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From: Walt Vogdes
Remote Name: 68.116.104.205
Date: 12/31/2003
Time: 04:57:37 PM
Thanks for making that distinction, Andy, it points out an error that (I believe) was first published in Prosit and then carried forward in Les Hopper's work.
Circa 1903 the firm of Reinhold Merkelbach used the following two-line mark:
R. MERKELBACH
GRENZHAUSEN
In 1936 the villages of Höhr and Grenzhausen were united, and the mark
required changing. Since the second line was being lengthened by about 5
characters, what to do with the first line? The answer was
REINH. MERKELBACH
HÖHR-GRENZHAUSEN
While we are at it, let's clear up a couple of other things in this reference.
The mark with the letters DB above WB inside a large G all inside a square - is not a pottery mark of Reinhold Merkelbach's. It stands for Dürer-Bund Werkbund Genossenschaft, a cooperative formed to market and sell selected high quality works of artistic merit (Jugendstil). It was much like the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval from today. While it may be seen on works in other media, the only ceramic manufacturer whose products were handled by this cooperative were Reinhold Merkelbach's! Since R. Merkelbach marked their stoneware very reliably, you will usually find a company trademark accompanying this mark.
There is another mark shown which seems to have two curved lines at the top and bottom of the downstroke of the R, and a G conjoined with an M (see the next page). I suggest this is nothing more than a partially obscured instance of the RM inside a G mark used from 1945, or the later version used from 1964.
The impressed marks "KRAUSE", "RIEMERSCHMID" and "WYNAND" are not trademarks, but the names of designers who submitted designs during the Jugendstil era. Wynand provided designs predominantly (exclusively?) for R. Merkelbach, but the other two produced designs for other firms in the ceramic industry, as well. You may also find works from this firm marked with the names HOHLWEIN, PAUL WYNAND or NIEMEYER. Niemeyer's name is sometimes found in script inside a fancy oval border. You may also observe a conjoined LH, for Leonhard Hellmuth. All of these individuals were well known designers of this era.