GinFor's Odditiques
(GINny and FORrest Poston's Oddities and Antiques)

Special Note: This site is one of the primary English-language internet sources for information about W. German pottery, and the information is presented without required charge. Unfortunately, some people think it's fine to use entire paragraphs, including descriptions of specific items, without crediting the source. That is plagiarism and is both impolite and illegal.  Using names and dates, basic public information, is fine and proper, but I work hard at the writing (even if typos sometimes suggest otherwise). It's rather painful to see one of my better paragraphs tucked in the middle of garbled, uncrafted language.
If you use a chunk of information from the site, please cite your source. If you need help with a good description or other writing, ask. I'm a grouch but not actively mean.
If anyone spots improper use of my material on eBay or elsewhere, please let me know simply so I can ask them to stop.
ginfor@earthlink.net

Identifying West German Pottery:
Labels, Bottoms, Decorations

This is by no means a definitive listing, but it's a start. As more (and better) pictures are ready, I'll add them here. The same goes for information, which is in fairly short supply.
Go to West German Marks Page Two or Page Three

Reading the Numbers: Even when there's no company mark, most pieces of W. German pottery have two sets of numbers.  Those sets are usually separated by either a dash or a slash.  The first set is the shape/form number.  Since the companies all tended to use 3 or 4 digit numbers, the shape number is rarely enough to attribute a piece to a given company since most companies are likely to have a shape 201 for example.  Once you can match the shape number to a picture, you have a much better chance of knowing the company.

The second set of numbers is almost always the approximate height (or width for a bowl/plate) in centimeters.  There are some uncommon cases where this guideline doesn't hold, but I'm not sure what the number is for in such cases. I've only encountered 3 or 4 such examples, so it's not a great worry.

When reading the numbers, be careful judging what's a 1 or a 7. In many cases, the European 1 will have a long, sloping top serif, which makes it look like an odd 7. Fortunately, the European 7 usually has a crossbar in the middle, rather like a t. I've made notes about two examples below.

 
Bay Keramik

 


Unmarked Bay Keramik Vase (Some have also attributed this vase to Scheurich, but the
bottom still makes me lean toward Bay....for now.)

 
Somewhat unclear, but marked Bay

 

Bay Keramik



This fish plaque was made by Bückberg.

 

 

Bottoms of vases with Carstens label

 


Carstens mark, also called Carstens Tönnieshof in business 1945-1984.Steuler and Carstens appear to be among the few commercial German potteries who used a light red clay during this era, although many studio potteries used red clays in various shades (usually darker).

Note the crossbar on the 7 in this mark as noted in how to read these numbers.

 
Ceramano mark for the Negro line; unidentified artist's mark to
the right. "Handarbeit" means handmade, and you'll sometimes
find it in various shortened forms.
 
Ceramano Rustica Mark


This Dumler & Breiden vase has a great organic form and a varied, slightly metallic glaze. My guess from
the glaze is that it's 1970's, possibly early 80's. I have never found a D&B vase that included W. or West, just Germany.

 
Unmarked bottom attributed to ES-Keramik

This glaze looks a lot like someone
played with mud. There is also a 3-hole vase done in the
two-toned brown. I've never seen it marked, but this glaze is
rather distinctive, so it's probably also an ES Keramik product.

 

Lorenz Hutschenreuther mark

 

 
The vase is by Jasba, done in the white version of their
Cortina glaze.

Note that first digit in the numbers. It could easily be
mistaken for a 7 but is almost certainly a 1.

   
Jasba Keramik
 
Karlsruhe (Grand Ducal Majolica) mark		  
Kerafina

Kiechle (Arno Kiechle)		  
 
Marzi and Remy (Thanks to several who sent this information.)

 


Another version of the 333 form with a company mark. I suspect
but can't yet prove that this mark was used later, perhaps mid 60's
or so.

Also designed by Kurt Tschörner, the 333 form combines the
elegance and whimsey that are both part of the West German pottery tradition. Some of these Ruscha pieces have an incised shape number
and no "size" designation, making them unusual.

 

If you feel like the essays, information, and pictures were worthwhile, and you would like to support this part of the site, feel free to make a small donation through Paypal. It helps the cats feel like they will continue to be treated in the manner to which they have grown accustomed.

 

Go to West German Marks Page Two or Page Three

Links to other parts of the site are below in the next box.

 West German Images and Information on Ginfor's Odditiques:

Sneak Peek at Kevin Graham's Upcoming Book: Collecting German Ceramics

Ruscha Company Catalog

West German Pottery News

West German Pottery Collectors Club

Book Review: Fat Lava: West German Ceramics of the 1960s & 70s

Essay: Collecting West German Pottery: Thoughts, Philosophy, and History

Essay: Reputation, Reality, and Respect: Sorting Out West German Pottery

Essay : A Divine and Delightful Madness: An Introduction to W. German Pottery

Identification: West German Pottery Marks (Pictures of various marks, bases, and labels)

Photo Gallery of West German items (pictures of items we've had in the past few years, divided by company when possible).

Companies, Potters, Designers (Information about some of the particular companies, studio potters, and designers active during the West German era.)

When asking questions:

1. It really, really helps if you send pictures of the item and the bottom (e-mail or snail mail is fine).

2. When sending pictures by e-mail, please try to keep the file size down. A resolution of 72 ppi is fine for viewing on a monitor.

3. If you get a message saying something about the e-mail or picture being rejected (happened recently), it's not us doing it. Too large a file or wrong file type is the most likely problem.

While this information is free, it is under copyright. We give permission for people to print a copy for personal use. Of course, quoting is always fine as long as proper credit is included. While we may eventually do a book, any support for this part of the site is up to you. There's no obligation, but if you feel like you got enough value out of the essays, information, and pictures, we won't object if you make a small donation though Paypal. The cats like to know that we will be able to support them in the manner they have come to expect.

Thanks to one and all.

Forrest (the "for" part of ginfor)

 ginfor@earthlink.net  

 

Art Pottery (American and European art pottery other than mid century items)

Pottery and Porcelain (Figurines, plates, vases, etc.)

West German Pottery (Mid Century pottery, currently featuring one of the best selections of studio and W. German pottery in the U.S.)

Studio Pottery (While many of these items can be found in other categories, they are also gathered here for those with a special interest in studio work.)

Glass (art glass, stemware, EAPG, Depression, Elegant, etc.)     

Metalware (Various metal items and misc. vases, inkwells, etc.)      

Paintings (oils, watercolors, prints, 19th and 20th century American and European)

Links

Pages About Us

Meet the Gin and the For

Meet the "staff"

The Cor-purr-ate Story (Glyph's Rise to Power)

Contact Information (Phone, etc.)

Essays and Information:

New: The Art of Attending Auctions: A Beginner's Guide

Book Review: Fat Lava, West German Ceramics of the 1960s & 70s

Collecting West German Pottery: Thoughts, Philosophy, and History

A Divine and Delightful Madness: An Intro to W. German Pottery

Learning the Basics about West German Pottery (This is the most in depth essay.)

West German Pottery Marks

W. German Companies, Designers, and Studio Potters

West German Picture Gallery and Identification Aid (pictures of items we've had over the last 3 years)

To Buy or Not To
Buy:  Going Where Price Guides End (thoughts about collecting, aesthetics, and health)

Get the Picture Straight: The Basics of Selling Glass and Pottery on the Internet (how to write item listings, matters of photography, etc.)

E-MAIL US

Ginfor's Odditiques (click to
return "home")

Pedagogy, Philosophy and Nonsense (my "other" site: writing, learning, and odd ideas like long hair and fairy god-princesses)

Please take the time to let us know what you think about the site, the look, the language, photos, items, prices, etc. If you have any questions, comments, or good ideas for conversation, feel free to contact us. There should be e-mail links on every page, and the actual address is ginfor@earthlink.net  

Guarantee: We have a simple, "If you aren't happy, we aren't happy" policy.  If you open a package and suddenly wonder why you bought it in the first place, you can return it for a full refund of your purchase price and the shipping one way.  Your only risk is the cost to ship it back to us. If it turns out that we made a mistake, then we pay the shipping both ways. I won't say "no questions asked" because we will ask so we'll know how to make fewer mistakes.

Payment terms:  We try not to be overly picky about the details.  If we can put it in the bank and pay some bills without any undo fuss, then we'll probably take it.  We're quite happy to take checks and money orders, and we're signed up with Paypal, which is the easiest route if you want to pay by credit card.  If you have some other method in mind, get in touch, and we'll see what we can work out.  Monopoly money, anything you may have printed in the basement, and chickens are right out.