Czech manufacturers such as Pallme Konig, Kralik and Stolzle had a common source for the tops they attached to their inkwells. Such tops usually are stamped with a provenance mark and several patent numbers. Many dealers take this marks to mean a “signature,” when in fact it is not. Most tops, irrespective of shape or design, have a double mark: OE.P. (Österreiches Patent) followed by 10385 and D.R.G.M. (Deutches Reich Gebrauchsmuster/ German Reich Registered Design) followed by 168180. These marks appear not only on inkwell tops but on a variety of other products, all made in Germany at the beginning of the XXth Century. Another mark which occasionally appears is K.K. OEST. UNG. P.(Kaiserlich Königlich Österreichisches Ungarisches). A third mark, D.R.P (Deutches Reich Patent) followed by a number indicates a specific patent number. A fourth mark is D.R.P.A, with no number. Notice that one of the tops below exhibits 4 marks, including two OE.P’s. My educated guess is that the metal tops bear both German (D.R.) and Austrian (O. or OE.) patent marks. Recently, a fellow researcher, Christoffer Makelberg, informed me that he had been able to trace the number 145366 on a powder box to a German patent dated 1903 from Balduin Heller's Söhnen in Teplitz. Notice how it corresponds to the picture directly below, which has 4 numbers: OE.P. 103185; D.R.G.M. 168160; D.R.P. 145366; and OE.P. 12753. It is safe to assume, then, all of these numbers correspond to patents taken out by the same company. Moreover, it shows that the inkwell tops were manufactured by German companies in Czech territory. 1. Four patent marks  2. Two patent mark   4. Another mark variation  5. Three patent mark   7. One-line mark The most desirable tops depict Pan-like creatures or lions. The lion top seems to have been made expressly for an inkwell with 4 "paws", but it does show up in other shapes. It is therefore wrong to say that "the top does not go with the bottom".  8. Lion Top by German companies in Czech territory. | The next two exhibit a faun/satyr motif quite common to this period.  9. Faun top 1  The next two show agricultural motifs and are also found in powder boxes:  11. Mistletoe or Holly top  12. Berry motif The next top shows a hammered effect:  13. Incised top These last three are the most common, all variations on a leaf shape.  14. Combination top: hammered and smooth   THE TEPLITZ CONNECTION The more I do research on Czech glass, the more I encounter a connection to Teplitz. Consider the following: 1. Both Pallme-Koenig and Rindskopf were located in Teplitz. 2. American importers such as Montgomery Ward, Williamson's and Butler Brothers used "Teplitz" as the place of origin for their imported Czech glass. 3. Thanks to Makelberg, we now know that the patent marks belonged to German companies located in Teplitz. 4. Teplitz was an exporting center, from which merchandise was taken by rail to different ports. To make matters more interesting, the piece classified by Montgomery Ward as Teplitz is clearly and unmistakably Kralik! It may mean that Kralik as well was distributed through a Teplitz export firm. If anyone can throw more light on this matter, please let me know! |