In my collection of Czech Jugendstil inkwells, I have two with a very distinctive mark:  1. HANSA mark 1 On top, Oe. Patent, which corresponds to "Oesterreich Patent." Below, D.R.P --Deutches Reichspatent-- a "proper patent" mark assigned from 1877 to 1945, according to to Douglas K. Stevenson. D.R.G.M. corresponds to Deutsches Reichs Gebrauchzmuster, a utility model patent. Stevenson points out that these "small" or "petty DRGM's were avaalbe as well from 1891 to 1945 So, these inkwells have both German and Austrian patent marks but no numbers. And in the middle, most prominently displayed, the word HANSA. The glass, however, is distinctly Czech. HANSA means guild in German. A search for HANSA leads first and foremost, to the Hanseatic League, a group of cities from Northern Germany which constituted themselves into a trade guild, expanded throughout much of Europe and met its end around the 17th Century, though individual cities kept the denomination as Hansa cities. Hansa nowadays applies to a bewildering variety of products, from stuffed toys to beer, jewelry, airlines (LuftHANSA), car parts and plumbing fixtures. To complicate matters for inkwell collectors, I have found a ceramic inkwell set both of whose pieces bear the HANSA marks:  2. Ceramic inkwell set  3. HANSA mark on ceramic inkwell top And more intriguingly, the mark on the pen holder:  4. HANSA mark on pencil holder Both came with liners showing a series of pinprick holes. Moreover, both liners came with small green glass beads!!!!! The HANSA mark on Erik's inkwell is quite different from mine:  5. Erik's inkwell.   7. The mysterious liner. Both Erik's and mine came with one of these. Barbara Bureker, from the Society of Inkwell Collectors, has submittted a picture of yet another HANSA inkwell. It has the same type of top as Makelberg's.  8. Bureker's HANSA  9. Hansa inkwell and matching (unmarked) vase And now, a HANSA inkwell whose provenance leaves no doubt. But first, I want to refer the reader to : Pallme-König: R. Williamson's Teplitz Shades There you will find both vases and lamp shades which match the decor on this inkwell, indubitably made by Elizabethhütte or, as it is more commonly known, Pallme-König. In fact, I have pictures of two pictures of the same model. Notice the shape, which is identical to my other Hansa inkwell. The first comes from internet---notice how the green decor at the bottom is simpler:  10. Internet PK inkwell. And this is the one I just got from a dealer in Germany:  11. My own. That blue mark was ink and I was able to wash it off.  As to HANSA, here is a tantalizing bit of information, gathered from Internet: " In 1911, Karl Göhring founded “Stanz and Presswerk GmbH Zuffenhausen” to manufacture hot-pressed components. Two years later, the firm moved to Stuttgart-Möhringen. In 1917, it merged with “Apparatebau Hansa GmbH”, which manufactured special fittings for the airplane, automotive and motor industries. The firm became a stock company in 1921, and has operated since then as “Hansa Metallwerke AG”. In 1926, Hansa branched out into fittings production for the refrigeration engineering industry and took out its first patents". My hypothesis is that HANSA, whatever it may have been, refers to the metal fittings in these inkwells, and not to the glass itself, which is Czech in origin. I am asking anyone who might have an inkwell marked HANSA to please send me an email with attached photographs. And if anyone can elucidate the mystery of the HANSA mark, please let me know! UPDATE: Guenther Staffa, from Germany, wrote me as to the fact that HANSA is a very common word in his country, and that he is almost sure it refers to the metal fittings only. The inkwells above exhibit two top typesof tops, domed and flat, but all marked HANSA. The inkwells themselves, though, may have been made by different manufacturers. HANSA might have made the metal fittings and served as a distributor for the finished inkwells. IMPORTANT UPDATE! Laura Schyhold, from Finland, has written me about a "pot" she recently found, bearing the HANSA mark. This is a picture of the mark on the inner rim of the collar:  13. Another Hansa mark I was struck by the beauty of the cover:  Then I noticed the ship on which the Greek god, Hermes (recognizable by his trademark winged hat) is standing bears the name Hansa on the prow. Hansa was originally sea-faring medieval trade guild, and the cover stands for it! Hermes is guiding the Hansa vessel both to safe harbour (he is holding the tiller) and to success (the laurel wreath in his hand). |