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WMF
(originally Würtemburgische Machin Fabrik AG), originally founded in 1853 in Geislingen an
der Steige, Germany. In 1880 there was an amalgamation of Straub & Sohn and A
Ritter & Co. and the factory became famous for domestic and art metalware
with an appropriate change of name to
Würtemburgische Metallwaren Fabrik AG. A variety of marks have been used during their 150 years of
production. The well known 'ostrich' mark originates from the German word
for ostrich, 'Der Strauss' after Daniel Straub, one of the founders. The
'G' in the mark stands for the town of Geislingen, on the River Fils and near Ulm in Baden-Württemburg.
The company also
bought out AK & Cie (Albert Kőhler und Cie), Orivit
AG of Kőln (Cologne) and Orion Kunstgewerbliche Metallwarenfabrik.
Designers included Hans Peter, Albert Meyer, Herman Obrist, Albin Műller and
Peter Behrens.
This beehive mark was introduced in 1909. A version of the beehive with
clear top was introduced in 1910 for the French market. |
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