimes of metal.
It is the lid that distinguishes a stein from a mug, and these often indicate the age and manufacture and can help determine the price for collectors. The most common and least costly is a conical or steeple-shaped lid, while flat pewter lids are often engraved on the top. More ornate pewter lids with a conical shape and a finial, a design or a figure, on top are made for limited edition steins aimed at the collector.
Ornamented lids with an outer pewter surface and a glass or stoneware inset containing a figure or bearing a design are also prized by collectors. Some other prized lids, particularly with three-dimensional designs, are made of stoneware and attached to the lip by a pewter fitting.
Many steins are so ornate that it seems a shame to drink from them, and in fact many are never used for the intended purpose but are instead sought by collectors. Stein Collectors International is an American and European group of beer stein enthusiasts that this year celebrates its 50th anniversary, and two prominent groups (AlteGermanen and Die Krugsammler e. V.) seek to preserve the German stein tradition on its home ground.
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