Upper Midwest Society of Steinologists
A nonprofit organization devoted to studying and collecting drinking vessels particularly antique beer steins and related objects -- a resource for collectors in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa (1968-2010)
from SCI Toy Steins by Lynn Ayers
Every once in a while I check out different stein auction locations looking for those JW Remy steins that are still hiding from me. A couple months ago I was poking around on line, and I ran across these three tiny steins. I was intrigued so I spent more time trying to determine what they were. They looked old. None had lids and I couldn’t tell if they had ever had lids. I closely studied the amazing detail on each of them. In fact, I decided they were older rather than newer: modern copies would likely not have such great detail. It was also interesting to note that the listing stated “From the personal collection of Jack Lowenstein.” Well, that did it! I contacted the site and asked what they could do for two items. We came to an agreement on the price. Several days later UPS knocked at my front door.
Imagine my elation when I unwrapped these little gems and saw how impressive they really were. They were tiny, the Bartmankrug is only 2” tall and the other two about 1 ½”. The detail was phenomenal ( see the close-ups below ) and they looked old — I mean, really old! They were unglazed but I felt that they had been fired at a pretty high temperature: they were “rugged”, not like “soft” pottery. They were not hollow like a container would be so they obviously were not intended to contain liquids. There were no marks anywhere. Upon studying them some more, I realized that they were not molded, but hand-thrown! How did the potter get such clear detail in the design? How did he make it? Did he have a tiny potter’s wheel? He must have had special tools just to make them. But what was their purpose???? Salesman’s samples? Models for new designs? What?
What I believe is the answer to the riddle came a few weeks later. I took them to someone I hoped could give me some insight into their purpose and history. I met up with Gerd Kessler in Colonial Williamsburg where he had been invited by the Foundation as a guest lecturer on Westerwald Stoneware at a symposium on Early American pottery. 
As I unwrapped them, you could see his eyes light up. He agreed that they were undoubtedly quite old (for him, meaning before 1900) and was pretty sure what they were: they were toys, possibly from the early 1800s! He also was impressed with the attention to detail in such tiny toys.
When I questioned him about how he recognized them as toys, he responded that his Great Uncle in Hoehr-Grenzhausen had made stoneware toys and sold them in the late 1800s and early 1900s and these were quite similar.
You run across the most interesting, intriguing items sometimes.
Always check out http://www.steincollectors/ .org for all your st
April 2010
The Schuhplattler certainly belongs to the most characteristic of all Bavarian forms of expression. The word "Schuhplattler" has its origins in the fact that the dancer strikes the soles of his shoes ('Schuhe') with his hands held flat ('platt'). The 'inventors' were simple folk: farmers, hunters, woodsmen. It's difficult to determine the exact origin and history of the dance. "Ruodlieb", a knight's poem written by a monk at Tegernsee monastery (not far south of Munich) in the year 1050, describes a village dance featuring "leaps and hand gestures" that could actually denote an early form of the Schuhplattler. When the empress of Russia spent time in 1838 at a spa in nearby Wildbad Kreuth, the locals honored her with the performance of a dance that very closely resembled the Schuhplattler. During the dance, the boy was allowed to move however he liked to the melody of a 'Laendler' folk tune, i.e. he would make figures, leap, stomp and slap while his girl rotated in time with the music and did not join him until the waltz began. His unregimented, free 'plattling' was known as "Bavarian dancing". From about the mid-1800s onward, the Schuhplattler dance moves became increasingly standardized and "group plattln" came into its own. On July 15, 1858, a Schuhplattler dance was performed in Upper Bavaria on the occasion of King Max II's trip through the bavarian mountains. There are about 150 different Schuhplattler dances, and regional differences are evident throughout the areas in which the Schuhplattler is part of the local culture: the Koenigssee in the east to Lake Constance in the west, from the Danube River in the north to the border of Tyrolia in the south. Wherever the dance is performed, it is irrevocably linked with Bavarian tradition and genuine zest for life.
In some parts of northern coastal regions of Germany, the custom of lighting huge Beltane fires is still kept alive to celebrate the coming of May, while most parts of Germany have a derived Christianized custom around Easter called "Easter fires". |
This nice etched pottery stein celebrates the Bavarian dance Schuhplatter with perhaps Brocken mountain in the background. In Germany, Walpurgisnacht, the night from April 30 to May 1, is the night when witches are reputed to hold a large celebration on the Blocksberg and await the arrival of Spring. It is believed that stomping dances first arose in pre-Christian times-- the 700"s as a way to keep the witches and evil spirits away.
|
Wooden tankard
An old tankard--it is a 1-liter, tapered, with variegated colors of mahogany and maple vertical wood sections. the lid is of maple with hand carved letters "K.K." for "Konig Karl" (perhaps King Charles I, king of Wurttemburg)
German |
English |
|---|---|
Es war ein König in Thule, | There was a king in Thule, |
Dan Recognised our Feb Stein of the month
Mettlach Card Stein
Wait a minute, I thought all Mettlach steins are German? Well, yes they are. But in this case Mettlach made two different versions of this stein, one for the USA and France, and one for Germany.
August
Favorite steins from our steins of the month feature
July
June
Thanks to Rich Cress--and it is a beauty!
This is a 1/4-liter porcelain stein, including a porcelain insert lid. Made in Germany, but done in the Limoges style of porcelain mugs (you've seen those at antique shows: always lidless, frequently marked JP with an L under the JP, and with a gold lid).
Our Calendar of Events
About This Site
We are a group of stein collectors. As collectors our interests are varied, from all types of beer steins to related items and other antiques. Collector's are after all collectors, it is a state of mind. The purpose of this Upper Midwest Society of Steinologists web-site is to find others in our community who may have an interest in collectible beer steins, to provide some basic information about steins and then feature links to where you can find more information. If you have an interest in collectible beer steins we hope you will join us.
Chapter and Verse
August Chapter and Verse now loaded. Important article include chapter news, convention update,library news, and news from the webmaster.
About Us
Founded in 1968, our club has about 35 members that meet in March, May, September and November. Meetings include stein talk and interesting speakers and usually a pot luck meal. Members come from Minnesota and across the river in Wisconsin and Iowa too. Do check the "About Us" page of this website for pictures and more..
The 2010 SCI Convention will be held September 9-11
Myrtle Beach,
South Carolina
Note: Regular registration fee has been extended to August 16!
For more information email:
Chapter & Verse
The Newsletter from the Chapter Liason for SCI. This keeps us up to date on news from President, and various officers and updated on the annual convention.
Join Us Page
We are working hard to build our membership this year and we will welcome you heartily and introduce you to many other collectors. It is a fun and interesting group.
Membership in the Upper Midwest Society of Steinologists is $10 per year. That amount is for a single or a couple. Go to our membership page if you have any questions there is a place for you to join.
SCI Stein of Month
Mettlach Artillary Stein~
by Mark Fiebrandt
This month's stein is a beautiful antique Mettlach pottery beer tankard from Germany with pewter lid and thumb lift. This early 1900's beer mug has a transfer and hand painted scene of a German artillery howitzer known as Big Bertha. Shooting out of the cannon are the words Gruss aus Essen which means, Greetings from Essen. Also in the decoration are hops vines and the Essen city crest with a double headed eagle and sword.
Essen Germany is the town of the German firm Krupp, famous for their steel production and their manufacture of ammunition and armaments. Krupp produced most of the artillery of the Imperial German Army, including its big guns. The name "Big Bertha" (German: "Dicke Bertha"; literal translation "Fat Bertha") was commonly applied to a whole variety of large-calibre German artillery guns. It started in the year 1900 where Krupp armaments factory at Essen built a 350-mm howitzer that could fire an 800 lb shell over 10,000 yards. In 1902, Friedrich Krupp died leaving the Krupp industrial empire to his elder child Bertha Krupp, the sole proprietor. Although she maintained ownership until 1943, it was impossible for a woman to exercise control over the company. Therefore, Kaiser Wilhelm II arranged for Bertha to marry Gustav von Bohlen und Halbach, a professional diplomat of a good family and a familiar figure at the Kaiser's court. He added the name Krupp to his surname and assumed executive control of the company. The big guns most likely derived their nickname from Gustav's wife, Bertha.
Read more at www.steincollectors.org
David Harr Professional Pewter Restoration
Pewter Repair Services I Offer: I can attach a lid to your stein (either your original lid, your replacement lid, or a lid from my inventory), attach a thumblift to your stein (your original, your replacement, or one from my inventory), straighten or remove dents from pewter fittings, repair/restore your original pewter lid (modeling and casting) and more. I use chemicals to age my pewter repairs, and am usually able to match or reproduce the natural patina, although this cannot be 100% guaranteed. I do not sell parts, molds, chemicals or other supplies for pewter repair. steinsetc@charter.net
Future Conventions
2010 Myrtle Beach, Sc.
2011 New England area
(Every year since 1967
SCI has hosted an
annual convention).
Okay --Bathe in Beer
If finding out how beer is produced and drinking it by the barrel load at Okotberfest or a traditional German beer hall isn’t enough, why don’t you try bathing in it?
No jokes, apparently soaking in a tub of beer has health benefits and beer spas have begun appearing in parts of Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic in the past few years.
People have been bathing in beer at Kummeroer Hof for more 13 years now and reported benefits include easing eczema and helping fungal conditions.
It sounds disgusting but the smell of the beer and the warm sticky sensation is actually strangely satisfying. Beer bathing is something that really has to be experienced to be fully appreciated and certainly takes the phrase ‘beers on tap’ to another level!
Where to stay: Kummeroer Hof is in the small town of Neuzelle. There’s not much in town aside from the spa so you may prefer to stay in nearby Frankfurt. Alternatively, you can book yourself a Berlin Hostel and make a day trip out of visiting the spa.
Chapter links
The "Links Page" contains links to other stein collecting chapters in the US and in Germany.www.steinverin.com, www.erstegruppe.com www.keysteiners.8k.com These are just a few examples for more visit our links page.
Recent Videos
History of the Munich Child
All stein collectors are familiar with the picture of a child, dressed in a cowl, with radishes in one hand, a filled beer stein in the other, smiling devilishly from a stein decoration. The saying on the stein is usually Gruss aus München, or translated, "Regards from Munich". But how many collectors know that this figure is really a semi-comic take-off of the official Munich coat-of-arms?
Here are a few historic notes about Munich, its coat-of-arms, and the Munich Child (Münchner Kindl):
The first written proof of Munich as a small settlement of monks dates from 1158 A.D. With the increase of the population, the town administration developed a constitution of the council. Soon a seal was used to prove the authenticity of town-council documents. The oldest seal of Munich, of which only fragments are left, with the presumable inscription "Sigillum Civitatis Monacensis" and the picture of a monk wearing an open hood, appears on a document of May 28, 1239.
In the course of the following centuries a number of slightly varying representations of the seal were used. But all of them show the monk with the book (of city laws) in his left hand, while his right hand with three outstretched fingers is held up. Next to most of these seals is shown a town gate and an eagle, which, in the fourteenth century, is replaced by a lion (of the coat-of-arms of the reigning dynasty of the Wittelsbachs). For some time the monk was represented in profile, later full-face and bare-headed.
Colorful representations of the town coat-of-arms go back to the fifteenth century. From then on the features of the heraldic figure began to lose their serious character, the face became more youthful, the hair sometimes even curly.
The present form of the official coat-of-arms with a monk in black cowl, (law) book and blessing in right hand, was given to Munich by the reigning king, Louis I, on September 16, 1834. 
The dirndl
The dirndl originated as a simplified form of folk costume; the uniform of Austrian servants in the 19th century (dirndlegewand means "maid's dress"). Simple forms were also worn commonly by working women in plain colours or a simple check. Originally, each village had its own style and crest. The Austrian upper classes adopted the dirndl as high fashion in the 1870s. Today, dirndls vary from simple styles to exquisitely crafted, very expensive models.
Lederhosen
Traditionally, lederhosen were worn for hard physical work, since the ywere more durable than textile clothing and easier to clean. They were widespread among German men of the Alpine and surrounding regions, including Austria, the highlands and mountains of Southern Germany. The concept of Lederhosen as quintessentially Bavarian clothing, and their use at festive occasions rather than for work, dates largely from this time.
Of Historical Interest
Featuring local landmark the
Hamm's Brewery located
near the Swede Hollow area
of St. Paul.
General Stein Info
A bit of history and other
information about
Westerwald Pottery
steins (1600-1914)
Every Site Can Use a Recipe!
German Apple Tart Recipe
This traditional German recipe for making tarts is taken from the book "Cookery" by Amy G. Richards, published by E. M. Renouf, Montreal, in 1895.
Line a flat dish with 1 pound apples, 1/4 pound sugar, 1 gill water (1/4 pint), 1 oz candied peel. Put the sugar and water in a saucepan and boil until the sugar is dissolved. Peel and core the apples, slice them, and cook them in the syrup until tender. Beat them to a pulp. Cut the candied peel into thin slices, and place them on the pastry, pour over the apple mixture, ornament with pasty, and bake in a moderate oven half an hour.
And Updated from Joy of Baking
Apple Tart: Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Grease (or spray with Pam) a 9 inch (22 cm) springform pan.
Crust: In the bowl of your food processor place the flour and sugar. Pulse to blend together. Add butter
and pulse until dough just begins to come together. Pat the dough onto the bottom and one inch (2.5 cm) up the sides of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator while you make the filling.
Filling: In a food processor process the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar and mix well. Blend in the egg and vanilla extract and process until smooth. Remove the crust from the fridge and pour in the filling. Return to refrigerator while you prepare the topping.
Topping: Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a large bowl. Toss the sliced apples in the sugar mixture. Spoon the apples evenly over the cream cheese layer and sprinkle with almonds. Place the springform pan on a larger baking sheet to catch the drips.
Bake at 450 degrees F (230 degrees C) for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown (apples are soft when pierced with a fork), and filling is almost set. Remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar and serve at room temperature. Leftovers can be covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated.
Makes 1 - 9 inch (22 cm) tart.
Crust:
1 cup (130 grams) all-purpose flour
1/3 cup (35 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) (113 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
Filling:
One 8-ounce (227 grams) cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Topping:
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar
1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) ground cinnamon
4 cups (500 ml) Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch (.6 cm) slices (about 3-4 large apples)
1/3 cup (35 grams) sliced almonds
Read more: http://www.joyofbaking.com/AppleTart.html#ixzz0wsW8I4Ji
News from Germany
Click on any article below to learn more about the latest news from Germany in English from The Local.de. Headlines are updated hourly.
