The first group of WMF marks contains the inscription composed of three letters, "W", "M", and "F", sometimes the letters "M" and "F" are joined together. All inscriptions are made with a "sans serif" font. In some cases, the dots inside the inscription and after it are also present. The possible reason for that is discussed above. The length of "WMF" inscriptions varies in the range 3.1-4.0 mm. Some marks from this group are rare/very rare.




























 

A full WMF mark image for the first group contains the volume designation in litres (1 litre corresponds to 1000 cm3). Note a comma which is used for the volume designation. Some secondary markings are used as well. The fraction "I/O" means the normal thickness of silver deposited onto the surface of the base metal (usually, on brass). The two-letter inscription "as" means artificial darkening of the silver surface to a nearly black colour, the so-called "antique silver finish".


























 

The second group of WMF marks contains the marks with four-letter letterings, with dots or without, which are the combinations of the word "WMF" with the following letters: "M", "N" (rarely) or "B". Such a way of marking allows the designation of the base metal used for silvering, i.e., brass, in German "Messing" ("M"), nickel silver, in German "Neusilber" ("N"), or tin-containing alloy, in German "Britannia metall" ("B"), respectively. All the inscriptions are made both with "serif" (rarely) or "sans serif" fonts and sometimes are put in a cartouche. Older inscriptions are made with a "serif" font and put in a cartouche. The length of WMFM, WMFN and WMFB inscriptions varies in the range 3.2-5.6 mm. There are other varieties from this group which are not shown here, but exist in the literature, e.g., "W.M.F.B". Some marks from this group are rare/very rare.













































































 

A full WMF mark image for the second group contains the volume designation in litres. Note the use of a fraction for designation. Some secondary markings are used as well, the meaning of "I/O" and "as" designations is explained above. The two-letter inscription "OX" ("oxydiert" in German, "oxidized" in English) means artificial darkening of the silver surface to a grey colour.
The "O" letter put in a rhombus means an increased (by 1.5 times) thickness of plated silver layer. The size of the "O" rhombus is between 1.5 mm x 2.6 mm and 1.9 mm x 2.9 mm. The double-letter inscription "gg" is an abbreviation of the German expression "ganz vergoldet", which means "entirely gilded".





















































































































































 

If there is no enough space for marking, then the special "small mark" should be applied. In this period, WMF factory used the standard cutlery marks, namely, four-letter inscriptions WMFN and W.M.F.N., given in italics. They are discussed in detail in my accompanying paper on WMF cutlery mark. The letter "N" is the sign for Neusilber (Alpacca), used as a base metal for silvering. The length of WMFN inscription is 3.4-3.9 mm. Rare.






 

The full "small mark" contains besides above-discussed symbols I/O, OX and as (all given without a rectangular frame), the so-called "antler" mark, developed from the Wurtemberg Coat of Arms and used at around 1900 on nickel silver flatware. The meaning of such marking is not clear. It could be the 20 year jubilee of the WMF firm or simply the celebration of the new century. There are two varieties of this mark, one antler image is strait, while the other is convex. The size of the antler mark frame is between 1.1 mm x 2.7 mm and 1.2 mm x 2.9 mm.































































 

If Art Nouveau WMF item, issued in around 1900 or later, bears a full mark without any silvering designation, that means it contains no silver and has been made entirely of base metal.





 

A special mark for WMF Argentan/Alpacca-based silver-plated hollow ware products. It consists of the one-word inscription "GEISLINGEN" of 6.6-6.7 mm length, made by a "sans serif" font and put in a rectangular frame. Rare.


 

A full mark for this pattern includes a comma in the volume designation (cf. the full mark for the first group). Besides, there is a rectangle with digits, which correspond to the amount of silver (in grams) used for plating. The rectangle with 4-digit "1901" inscription corresponds to the year of issue.




























 

The oldest WMF export mark which was used simultaneously on hollow ware and cutlery items. It consists of a "fancy" three-letter WMF inscription, put in an oval. The peculiarity of this mark is a broken "F" letter in the WMF inscription. No secondary markings were found for this mark. The size of the oval is 1.8 mm x 2.8 mm. Beautiful and very rare!








 

Next WMF export mark for hollow ware items was used for the items exported to the UK (and/or to the US) in the above-mentioned period. Such mark contains again a three-letter WMF inscription with dots or without (preferentially), but contrary to previous mark made with a "serif" font and put in a rectangular frame. The length of the three-letter WMF inscription varies in the range 4.7-6.0 mm. Rare.










 

A full mark for WMF hollow ware items, exported to the UK (and/or to the US), contains some new secondary marks. The two-letter inscription EP means "electroplate". Another two-letter inscription "NS" means nickel silver (Alpacca, Neusilber) and serves as a designation of a base metal for silvering. The size of the "EP" box varies between 1.5 mm x 2.9 mm and 2.1 mm x 3.9 mm. The size of the "NS" box varies between 1.7 mm x 3.2 mm and 2.2 mm x 3.8 mm. The size of the frame for the "convex" antler mark is 1.2 mm x 2.7 mm.









































































 

If exported WMF item (issued around 1900 and later) bears a full mark without any silvering designation, that means it contains no silver and has been made entirely of base metal.










 

The famous ostrich mark consists of the image of a running ostrich put inside the rhombus with a two-line inscription WMF/G (G is for Geislingen), which is in turn placed in a dashed rectangle. The size of the rectangle varies between 3.6 mm x 4.2 mm and 3.9 mm x 4.7 mm. A widespread mark, though it is rather difficult to find one in perfect condition.











 

The full mark uses numerous secondary markings, all are applied in a rectangular frame. The fraction "I/O" means the normal thickness of silver deposited on the surface of the base metal. The size of the "I/O" box varies between 1.9 mm x 2.3 mm and 2.2 mm x 2.6 mm. The one-letter inscription "B" means the use of Britannia metal (tin-based alloy) as a base metal for silvering. The size of the "B" box varies between 1.8 mm x 2.1 mm and 2.1 mm x 2.4 mm. The two-letter inscription "MB" means a combined use of both brass (M) and Britannia metal (B) as base metals. The size of the "MB" box is about 2.2 mm x 3.5 mm. The absence of any base metal designations means the use of brass as a base metal. The "M" designation alone was never used at this period. The two-letter inscription "OX" ("oxydiert" in German, "oxidized" in English) means artificial darkening of the silver surface to a grey colour. The size of the "OX" box varies between 1.9 mm x 2.1 mm and 2.2 mm x 2.5 mm. The two-letter inscription "as" means artificial darkening of the silver surface to a nearly black colour, the so-called "antique silver finish". The size of the "as" box varies between 1.9 mm x 2.3 mm and 2.2 mm x 2.6 mm. Finally, the six-petal rosette probably means "Special order" or "Special issue". The size of this box is about 2.1 mm x 2.1 mm.











































































































 

If a hollow ware WMF item, issued between 1903 and 1910, bears a full mark without any silvering designation, that means it contains no silver and is made entirely of base metal.


































 

If there is not enough space for marking, then the special "small marks" should be applied. In this period, WMF factory used in such cases the standard cutlery mark, namely, the "ostrich" image in rhombus. The size of the rhombus varies between 1.8 mm x 2.5 mm and 1.9 mm x 2.7 mm. This mark is discussed in detail in the accompanying paper on WMF cutlery marks.






 

The full "small mark" contains also the inscription "WMF" in italics and silvering mark "I/O". Sometimes, the silvering mark is absent. That means, the item is made entirely of a base metal. The length of the WMF inscription is 3.2-3.6 mm. Very rare.










 

Next WMF export mark for hollow ware items was used for the items exported to Austria-Hungary in the period between 1903 and 1910. Such mark contains again a three-letter WMF inscription with dots (mostly) or without, made with a "sans serif" font and put in a rectangular frame. In this case, the secondary marks are never used. The length of the three-letter WMF inscription varies in the range 4.5-4.9 mm. Very rare.







 

This ostrich mark was developed to mark export goods made for France. It contains the image of a running ostrich inserted in the rhombus with a two-line inscription WMF/G, which in turn was placed inside a fully-dashed arch. The size of the arch varies between 1.4 mm x 1.8 mm and 2.1 mm x 3.0 mm. The silver-plated products with this mark are very rare.










 

If the full mark of the item doesn't contain any silvering mark, that means the object is made solely of base metal.




 

The similar mark was used on numerous WMF kitchen ware (in German Küchengeschirr) products, made of non-ferrous metals without any silvering. In this case the size of the arch is significantly larger than in the case of silver-plated items. It varies between 2.9 mm x 3.9 mm and 4.5 mm x 6.4 mm. Very common.


























 

Full mark for non-ferrous metals includes some new secondary markings. The combination "M.PL. " probably means in German "Messing plaquiert" or plated brass. Another combination "N.PL. " means in German "Neusilber plaquiert" or plated Neusilber (nickel silver). In both cases the plated metal is nickel.






























































 

Next ostrich mark bears the image of a running ostrich set inside the rhombus with a two-line inscription WMF/G, which in turn is placed inside a partly-dashed arch. The size of the arch varies between 1.2 mm x 1.8 mm and 2.3 mm x 3.5 mm. This mark is a widespread one. A rarer (and more recent) variety with the ostrich making a larger step exists.









































 

The full mark uses numerous secondary markings, most of them (older ones) are applied in a rectangular frame. The fraction "I/O" means the normal thickness of silver deposited on the surface of the base metal. The size of the "I/O" box varies between 1.9 mm x 2.5 mm and 2.2 mm x 2.7 mm. The one-letter inscription "B" means the use of Britannia metal (tin-based alloy) as a base metal for silver deposition. The size of the "B" box varies between 1.5 mm x 1.7 mm and 2.3 mm x 2.7 mm. The two-letter inscription "BM" means a combined use of both Britannia metal (B) and brass (M) as base metals. The size of the "BM" box is about 1.6 mm x 4.2 mm. The one-letter inscription "N" means the use of nickel silver (Neusilber or Alpacca in German) as a base metal for silvering. The size of the "N" box is 1.8 mm x 2.0 mm. The one-word inscription "ALPACCA" also refers to the use of nickel silver as a base metal. The length of the "ALPACCA" word is 5.6-5.8 mm. The size of the "ALPACCA" box is 1.2 mm x 6.3 mm. The one-letter inscription "K" means the use of copper (Kupfer in German) as a base metal for silvering. The size of the "K" box is 1.5 mm x 1.7 mm. The absence of any base metal designation means the use of brass as a base metal. The "M" designation alone was never used at this period. The two-letter inscription "OX" ("oxydiert" in German, "oxidized" in English) means artificial darkening of the silver surface to a grey colour. The size of the "OX" box varies between 1.7 mm x 2.0 mm and 2.1 mm x 2.5 mm. The one-letter inscription "g" means "vergoldet" in German or "gilt" in English. The meaning of the one-letter inscription "f" is yet unclear. The six-petal rosette means "Special Order" or "Special Issue". The size of the box with six-petal rosette is 2.3 mm x 2.4 mm.




















































































































































 

If the full mark of the item doesn't contain any silvering mark, then such an object is made solely of base metal.



































 

The next WMF mark contains a 2D combination of three letters, "W", "M", and "F", put in a rectangle. The size of the rectangle varies between 2.0 mm x 2.2 mm and 2.5 mm x 2.6 mm. Rather rare.













 

The full mark uses few secondary markings, most of them (older ones) are applied in a rectangular or oval cartouche. Contrary to previous hollow ware marks, used between 1903 and 1920, the amount of silver (in grams), deposited on the surface of the base metal, is given in a rectangular box. The one-letter inscription "N" means the use of nickel silver (Neusilber or Alpacca in German) as a base metal for silvering. The size of the "N" box is 1.9 mm x 2.3 mm. The one-word inscription "ALPACCA" also refers to the use of nickel silver as a base metal. The length of the "ALPACCA" word is about 5.8 mm. The size of the "ALPACCA" box is 1.2 mm x 6.3 mm. Sometimes, the year of issue is given in an oval cartouche.




























































 

If the full mark discussed above uses the "NS" (nickel silver) designation for a base metal [instead of the "N" (Neusilber) symbol], then this mark is the export one and the item with such a mark was produced for sale in the UK or the US. The size of the rectangular frame for the "NS"" designation is about 1.4 mm x 2.8 mm. After 1925 the "NS " designation is made with a "sans serif " font. At the same time the export ware is often accompanied by a shortened factory name.









 

The Art Deco WMF mark, containing the image of the running ostrich in a rhombus, exists in two versions, which differ in the outlook of the ostrich tail and in size. In the first version with the round tail, the size of the rhombus is about 4.7 mm x 5.6 mm, while in the second one, with the ostrich tail turned up, the rhombus is larger, i.e., 7.3 mm x 9.0 mm. No secondary markings were found for this mark.























 

The next WMF mark contains the same 2D combination of three letters, "W", "M", and "F", put in a partly-dashed arch. The size of the arch varies between 2.3 mm x 3.9 mm and 2.2 mm x 4.0 mm. No silvering designations were used together with this mark. Rather rare.












 

The full mark image contains the volume designation in a cartouche.










 

The next WMF mark contains the famous 2D combination of three letters, "W", "M", and "F", placed in an empty arch. The size of the arch varies between 1.7 mm x 2.5 mm and 2.2 mm x 3.3 mm. No secondary markings were mentioned for this mark. Rather rare.