“Guiseppe the Happy Clown”

Albert Stahl & Co - modelnr. 290

Uit de verzameling van Paulo Vik Falcon

The trademark of the factory "Albert Stahl & Co." in different periods of activity

Character stein “Guiseppe the Happy Clown”.

You can watch a video about this mug at this link: [link]

A large beer porcelain volumetric mug is made in the form of a statuette of a cheerful clown Giuseppe with his trained dog. The mug is made in blue and white tones and is part of the "Giuseppe the Happy Clown Character Stein" series, which was produced in other color solutions.
The mug was made in 2006 at the German factory Albert Stahl & Co. as part of a special small limited series of 300 pieces. It was ordered by the importer-distributor M. Cornell. On the base of the mug, there is a label that reads "Exclusive supply from David Harr/www.charactersteins.com"
Year of production: 2006. Limited edition (300), ind. number 148. Produced exclusively by Stahl."

In the catalog of the Albert Stahl & Co. factory, the mug is listed under the number X290. See the link: [link]
This mug is paired with the "Sad Clown Guido" mug, which is listed under the number X291 in the factory catalog. See the link: [link]

The name "Giuseppe" in the context of "happy clown" can refer to two different characters: the famous sculptor Giuseppe Armani and the father of the famous clown Joseph Grimaldi.
Now about each one individually:

Italian sculptor Giuseppe Armani (1935-2006) became famous for his porcelain figurines, many of which depicted happy and cheerful clowns. These porcelain figures often have the captions "Clown with a Dog," "Clown Fiddler," and other names.

Giuseppe Grimaldi, the father of the clown Joseph.
The founder of the clown dynasty, Giuseppe Grimaldi was an Italian actor and dancer who moved to London in the 1760s. Giuseppe's son, Joseph Grimaldi (1778-1837), became one of the most famous clowns in history, known as the "King of Clowns." His image has become a classic, and he is considered the founder of modern clowning.
Through his son and as an independent character, Giuseppe Grimaldi made a significant impact on the history of circus entertainment. He was often portrayed in his son's pantomimes and performances.

Now, here is some information about the history of the Albert Stahl & Co. factory.
In 1937, the porcelain manufacturing firm of Ernst Bohne Söhne was sold to Albert Stahl and incorporated as “Albert Stahl & Co. vormals (formerly) Ernst Bohne Söhne.” Unfortunately for Stahl, the factory was located in the town of Rudolstadt, in the formerly East German state of Thüringen (Thuringia), and following World War II the production facilities were nationalized and eventually converted to the production of technical porcelain. While the company managed to retain many of the original molds and, after reunification, was able to reclaim others that had been confiscated, stein production both during the war years and thereafter under the socialist regime was virtually non-existent. See the link for the source of information: [link]
Reprivatized in 1990, the company again began regular production of figural (character) steins based on the E. Bohne Söhne molds, creating pieces which are quite similar (though intentionally not identical) to the Bohne originals. Anyone familiar with Bohne steins should be able to distinguish the reproductions on sight. For those with less experience, look for Stahl’s crown and shield logo (figure left) or anchor logo (figure center).

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