Henry Jerome Schile’s Bock, the Three Bocks, dated 1895, turns a beverage advertisement into a compact comic scene. A jovial, moustachioed man raises his glass beside a wooden barrel marked “Bock Beer”, while an upright goat presses into the action from the lower left. Barrel, figure and animal are crowded together in the foreground, giving the poster the immediacy of a theatrical vignette. Earthy browns and leafy greens are sharpened by emphatic red lettering, ensuring that the joke and the product name register at once.

Schile was an American artist active during a period when inexpensive, mass-produced colour prints were transforming the visual culture of advertising. Posters and trade images increasingly relied upon bold typography, recognisable characters and humorous narratives to seize attention in busy public and commercial settings. Here, the goat is more than a picturesque mascot: “Bock” is also the German word for a male goat, a longstanding verbal and visual association with bock beer. Schile builds the design around that pun, allowing illustration and lettering to reinforce one another.

A closer look

The composition is arranged as a close-knit cluster rather than a scene with expansive depth. The rounded barrel occupies the centre, its curved staves and dark hoops providing a substantial visual anchor. Beside it, the smiling drinker leans forward with an animated, almost conspiratorial air, holding his glass where it remains clearly visible. His moustache, broad smile and lively stance give him the exaggerated character of popular nineteenth-century illustration without overwhelming the advertisement’s message.

At lower left, the goat rises towards the barrel, its brown-and-white coat picked out with varied markings. The animal’s upward movement counters the man’s leaning pose, so that the two figures appear to converge upon the beer between them. A faint outline separates their forms from the pale pastel ground, preserving clarity despite the tightly packed arrangement. Around the upper right, green foliage and small floral accents soften the mass of figure and barrel, introducing a decorative note and a brighter counterpoint to the dominant brown.

Typography completes the structure. The large red word “BOCK” forms a strong base along the lower edge, accented by green and followed by the smaller phrase “THE THREE BOCKS”. Its scale makes the name readable before the finer details emerge. The same word reappears on the barrel, linking the headline directly to the central prop. Rather than sitting apart from the illustration, the lettering participates in the visual joke: name, beverage and goat are made to echo one another across the design.

Context and significance

Late nineteenth-century beverage advertising frequently borrowed the pleasures of comic illustration—expressive faces, anthropomorphic animals and gently absurd encounters—to make a commercial message memorable. Schile’s poster belongs to this lively meeting point between advertising and popular print culture. Its appeal rests not on elaborate scenery but on instant recognition: a drink, a cheerful character, a familiar animal emblem and a concise piece of wordplay.

Yet the design rewards slower looking. The wood grain of the barrel, the goat’s mottled fur, the layered greens of the foliage and the careful repetition of the word “Bock” all reveal an image more deliberately organised than its boisterous humour initially suggests. Schile balances narrative bustle with graphic economy, creating a vivid record of how wit, character and colour were used to give a late nineteenth-century beverage its public identity.

Choosing the right size and finish

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The model in the listing images is holding the 18x24in (45x60cm) version of this art print.

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This artwork is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The work is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present an art print without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas art and explore the differences between my different finishes.