Tuesday, July 15, 2008

ULMER OR WILMER?



Q: I have looked high and low for this mark and can't identify it. It says "Wilmer Keramik" on it. Can you tell me anything about this?

A: Your dish was made by Ulmer Keramik. Ulmer vases, plates, and other decorative pieces are often offered for sale on the Internet, but there is very little information about the company. The words "Made in Germany" indicate that the piece was probably made after 1915. We have seen Ulmer Keramik pieces marked "Made in W Germany," indicating they were made between 1949 and 1990. Your dish was probably made before World War II.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ulmer Keramik is from the town of Ulm, where Einstein was born, in Bavaria (southern Germany).

"Ulmer Spatz" (the sparrow from Ulm) is also one of their patterns. The legend of the Ulm Sparrow tells us that the Ulm citizens were transporting wooden beams for the Minster construction (a very large cathedral) into the city. The beams were loaded crosswise on the carriages which led to a problem upon entering the narrow city gate.

The citizens had already deduced that the gate had to be demolished to enable the wood's passage. As a blessing to the gate they then noticed a sparrow winging by, carrying a long straw in its beak.
When they observed the sparrow inserting this straw lengthwise into a niche of the gate-tower where it was building its nest the good citizens of Ulm experienced a revelation and they repositioned their beams lengthwise on the carriage.

Ulmer Keramik has beautiful, distinctive work. I think it went out of business sometime in the 1950s or 1960s?

Anonymous said...

Does anyone have further information on Ulmer Keramik. I have a piece that is unlike any others I have seen out there with a different mark than the others. I have pictures available. Thank you.

coemgenus said...

After my first year of college, I worked at Ulmer Keramik during the summer of 1961. I have no idea when it closed. The firm was owned by a "Herr Sauer" at whose home I had dinner on one occasion.

Anonymous said...

I was very interested in the information about Ulmer Keramik. I was given a jug by a German friend from Ulm who said it had some value. Included in the design on the jug is what I now know as the Ulmer Spatz. The only other information I have is the name of the name of the potery Ulmer Keramik circling a blue spot.

kurisu-san said...

re: "Ulmer Keramik circling a blue spot" - that mark was introduced 1959 and used until 1986.

Anonymous said...

I have a small planter with green trees. It has a mark on the bottom that is sorta in the shape of a shamrock, with a picture of something and his name in it. Does anyone know anything about a piece like this?

pocahantas said...

I have the basket with the green vines on the sides and it only says Made in Germany 400. Does this mean that it was made prior to 1959? Also all the ones I have found online have flowers painted on the green leaves but mine does not. It is almost as if it was not finished. Does anyone know anything about this basket and it's value?