A SMALL COLLECTION OF ANTIQUE SILVER |
| an article of Prof. David N. Nikogosyan for ASCAS - Association of Small Collectors of Antique Silver |
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(click on photos to enlarge image)B.BOHRMANN / B.BOHRMANN NACHFOLGER (SUCCESSOR) COMPANY
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N°
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PERIOD, MARK & COMMENT
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1 |
c.1865 - c.1871  
The earliest mark of B.Bohrmann company, which was found on the silver-plated spoon 20.1 cm long, produced with galvanic silver deposition on brass base. It contains the BB mark, as well the silver amount (72 g), used for silvering of two dozen of such spoons. Here the first version of "BB" mark was applied. It contains BB initials put in rhomb (not in oval) and the image of the fork (not the candle) between the two initials. The size of BB mark is 2.4 mm x 2.4 mm, while the size of the box with the digit 72 is 1.5 mm x 2.2 mm. Extremely rare. |
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2 |
c.1865 - c.1871       
The second mark of B.Bohrmann company, which was used for silver-plated cutlery items, produced with galvanic silver deposition on nickelide base. It contains the "BB" mark (standard version), the prolonged oval with NICKELIDE inscription (from the beginning made with a sans serif font, later with a serif one), and the silver amount (in grams), shown in a rectangular box. In my collection there are two different pieces: a standard 21 cm long spoon and 30.4 cm long ladle. These pieces reveal two different amounts of used silver: 72 g for two dozen spoons and 8 g for one ladle. The size of BB mark is 2.5 mm x 2.5 mm. The length of the inscription NICKELIDE varies between 4.4 mm and 6.1 mm. The size of the box with the digit 72 is 1.3 mm x 2.3 mm, while the box with the digit 8 is 1.6 mm x 1.6 mm. Very rare. |
Second group of marks: Bohrmann & Stern joint company silver-plated
CUTLERY
Main inscriptions: BOHRMANN & STERN, FRANKFURT A/M
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N°
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PERIOD, MARK & COMMENT
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1 |
c.1871 - c.1876
   
The first mark of B.Bohrmann & A.Stern joint company, which was used for silver-plated cutlery items, produced with galvanic silver deposition on brass base. In my collection I possess a spoon 21.7 cm long with this mark. It contains two new marks: the inscription BOHRMANN & STERN and the inscription FRANKFURT A/M (means FRANKFURT am Main in German or FRANKFURT on Main in English, which is the location of the foundry). Besides there is the "BB" mark (standard version), as well the silver amount (72 g), used for silvering of two dozen such spoons. In my case I possess a spoon of 21.7 cm long. The length of the BOHRMANN word is 3.9 mm, while the length of the word FRANKFURT is 4.4 mm. The size of "BB" mark is 2.5 mm x 2.7 mm, while the size of the box with the digit 72 is 1.5 mm x 2.2 mm. Extremely rare. |
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2 |
c.1871 - c.1876    
The second mark of B.Bohrmann & A.Stern joint company, which was used for silver-plated cutlery items, produced with galvanic silver deposition on brass base. It contains two inscriptions: BOHRMANN & STERN and FRANKFURT A/M. In my collection I possess a spoon of 21.7 cm long with this mark. The length of the BOHRMANN word is 3.9 mm, while the length of the word FRANKFURT is 4.4 mm. Besides these usual marks, it contains also two new ones. First one relates to very dense silver coating (120 g per two dozen of standard spoons), while the second one indicates the year of production (1876). The size of the box with the digit 120 is 1.7 mm x 3.3 mm, while the size of the rhombus with the production year is 1.7 mm x 3.4 mm. Very rare. |
Second group of marks: Bohrmann & Stern joint company non-silvered CUTLERY
Main inscriptions: BOHRMANN & STERN, FRANKFURT A/M
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N°
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PERIOD, MARK & COMMENT
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1 |
c.1871 - c.1876   
The third mark of B.Bohrmann & A.Stern joint company, which was used for non-silvered cutlery items, produced from pure nickelide alloy. In my collection I possess a spoon of 20.9 cm long for sugar powder with this mark. It contains two inscriptions: BOHRMANN & STERN and FRANKFURT A/M. Besides there is a shortened version of word NICKELIDE, NICKEL., which is printed upside down. The length of the BOHRMANN word is 3.2 mm, while the length of the word FRANKFURT is 4.5 mm. The length of the inscription NICKEL is 2.5 mm. Very rare. |
Third group of marks: B.Bohrmann company silver-plated CUTLERY
Main sign/inscriptions: "BB"mark, B.BOHRMANN, FRANKFURT A/M
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N°
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PERIOD, MARK & COMMENT
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1 |
c.1876 - YBD         
This mark was used for silver-plated cutlery items produced with galvanic silver deposition on brass base. In my collection there are 4 tea spoons of 14.5 cm long and 1 spoon for sugar powder of 21.4 cm long with this mark. All spoons contain two inscriptions: the inscription B.BOHRMANN and the inscription FRANKFURT A/M. Besides, there is the "BB" mark (standard version), the silver amount boxes: 24 g and 18 g (per 24 tea spoons) and 6 g (per 1 spoon for sugar powder), and the rhombus with the year of the production (sometimes it is absent). The length of the BOHRMANN word varies between 3.2 and 3.5 mm for tea spoons and equal to 4.7 mm in the case of spoon for sugar powder. The length of the word FRANKFURT varies between 3.2 and 3.3 mm for tea spoons and equal to 4.4 mm in the case of spoon for sugar powder. The size of "BB" mark for tea spoons varies between 1.3 mm x 1.5 mm and 1.5 mm x 1.6 mm, and equal to 1.8 mm x 2.4 mm in the case of spoon for sugar powder. The size of the box with the digit 24 (or 18) varies between 0.7 mm x 1.2 mm and 1.0 mm x 1.5 mm. The size of the box with the digit 6 is 1.4 mm x 1.6 mm. The size of the rhombus with the production year varies between 0.8 mm x 1.5 mm and 0.9 mm x 1.7 mm. Very rare. |
Third group of marks: B.Bohrmann company non-silvered HOLLOW WARE
Main sign/inscriptions: "BB" mark, B.BOHRMANN, FRANKFURT A/M
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N°
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PERIOD, MARK & COMMENT
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1 |
c.1876 - YBD    
This mark was used on hollow ware metal items, often produced by punching technology. The upper mark was put on dated (18.11.1876) item, which contains two inscriptions: B.BOHRMANN and FRANKFURT A/M and besides the "BB" mark. Below the general mark there is a model number of three digits. Later items do not contain the second inscription. The size of "BB" mark varies between 4.0 mm x 4.1 mm and 4.1 mm x 4.2 mm. The length of the BOHRMANN word varies between 8.8 and 9.2 mm. Very rare. |
Fourth group of marks: Bohrmann Nachfolger company non-silvered HOLLOW WARE
Main sign/inscriptions: BOHRMANN NACHF./ BOHRMANN NACHFOLGER
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N°
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PERIOD, MARK & COMMENT
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1 |
YBD - c.1881  
This mark for hollow ware metal items was issued after B.Bohrmann death (of course, it is also possible, that it was not death, but retirement). This mark contains the "BB" mark and a very important inscription BOHRMANN NACHF., which means in German BOHRMANN NACHFOLGER and in English BOHRMANN SUCCESSOR. Above the general mark there is a model number from two digits. The size of "BB" mark is 4.1 mm x 4.1 mm. The length of the BOHRMANN word is 6.2 mm. Extremely rare. |
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2 |
YBD - c.1881
This mark for flatware metal items was also issued after B.Bohrmann death/retirement. It contains a more prolonged inscription BOHRMANN NACHFOLGER METALLWAAREN-FABRIK FRANKFURT A/M. Extremely rare. |
Fifth group of marks: Grünebaum & Cahn company non-silvered HOLLOW WARE
Main inscription/sign: "BB" mark
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N°
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PERIOD, MARK & COMMENT
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1 |
c.1881 - 1887 
The second mark for hollow ware metal items is similar to the previous one, but doesn't contain the inscription BOHRMANN NACHF. Often the model number is also absent and only "BB" mark is used. The size of "BB" mark varies between 4.0 mm x 4.2 mm and 4.3 mm x 4.5 mm. Very rare. |
Fifth group of marks: Grünebaum & Cahn company silver-plated CUTLERY
Main sign: "BB" mark
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N°
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PERIOD, MARK & COMMENT
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1 |
c.1881 - 1887    
This cutlery mark was used for silver-plated pieces, produced with galvanic silver deposition on nickelide base. In my collection I possess only one fork 21.5 cm long with such a mark. This mark contains the "BB" mark, the inscription NICKELIDE, the box with the silver amount (100 g), used for silvering of two dozen such forks, and rhomb with the production year information (1884). The size of "BB" mark is 1.5 mm x 1.7 mm. The length of the NICKELIDE word is 5.3 mm. The size of the box with the digit 100 is 1.2 mm x 2.9 mm. The size of the rhombus with the production year is 1.4 mm x 2.5 mm. Very rare. |
Sixth group of marks: Bohrmann company silver-plated HOLLOW WARE
Main inscription: BOHRMANN / GRÜNEBAUM
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N°
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PERIOD, MARK & COMMENT
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1 |
1887 - 1895               
The first mark which refers to silver-plated hollow ware items, produced with galvanic silver deposition on brass base. There are three secondary marks: the name of the firm inside the rectangular box with rounded corners, the box (or two boxes) with one or two digits inside, showing the silver amount used for deposition (in grams), and the rhombus with two last digits of the production year. For comparison, the marks of the Langglük firm are also presented. The length of the inscription BOHRMANN is 7.6 - 7.9 mm. The length of the inscription GRÜNEBAUM is 9.2 mm and the length of the inscription LANGGLÜK is 7.8 mm. The size of the rhombus with the production year for two Bohrmann pieces is 2.1 mm x 3.4 mm. The size of the rhombus with the production year for Grünebaum piece is 2.2 mm x 3.7 mm. The size of the rhombus with the production year for Langglük piece is 1.7 mm x 2.5 mm. Rare. |
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2 |
1895 - 1899            
The second mark differs from the previous one by an essential peculiarity: the name of the firm is given inside a prolonged rectangular box. For comparison, the marks of the Langglük firm are also presented. The length of the inscription BOHRMANN is 7.8 - 7.9 mm. The length of the inscription LANGGLÜK is 8.1 mm. The size of the rhombus with the production year for two Bohrmann hollow ware pieces varies between 2.5 mm x 3.6 mm and 2.8 mm x 3.6 mm. The size of the rhombus with the production year for Langglük piece is 2.0 mm x 2.9 mm. Rare. |
Sixth group of marks: Bohrmann company non-silvered HOLLOW WARE
Main sign: modified BB mark
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N°
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PERIOD, MARK & COMMENT
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1 |
1887 - 1899
The only mark which refers to non-silvered hollow ware items. This is a kind of variation of classical BB mark. The size of the arch is 2.3 mm x 2.7 mm. In my collection, I possess only one piece with such a mark. Extremely rare. |
Sixth group of marks: Bohrmann company silver-plated CUTLERY
Main inscription: BOHRMANN
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N°
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PERIOD, MARK & COMMENT
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1 |
1887 - 1895   
This mark refers to silver-plated cutlery items, produced with galvanic silver deposition on brass base. In my collection, I possess only one fork 20.7 cm long with a mark from this group. There are three secondary marks: the name of the firm (BOHRMANN) inside the rectangular box with rounded corners, the box with three digits inside (100), showing the amount of silver used for silvering of 24 forks (in grams), and the rhombus with two last digits of the production year (1892). The length of the inscription BOHRMANN is 7.8 mm. The size of the rhombus with the production year is 1.6 mm x 3.4 mm. Very rare. |
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2 |
c. 1895 - 1899   
The second mark also refers to silver-plated cutlery items, produced with galvanic silver deposition on brass base. In my collection, I possess one ladle 25.3 cm long with a mark from this group. There are three secondary marks: the name of the firm (BOHRMANN) inside a prolonged rectangular box, the box with one digit inside (8), showing the amount of silver used for silvering this ladle (in grams), and the rhombus with two last digits of the production year (1897). The length of the inscription BOHRMANN is 7.9 mm. The size of the rhombus with the production year is 1.4 mm x 3.0 mm. Very rare. |
Sixth group of marks: Bohrmann company non-silvered CUTLERY
Main inscription: BOHRMANN
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N°
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PERIOD, MARK & COMMENT
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1 |
1887 - 1895
This mark is very simple and consists of the name of the firm (BOHRMANN), given in the rectangular box with rounded corners. In my collection, I possess only one spoon 20.9 cm long with a mark from this group. The length of the inscription BOHRMANN is 7.6 mm. Rare. |
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2 |
1895 - 1899
Next mark consists of the name of the firm (BOHRMANN), given in a prolonged rectangular box. The length of the inscription BOHRMANN is 6.0 mm. Rather common. |
Seventh group of marks: Bohrmann company silver-plated HOLLOW WARE
Main sign: round mark
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N°
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PERIOD, MARK & COMMENT
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1 |
1899 - 1930            
The famous round mark refers to silver-plated hollow ware items, produced with galvanic silver deposition on brass base. There are three secondary marks: the round inscription B.BOHRMANN NACHFOLGER combined with the horizontal inscription FRANKFURT A/M, two digits (or rarely one) from the left of the round inscription, showing the silver amount used for deposition (in grams), and the rhombus with two last digits of the production year from the right of the round inscription. The length of the word FRANKFURT is 8.9 - 9.9 mm. The size of the rhombus with the production year varies between 1.9 mm x 2.7 mm and 3.2 mm x 4.5 mm. Common. |
Seventh group of marks: Bohrmann company non-silvered HOLLOW WARE
Main sign: round mark
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N°
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PERIOD, MARK & COMMENT
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1 |
1899 - 1930
The use of only round inscription without the silver amount and the production year means the absence of silver deposition. Such mark was used for non-silvered hollow ware items. The length of the word FRANKFURT is 8.9 mm. Rare. |
Seventh group of marks: Bohrmann company SMALL items of silver-plated HOLLOW WARE
Main inscription: BOHRMANN
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N°
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PERIOD, MARK & COMMENT
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1 |
1899 - 1930           
In the case of lack of space for marking while using a large round mark, a so-called "small" mark is used. Indeed, it is similar to the mark for silver-plated hollow ware used in the previous period (1895 - 1899). The same secondary marks are used: the name of the firm (BOHRMANN) inside a prolonged rectangular box (sometimes the box is absent), the box (or two boxes) with one or two digits inside, showing the silver amount used for deposition (in grams), and the rhombus with two last digits of the production year. The length of the inscription BOHRMANN varies between 6.0 and 12.4 mm. The size of the rhombus with the production year varies between 1.8 mm x 2.9 mm and 2.4 mm x 3.9 mm. Sometimes, the size of the rhomb is nearly quadratic, e.g. 2.6 mm x 3.0 mm. Common. |
Seventh group of marks: Bohrmann company SMALL items
of non-silvered HOLLOW WARE
Main inscription: BOHRMANN
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N°
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PERIOD, MARK & COMMENT
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1 |
1899 - c.1930
This mark is very simple and consists of the name of the firm (BOHRMANN), given in a prolonged rectangular box. The length of the inscription BOHRMANN is 6.0 mm. Rare. |
Seventh group of marks: Bohrmann company silver-plated CUTLERY
Main inscription: BOHRMANN
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N°
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PERIOD, MARK & COMMENT
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1 |
1899 - 1930     
This mark for silver-plated cutlery items, produced with galvanic silver deposition on brass base, is similar to that used in the previous period (1895-1899). There are three secondary marks: the name of the firm (BOHRMANN) inside a prolonged rectangular box (sometimes, the box is absent), the box with three or two digits inside (100, 90, 60, 21), showing the amount of silver used for silvering of 24 spoons or forks (in grams), and the rhombus with two last digits of the production year. The length of the inscription BOHRMANN is 5.3 - 7.7 mm. The size of the rhombus with the production year varies between 1.6 mm x 2.3 mm and 2.1 mm x 3.3 mm. Common. |
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2 |
1928 - 1930 
Next mark for silver-plated cutlery items demonstrates a slightly different disposition of secondary marks, namely, the designation of used silver amount is moved from the right of firm name to the left of the firm name (like in the case of silver-plated hollow ware items). In my collection, I possess only one tea spoon 13.5 cm long with such a mark. The length of the inscription BOHRMANN is 7.9 mm. Rare. |
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3 |
1910  
Recently I bought my first Bohrmann knife, 26.8 cm long. It possesses the inscription on the blade BOHRMANN FRANKFURT A/M, and two secondary marks on the handle: a box with the designation of the amount of silver used for silvering of 24 handles (30 grams) and rhombus with two last digits of the production year (1910). The length of the inscription BOHRMANN is 14.2 mm. The length of the word FRANKFURT is 11.8 mm. The size of the rhombus with the production year is 2.1 mm x 3.4 mm. Rare. |
Seventh group of marks: Bohrmann company non-silvered CUTLERY
Main inscription: BOHRMANN
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N°
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PERIOD, MARK & COMMENT
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1 |
1899 - c.1930
This mark for non-silvered cutlery items is similar to one, used between 1895 and 1899. It consists of the name of the firm (BOHRMANN), given in a prolonged rectangular box. The length of the inscription BOHRMANN is 6.0 mm. Common.. |
Eighth group of marks: Bohrmann company silver-plated
HOLLOW WARE
Main sign: two-line inscription
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N°
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PERIOD, MARK & COMMENT
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1 |
1930 - 1940     
This mark for silver-plated hollow ware items, produced with galvanic silver deposition on brass base, contains the same text as the round mark in the previous period, but given in two lines inside a fancy shield of a prolonged shape. The length of the inscription BOHRMANN varies between 10.6 and 11.0 mm. The length of the word FRANKFURT varies between 11.9 and 12.1 mm. There are two digits from the left and from the right of the shield. The left digit refers to the amount of silver, used for silvering (in grams). The right digit, put in rhombus, shows the last two digits (from 1935 four digits) of the production year. The size of the rhombus with two digits is about 2.3 mm x 3.3 mm. The size of the rhombus with four digits varies between 2.0 mm x 4.4 mm and 2.3 mm x 5.2 mm. Rather common. |
Eighth group of marks: Bohrmann company SMALL items of silver-plated HOLLOW WARE
Main inscription: BOHRMANN
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N°
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PERIOD, MARK & COMMENT
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1 |
1930 - 1940     
In the case of lack of space for marking a so-called "small" mark is used. Indeed it is similar to the mark for silver-plated hollow ware used in the previous period (1899 - 1930). The same secondary marks are used: the name of the firm (BOHRMANN) inside a prolonged rectangular box (sometimes the box is absent), the box (or two boxes) with one or two digits inside, showing the silver amount used for deposition (in grams), and the rhombus with two last digits (from 1935 four digits) of the production year. The length of the inscription BOHRMANN varies between 7.8 and 12.4 mm. The size of the rhombus with two digits is 2.6 mm x 2.7 mm. The size of the rhombus with four digits varies between 1.7 mm x 4.0 mm and 2.3 mm x 4.4 mm. Rather common. |
Eighth group of marks: Bohrmann company silver-plated CUTLERY
Main inscription: BOHRMANN
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N°
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PERIOD, MARK & COMMENT
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1 |
1930 - 1940       
The mark for silver-plated cutlery items uses the disposition of secondary marks, accepted in 1928, namely, the designation of used silver amount is moved to the left of the firm name (like in the case of hollow ware marking). In my collection, I possess a couple of tee strainers with such a mark, 15.0 cm and 15.6 cm long and issued in 1935 and 1936, correspondingly. The length of the inscription BOHRMANN in both cases is 7.8 mm. The size of the rhombus with two digits is 1.9 mm x 2.9 mm. The size of the "rhombus" with four digits is 1.1 mm x 1.6 mm. Rather common. |
go to the article B.BOHRMANN / B.BOHRMANN NACHFOLGER (SUCCESSOR) COMPANY, FRANKFURT/MAIN, GERMANY. 1. HISTORY.
Dr. David N. Nikogosyan, Bonn, Germany
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