This small cordial glass, commonly used in Europe and elsewhere for brandy, Benedictine, Drambuie, schnapps, and other liqueurs, bears an etched pattern depicting what appears to be a castle on a hill. Underneath, etched in old German lettering, is the name "Begerburg."

Originally built as a remote mountaintop hunting lodge, Begerberg was used by the Dresden, Germany aristocracy, and was destroyed at least twice in battle between Fredrick the Great's Prussian forces and invaders. In the early 1800's, the property was sold to a wealthy Dresden merchant named Beger who recognized the value of the site as a resting place on the long route between the two great cities of Dresden and Prague in today's Czech Republic. In 1858, he converted the old lodge into a restaurant and wine cellar, which until 1872 continued to draw customers from far and wide.

This lone cordial glass, lost with the SS Republic, was likely a souvenir made for the Begerburg restaurant and wine cellar which patrons could then take home as a memory of their visit to this attraction. Perhaps it had been a treasured piece owned by the nameless German sailor, a passenger aboard the ship who apparently drowned while swimming toward a lifeboat.