Anyone visiting a contemplative monastery in the last decades knows that they usually sell products that are in some way sweet or pious, or both. There is usually a selection of alcohol as well. Selling such goods is a way of raising funds, and even if the monastery does not have a proper gift shop (most do), there will certainly be something on sale at the porter's gate, even if it is as modest as a home-made rosary. 
This approach to raising fund is a modern phenomenon, that's for sure, but just how modern is it and how has it been received? Christians convinced of the value of abstinence have long voiced criticism of the alcohol sales. Anti-monastic polemicists love to focus on this topic (Klueting 1990). 
But how about the aesthetics, or let's just say advertising, of presenting monastic goods to a wide audience? Some monastics (see my honey post from Dec. 10, below) are clearly gifted and take this work seriously. In the following pictures, all taken from around 1910, we can see the modest beginnings of such visual work.

This one, above, is interesting because it shows a drawing of a Trappist monk with a sun hat at his feet. Notice that this Viennese newspaper ad includes "Palestinian Wine" and Cognac.

This Trappist liqueur is, interestingly, marketed in the feminine form: Trappistin. I don't think it was produced by Trappistines. The drink is somehow understood to be a feminine object. They also sell chocolate. 

This Viennese shop, called St. Jerome's, specialized in medicine for digestive problems, constipation, gout, and even asthma. The shop carried products from many monasteries, a sales model often used in today's abbey shops. 

Carthusian liqueur, by the way, is its own topic. The Green Chartreuse is famous, and was available "in better stores everywhere." 

This shot shows the context in which some Cistercian or Trappist products were advertised: next to ads for Russian tea at Christmastime.