Schafer & Vater are interesting enough to warrant a second entry here. Schafer and Vater was established in 1890 to make fine porcelain figurines and doll’s heads. In the course of its business, however, the company developed it’s own form of jasperware, majolica and types of other pottery. By 1910, the company’s wares were so popular and abundant that Sears, Roebuck and Co. imported the pottery and sold it through its catalog and stores.
Schafer & Vater was also involved in the German Giveaway business in the 1920′s. In this case, the figural bottles made in Germany were shipped empty to English and American purchasers. The purchasers were bars, liquor stores and organizations sponsoring dances and fairs. The purchasers filled the bottles and gave them away. The name and address of the bar, liquor store or other organization was either stamped on the bottle when it was made or a paper label was added later. Many of these bottles are made in shades of brown or blue, and the remaining are fully colored. These bottles usually incorporate a sense of fun in their design, and are German antique porcelain that makes the viewer smile or laugh.
Schafer Vater also made comic or figural tea pots, jugs, match strikers and planter. There jasperware items were not classical, like Wedgwood’s, but more romantic motifs and thicker cameo figures on the creamy “jasper” base. Schafer & Vater did not mark many of these items, so if you have a piece that is not marked, it is Schafer & Vater and not Wedgwood, which is always marked with the Wedgwood maker’s mark. The maker’s mark sometimes includes the words “Made in Germany” or “Germany”, and mold numbers may also be found on the bottom of some pieces.
When Schafer & Vater old porcelain is marked, the mark is a capital R within a nine-point star, surmounted by a crown. The R stands for Rudolstad, the town where S&V (as it is known to collectors) was founded. Volksted Rudolstad was in Thuringia, Germany. The company ceased operations in 1962, and in 1972 the East German government took over the factory and destroyed all records and molds. In some ways this is good, because there are no “after” pieces to confuse the issue, but it is still a shame that this information and the artifacts have been lost.
FYI: S&V was recognized enough for its production values that it was one of the authorized manufacturers of the Rose O’Neill Kewpies.
I recommend the following sites for illustrations of the S&V wares:
main site: http://www.schafer-vater.com/
figural bottles: http://www.figuralminibottles.net/schafer/schafer.shtml
bottle themes: http://www.figuralminibottles.net/schafer/schafer vater themes.shtml
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