Alfons Wilhelm Lötschert was known to be in production at Oststraße 9 in 1912. It is possible that Dr. Fritz Hammerschmidt was working with, and supplying chemical expertise to Lötschert, from the start. Hammerschmidt purchased parts of the property, a kiln and various molds and materials, from him in 1919. He spent some semesters during 1919 & 1920, learning his trade at the Königliche Fachschule in Höhr, but did not attend all the subjects. The company was first officially registered on the 23rd November 1920. Dr Fritz Hammerschmidt was listed in the 1921/22 Grenzhausen address book, but closed down soon afterwards. There were fifteen employees. Hammerschmidt initiated no new designs during his ownership.
I have only seen one other stein like this one on German ebay, that one had a Hammerschmidt logo on the base, left pic above top right. This one only has a 1/2L capacity mark and #373 on the base and is about 5-1/2" tall. This unmarked stein could have been made by Lötschert or Hammerschmidt because it looks like they both used the same numbering set (style and size).
View the collection of Mike Finn
| type | stein | material | stoneware |
| producer | other | mold | 373 |
| designer/decorator | Wilhelm Ratelbeck | ||
| capacity | 0.5L | ||
| design date | 1912-1922 | ||
| height | 14.0 cm (appx. 5.4 inches.) |
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