Posted 6 months ago
kwqd
(1189 items)
This stein is 12.5" high and the base is 4.5" in diameter. Heavily decorated, only mark an incised stamp on the bottom and a" 1T" stamp on the neck. It appears the lid has been messily repaired, perhaps the thumb lever was broken off? It seems to be of good quality so I don't think the lid came that way and it was probably molded in one piece from pewter(?).
As part of the inscription on the lid it has what I think is a date "5.7.25", or 5 July/ 7 May 1925? I cannot find significant events associated with either date in Germany. Maybe a birth/marriage/anniversary/death date? All I can make out other than that is "15 year", so anniversary? Guessing not made for export, hence no "Made in Germany" mark. The fourth image contains images of the text and mark on the bottom.
I have not been able to identify the mark and do not use FB which is where the German Stein action seems to be happening. There are a couple of stein collectors' sites but they are extremely search-unfriendly unless you already know the maker. Google Images is mum on the mark my attempt to transcribe the inscription. Any help appreciated.
Funny story (for me) regarding this stein. When I was young, my grandmother identified me as the future family historian and started to slowly transfer her family memorabilia to me. This stein was one thing which she gave to me in the mid-1960s, I would guess. Being fragile, I stored it away out of sight. I have always assumed that she got it on an ocean liner voyage to Berlin in the 1930s to visit distant cousins. She also gave me full sheets of stamps with Adolf Hitler's face on them, which pretty much dates her visit to pre-WWII Berlin. She maybe brought each of her four sons a stein? I never asked her.
Many years later in the early 1990s my father happened to see it and became a bit apoplectic, animated and when he could speak asked me where I had gotten it. Apparently, his mother had given a similar stein to him which had disappeared, mysteriously, probably before I was born. I told him that his mother had given it to me, so he knew it was not his. I assume that my stein had belonged to one of my uncles who died in the 1960s or one my grandmother bought for herself.
Both of my brothers were much older than I am, born in the 1930s, so I sensed a story. They were both troublemakers in their youth often involved in one fracas or another. The next time I saw them together, I mentioned the stein and they looked at each other and grinned after first looking over their shoulders. They had apparently been engaged in some horse play and broken Dad's stein and being very afraid of his temper, threw the remains away. The missing stein became a family drama/mystery for decades and though in their sixties, my brothers were still too afraid to own up to their part in the mystery. I never told my Dad their story and they are all gone, now.
The next time I am in proximity to this stein, I will get more clear images of the writing on the lid and check for meaningful marks on the sides of the stein.
Thanks for taking time to look at my stein, sherrilou, Merrill33, dav2no1, mikelv85, fortapache, Jenni, vcal, BHIFOS, Kevin and DejaVu2!
Updated images of the text on the lid.
Thanks for checking out my stein, Manikin!
Updated primary image....