5. Introduction to Allach, The War Years. # 581
With Germany at war, change was everywhere
and Allach was not an exception. Although this small porcelain firm had
created some of the finest porcelain known to date from 1936 to 1939,
the war would seem to have little change on Allach; but enough change to
note differences in manufacture, markings, and process of manufacture.
Some
catalog pieces were discontinued, new ones added, and
presentations were again at the forefront of the Allach endeavor. With
the war came new territories and the addition of Bohemia Porcelain Works
as a Reich's economic concern. Another feather in the cap of the SS.
This small Czech firm made some very fine pieces and no doubt took some
heat off of Allach as they produced common household wears and
decorative glass. This would aid in allowing Allach to follow its core
intent of providing exceptional catalog and presentation pieces that
suited the cultural tastes and mindset of the SS. Allach would continue
its cultural course.
So how does a collector know what is
correct and not correct in the market place with the advent of
fraudulent pieces?. The truth is most do not know how to tell, and with
the lack of resources at his finger tips unlike many other aspects of
the hobby, it makes it even more difficult to navigate. One can only
assume that the fakes will get better and the number of them coming to
market is higher than ever before. Yet, no one has taken the time to try
and correlate the data that is available and apply it to text in the
English language. And even if they did, they still would have had to
handle many pieces to utilize it with any type of accuracy in regards to
production.
What pieces were manufactured in 1936 and managed
to last through the war years? and which were discontinued?. How does a
1936 model and the same model made in 1942 differ?. What was the actual
process of manufacture and how did it change to accommodate the 2nd
World War?. How do we, with production figures for a mere two years
approach nine years of production?. Good questions.
In an
attempt to sort through all of these questions I am going to use these
production figures, markings, paint schemes, labor issues for the war
effort, and any other information I have, to put forth some information
to try and make it easier for the collectors and historians to assess
why a piece is good or bad or to just absorb some information that they
may not have had access to. Will there be mistakes in the data? Yes, I
think so, but as this site progresses I will amend and change data when
new data comes to my attention. This web site does not seek perfection
or claim to be an all knowing entity. It is a study and an application
of data.
There are no marking's on this site for good reason, I
have cataloged what I could and will continue to do so as the piece's
show up. There are entire blocks of production pieces never seen by
myself that were essentially produced and discontinued within a 12 month
period, combine that with survival rates and we have pieces that may
never be seen.
What we do have, is a company that placed an
extraordinary emphasis on porcelain manufacture, and even with changes
bought on by a 2nd World War and the darkest era in modern history,
managed to manufacture a consistently high quality product that
never faltered or denied its roots from its time of inception.
Introduction to Allach, The War Years.
With Germany at war, change was everywhere
and Allach was not an exception. Although this small porcelain firm had
created some of the finest porcelain known to date from 1936 to 1939,
the war would seem to have little change on Allach; but enough change to
note differences in manufacture, markings, and process of manufacture.
Some
catalog pieces were discontinued, new ones added, and
presentations were again at the forefront of the Allach endeavor. With
the war came new territories and the addition of Bohemia Porcelain Works
as a Reich's economic concern. Another feather in the cap of the SS.
This small Czech firm made some very fine pieces and no doubt took some
heat off of Allach as they produced common household wears and
decorative glass. This would aid in allowing Allach to follow its core
intent of providing exceptional catalog and presentation pieces that
suited the cultural tastes and mindset of the SS. Allach would continue
its cultural course.
So how does a collector know what is
correct and not correct in the market place with the advent of
fraudulent pieces?. The truth is most do not know how to tell, and with
the lack of resources at his finger tips unlike many other aspects of
the hobby, it makes it even more difficult to navigate. One can only
assume that the fakes will get better and the number of them coming to
market is higher than ever before. Yet, no one has taken the time to try
and correlate the data that is available and apply it to text in the
English language. And even if they did, they still would have had to
handle many pieces to utilize it with any type of accuracy in regards to
production.
What pieces were manufactured in 1936 and managed
to last through the war years? and which were discontinued?. How does a
1936 model and the same model made in 1942 differ?. What was the actual
process of manufacture and how did it change to accommodate the 2nd
World War?. How do we, with production figures for a mere two years
approach nine years of production?. Good questions.
In an
attempt to sort through all of these questions I am going to use these
production figures, markings, paint schemes, labor issues for the war
effort, and any other information I have, to put forth some information
to try and make it easier for the collectors and historians to assess
why a piece is good or bad or to just absorb some information that they
may not have had access to. Will there be mistakes in the data? Yes, I
think so, but as this site progresses I will amend and change data when
new data comes to my attention. This web site does not seek perfection
or claim to be an all knowing entity. It is a study and an application
of data.
There are no marking's on this site for good reason, I
have cataloged what I could and will continue to do so as the piece's
show up. There are entire blocks of production pieces never seen by
myself that were essentially produced and discontinued within a 12 month
period, combine that with survival rates and we have pieces that may
never be seen.
What we do have, is a company that placed an
extraordinary emphasis on porcelain manufacture, and even with changes
bought on by a 2nd World War and the darkest era in modern history,
managed to manufacture a consistently high quality product that
never faltered or denied its roots from its time of inception.
Introduction to Allach, The War Years.