The firm of Marzi & Remy was founded in the Westerwald town of Höhr in 1879 by Anton Marzi and Simon Peter Remy. By the end of the 19th century M&R employed more than 100 workers and had become one of Germany’s leading stoneware producers. Although it managed to survive two World Wars, the company found itself unable to cope with the rapidly changing marketplace of the late 20th century and was forced to permanently close its doors in 1994. Germans do not commonly use the word “stein” to refer to the beer drinking vessel. In fact, the word “stein” literally means “stone” in German. Historically speaking, the word “stein” used to refer to a beer drinking vessel coming from steinzeng meaning “stoneware” or steinkrug meaning stoneware jug. Some believe that steins were invented during the bubonic plague with hinged lids to keep flies out of the beer. Many steins no longer use lids, nor is the origin story necessarily true. This uniquely colored stoneware jug is decorated in a very unique starburst design reminiscent of the Aztecs (at least to me). It seems to be a one-off, one-of-a-kind beer stein.