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From: Frank
Remote Name: 69.140.68.13
What is or isn't a "stein" really depends on whose vernacular you're using. In the 1885 Villeroy & Bach catalog that first made reference to #1028, it's listed simply as a "Krug", which is a German term that can applied to literally any vessel used for drinking, serving, storing or transporting a liquid. A "Krug" can be lidded or unlidded, as well as capped, corked or otherwise sealed.
Sometime after the founding of SCI in 1965, it became common practice among U.S. collectors to refer to pitchers with hinged lids as "pouring" or "serving" steins, although when #1028 was originally produced (in both lidded and unlidded versions), those terms had not yet been invented.
The text on the #1028 may help somewhat to clarify the use intended by Villeroy & Boch, i.e.:
“Nach der Arbeit Müh und Schweiss, aus mir zu laben ich dich heiss! Doch nie zuviel und ohne Sinn, im Krug sitzt oft der +++ drin! Drum treib ihn aus!”
(After work’s troubles and sweat, I command you to drink out of me! But never too much and senselessly, the +++ often sits therein! Therefore banish it!)
The "xxx" is presumably a reference to the devil, so you can be reasonably certain that your pitcher (or serving stein) was never intended for a non-alcoholic beverage like milk.
Hope that helps. — fjl