One of the more interesting aspects of beer stein collecting lies in the area of character steins. Generally made of ceramic earthenware, these figurine mugs and steins can be designed to look like almost anything.
While the most popular designs are people and animals, the assortment available ranges from realistic portraiture to humorous cartoon figurines. Not only historical but also thematic representations of people appear as beer steins. Animals and animal heads comprise a wide range of character steins. Dogs, cats, frogs and birds are popular subjects. Some appear lifelike while others take on humanistic qualities in their arrangement.
Buildings, skulls and other everyday objects find themselves the object of character beer stein designs. These character beer steins are usually quite colorful and often sport fantastic detail work.
 |
Character beer steins began to appear and grow in popularity in Germany in the late nineteenth century. Some of the more well known manufacturers are Mettlach, Marzi & Remy, Gerz, Merkelbach $ Wick and Bohne Sohne. With tens of thousands of character beer stein designs to choose from, it is not difficult to find a design that fits your tastes and mood.
While some of the collectable steins are manufactured with the ability to perform their utilitarian function, there are still many that are made for display only. Since most character steins are glazed ceramic, it is a wise precaution to determine if it has been fired using a leaded glaze before attempting to use it as a drinking vessel.