Grafenwöhr tower stamped on WMF silverplate
I realize that most of the stuff at Snyder's Treasure is faked, but I wonder if these are an exception.
Grafenwöhr Truppennübungsplatz design
The silverware, itself, is authentic in that it's WMF Modell 1900S which was designed for WMF by Kurt Mayer in 1930. The image is said to be the water tower at Grafenwöhr, and it certainly seems to be the case:
Grafenwöhr water tower
they look ok to me too.
That's encouraging to hear because I just bought the two pieces at eBay:
WW2 GERMAN SIL. PL. FORK AND KNIFE
I did so figuring they were probably fake, but I'm working on a web site dedicated to vintage WMF flatware, and I need to take images as a backdrop to discuss Third Reich era WMF flatware. If they're real, then I'm a doubly happy camper.
Can anyone tell me the actual order of the stamped initials and what they stand for?
Which initials? WMF? Württembergische Metallwarenfabrik (WMF) with its head office in Geislingen.
William
"Much that once was, is lost. For none now live who remember it."
Oh, sorry for not being clear. On the handle, under the tower, it looks like the letters are G T P, then a little P on the right.
Ah! The Monogram! lol Sorry, can't help you much on that one! I never could decipher the monograms on flatware and tankards and such. Some of them are almost like artwork. Unless the flatware belonged to a important public official of some sort, the monograms are likely simply privately engraved by some well to do person for his family or business, and as such are almost impossible to trace. Good luck, in any case!
William
"Much that once was, is lost. For none now live who remember it."
photos would be nice, especial if this thread are going to have a future value.
There are photos in the links in my prior messages. I can't post an image on the board, here, until the pieces arrive, and I can take my own photo — I don't want to infringe on anyone's copyright by posting their image. If you want to hold off on your answer for a few days, that's fine. I do appreciate your willingness to try to decipher it.
I just realized that if you click on this image, it greatly enlarges, so the monogram becomes easy to read:
silverware image
Well...the monogram definitely looks to be "GTPR". Assuming that the "GT" portion of it stands for "Grafenwöhr Tower" as is shown on it, that would leave the "PR" portion to cypher out. It has been a military training area for many many years-since 1907. Hitler even gave several speeches from the tower, so it has fairly deep significance to the German people. Since it has an eagle and swastika, I'll again assume that it refers to something related to the military training taught there, and they're silver plated, so their belonging to the Officers stationed there makes sense. The area was a very large one(over 90 square miles around it) and Waffen SS Panzer's were trained there as well as the Afrika Korps and many more. The "PR" may well stand for any number of combinations of the above or none of it.
Boiled down to a bottom line, I am thinking that the flatware you found is most likely from the instructors and trainers of the military training outfit there. Or...I could be totally wrong here, but perhaps some one will come along soon that knows Exactly what it stands for! There are some Very savvy guys here from all over the World! Good luck, in any case!
William
"Much that once was, is lost. For none now live who remember it."
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