A Thewalt Stein --by Ron Gray (Featured Stein Mar 2009)

Featured Stein: March 2009

~ A Thewalt Stein ~
by Ronald E. Gray


	The Germans love their forests and hunting. And if they are not in the woods hunting, they always have their shooting societies or fests that they can participate in. It is not surprising then that these activities are also reflected in the scenes found on many steins. This month’s featured stein shows a woman participating at a shooting fest. This is a 4L etched stein made by the firm of Albert Jacob Thewalt circa 1900. The stein was designed by their famous designer, Wilhelm Kamp, who worked for Thewalt from 1897 to 1914 when he joined the German Army. He designed the first 816 steins for that firm. The form number for this large stein is 390. The lid has a ceramic insert of a target, which is appropriate for this stein. The handle is unique to Thewalt. The name of the stein in the Thewalt mold book is Auf dem Schießstand or At the shooting stand. The main scene shows several people watching a woman shoot a shotgun at an outdoor shooting fest. The sign above them reads K.K. Schiefsst, an abbreviation for Kaiserlich Königlicher SchiessStand. (Imperial Royal Shooting Booth.) The same scene in relief without the sign appears on Thewalt 462. The German text, which is in a Bavarian dialect, on each side panel reads: A’ Buchserl zum schiassen A’ Stoassring zum schloan, A’ Deand’l zum kussen Muss an echter Bua han. Which translated to English reads; A real boy must have a girl to kiss, a shotgun to shoot with, a skeet to hit.



Be sure to visit the Library section of this site to read the new article about the Albert Jacob Thewalt firm just added to the Library this month.

Picture of lid courtesy of the Beer Stein Library.