Ken,
The ebay listing is now included in TBSL D&B catalog. It might be a little harsh to say one firm stole the other’s handle (how do we know who was the first to use it). There are only so many ways to make a beer stein handle, so let us just say they probably took steps to make their handles look different. The Westerwald Beer Stein Handle Gallery does warn the viewer when there are similar handles with the red background as Bill points out. Keep in mind that this gallery only covers 12 manufacturers and 812 handles. At worst, it is only one attribute to help identify the maker.
Stein auction catalogs rarely show a photo of the handle. TBSL and ebay listings usually show the handle. I had an unmarked stein I was trying to identify and got a hit on the handle. When I look in that manufacturer’s catalog on TBSL I could only find one stein with that handle (and it wasn’t mine). I asked Frank how he was compiling the gallery, but he wasn’t interested in sharing it with me. I then reviewed the catalog again and found one scene that appeared in one panel of my stein.
When we see something in print we tend to take it as fact. In many cases it is an error that has just been compounded by multiple printings. Although the listings in the catalogs can be traced to a manufacturer’s catalog in some cases or has their mark, the photos do not state how it was identified (mark, catalog or other attribute). I have seen some listing misidentified and later corrected. It would be helpful if the source of identification were identified and referenced.
