National-Bräu Steinkrug |19005| Sammlung Jorge Soriano

Villeroy & Boch - Modell Nr. 1909

Aus die Sammlung von Jorge O. Soriano

National-Bräu

Nice bold, fancy red & black lettering.

4/10L capacity and a blue ink calibration mark.

Distance from the calibration mark to rim is 2cm. Used pre-1936.

Very good condition inside and out.

Open Five (5) Ring Hinge started to be used around 1895. Ball thumblift atop the hinge fits the period

Patina is darker than picture shows.

Smooth, white inside of lid

No marks underneath lid.

Recessed base. See description section for details.

Close-up.. Wow! That’s a lot of identification marks!!

National-Bräu

Stein Identification. Let’s start with the base, which offers the most information.

1. Green ink stamp/mark “Villeroy & Boch - Mettlach, Germany”
• Manufacturer’s logo, telling you it was made at the Villeroy & Boch factory in Mettlach, Saarland.

2. Form (mold) number “1909”
• The factory’s internal shape/design identifier—it tells you which relief or sculptural pattern the mold produced, not a date.

3. Roman numeral “III”
• Indicates the size class of the piece (I = smallest, II = next size up, etc.). Mine being “III” steers me to the third largest standard size for that mold.

4. Date code “02”
• The only true date stamp: my stein was produced in 1902 (Mettlach used two digits for the year, e.g. “02” = 1902).

5. Decorator/batch code “24”
• A second incised number (beyond the date code) always refers to the painter’s or batch ID, so you can trace which workshop or artisan hand colored that piece.

6. Red ink inspector/quality mark “52”
• Applied by a quality control inspector or glazing department, this small red stamp shows “52” signed off on that firing run or finishing stage.

7. Impressed letter “A”
• A mold revision or kiln batch code, helping the factory track subtle updates or which kiln load the piece came out of.

More details that help with identification:

The distance from the calibration mark to the rim is exactly 2cm or 20mm. 1935 or earlier.

Open five (5) ring hinge used starting ca. 1895.

REFERENCES.

Mettlach Beer Steins: An Introduction
[Link]

Duisburg Museum: National-Brau.
[Link]

National brewery" on the Kaiserberg
[Link]

The beer mug and its calibration mark
[Link]

National Brewery AG, Listing: Profit participation certificate.
[Link]

Beer Stein Net - Pewter Fittings.
[Link]

Beer Mug Wiki: National Bräu
[Link]

Prost!