Stein Collectors International
Featured Stein: October 2016
Stein Collectors International
Featured Stein:
October 2016
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| This etched stein, No. 1755, was designed by Rudy Dekker and produced by the firm of Reinhold Hanke. It depicts a peaceful mountain scene: at left, a Jäger (hunter) with his rifle slung over his shoulder and his dog at his side; in the center a seated woman is knitting; and at right, a second man sits next to the woman, holding a stein of beer in his lap. Further to the right, next to the handle, is a snippet of German wisdom: | ||
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Ein fröhlich Herz heilt allen Schmerz |
A happy heart heals all sorrows | |
 On a stone below the
verse and next to the lower handle attachment are the initials "RD",
the signature of Rudy Dekker.
SCI Master Steinologist Les Hopper (dec.) collected and wrote
extensively about Girmscheid steins bearing the KB signature of Karl
Beuler and noted the existence of the RD signature in an article in Prosit
in March of 1996. Hopper found that SCI Master Steinologist Roland
Henschen had previously identified RD as Rudy Dekker in his series of
columns titled The Stein Makers which appeared in the Tri-State
Trader between 1971 and 1981.
Many Girmscheid steins are unmarked, as are many Hanke steins, they are
often difficult to tell apart. In the years since Hopper introduced
collectors to Dekker we have learned that Dekker's signature is found
on Hanke steins, and he apparently never worked for Girmscheid. Of
course, making that distinction is important, but in no way diminishes
the appeal of Dekker-designed steins to collectors.
The lid of this stein includes a pottery inlay within a pewter ring,
seen below left. The base is marked with the model number (1755) and an
ink-stamped mark which has resisted identification, but which is
believed to be the mark of a distributor or retailer in the city of
Coblenz. |
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