A Hofbräuhaus menu collected in April of 1969, with art by August Roeseler (1866-1934). He was born in Hamburg in 1866, but spent most of his life in Munich, working as a fine artist, commercial artist, illustrator for books, magazines and postcards, and as a cartoonist.
In addition to his work for the Hofbräuhaus, he did a booklet of Oktoberfest illustrations, and contributed to O Diese Dackel! (O These Dachshunds!) a book of images and verse published in1912. His artwork also appeared on beer steins made by Villeroy & Boch and Marzi & Remy.
The juxtaposition of dachshunds and sausage (wurst) is a recurring motif in Roeseler’s work, and can be seen both on the menu above and in the cartoon below from Fliegende Blätter, Munich, August 31, 1900, in which dogs gaze longingly at a giant floating wurst, which is actually Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin’s airship over the Bodensee (Lake Constance) at Friedrichshafen.
The Hofbräuhaus is still serving. And for those of you who would like to see the menu from 1969, here you go:
My thanks to Laurie Winship for collecting and curating this marvelous menu.
