artifact |ˈärtəˌfakt|
noun
1 an object made by a human being, typically an item of cultural or historical interest

by HogWorks
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December 11, 2010 at 7:49 pm
This appears to be a another “Fighting Fourth” stein: http://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/1950s-us-cold-war-stein-4th-sub-area-germ-spook
Sold Date:05/22/2008
Channel:Online Auction
Source: eBay
Category:Alcohol & Smoking
“This auction is for a porcelain stein from the Cold War era. Made for a US Serviceman it bears a ribbon stating: MAXLRAIN THE FIGHTING FOURTH SUB-AREA. Maxlrain is in Bavaria near Munich and its known for its Renaissance Castle and brewery and these are shown in the humorous artwork on one side and with the castle being the main design element on the front along with the shields and 00 Club tag. The other panel shows showed a GI parachuting into a small village and landing on a roof. On the street is a “lady of the evening”, a Shore Patrol (SP) jeep, and a male figure is frantically running down the street towards the lady of the evening. The stein is topped off with the âeoeSpookâe finial thought to be used on steins for intelligence units. The thumblift is a US Eagle seal. The owner’s nickname: Herr Gator and dates of service: 1956 -1959 are written in gold. Inside t’s a naked lady lithophane that’s visible when held to the light. T are some surface crazing lines to the bottom that can be seen to the left of the nudie when held to the light. The stein retains its original foil Zinngiesser label. Stands 10âe tall and mint other than those lines on the base.”
December 21, 2010 at 2:30 pm
I have been emailing Rob about the BA/Maxlrain stein. No definitive answer to what the “sub area” refers to, but the Fighting Fourth most likely refers to Trick Four.
From Rob: I am thinking with the “Club 69” on the front of the stein and the overall playfulness of the stein that the sub area designation for the Maxlrain brewery might have some double meaning or be an inside joke with the guys on the fighting fourth trick.
The mug is evidence that our predecessors found BA and Maxlrain a great place to party.
Doug- Did you ever get a response from the Alpiner group about the stein?
January 5, 2011 at 3:01 pm
No response yet, though the query did appear in this month’s Alpiner newsletter.
February 4, 2011 at 1:44 pm
The answer from the latest “ASA Alpiner”:
“Alan Donnelly (Bad Aibling 55-57) contributed the following: “On that beer stein…I have one
on my bookshelf.
It has my name on the top rim: Herr Donnelly. The stein is white glazed with hand-painted
artwork that shows Schloss Maxlrain against the backdrop of Wendelstein Mountain. Also, the
Maxlrain crest, the familiar Blue and White diamond-pattern of the Munich crest flanking a red
tag of the 69 Club (for whatever reason, I can’t remember). A ribbon across the lower front
proclaims at opposite ends the Maxlrain Sub-Area, which was more appropriate for our outfit
than the Munich Sub-Area of which we were a unit. The center of the banner says The
Fighting Fourth, which was the particular platoon of the Big Deuce (332nd C/R Company) that
had these mugs made. I’m told that once the order was placed and filled, the artwork from
which it was created was destroyed.
To the left of the drawing of Schloss Maxlrain is a honeywagon being driven toward the twin-
spired Frauenkirchen of Munich with road signs right and left along the winding road
proclaiming: AN FAHRT, AUS FAHRT, EIN FAHRT, AB FAHRT, DURCH FAHRT, FREI
FAHRT, and, of course, BEER FAHRT.
On the left side, is an illustration of the Munich Strip showing several establishments including
the Rhumba Bar, and a descending paratrooper (the 101st was the hell-raising outfit in Munich
at the time).
The metal lid had a US Army crest thumb press and a cloak-and-dagger figure on top. On the
bottom, a buxom lady in bas-relief is visible when the stein is emptied. That aspect was good
for many a free beer in some of the German haunts back home when I returned in 1957.”