The Inkwell Mystery (see UPDATE)
Way back in the 1970s Pardeep Kumar from India bought this marvellous silver plated model. He tells us: “I acquired it from Royalty, but that’s all I know about it and I would very much like to find out more about it. Can you help me?” Pardeep didn’t tell us if the bonnet of his model opens up - we think so, judging by the gap near the dashboard. In that case it could very well be some sort of an inkwell and a very nice one at that. Its size is 37 x 25 cm and it’s 16 cm high. It’s also quite heavy, weighing in at three kilograms. There’s a mark on the bottom that says: WMH EP I/O. Do we have any ideas as to what we are looking at? Mail us!
Update by John J. Lowell: “These were made by a German company called WMF (Wurttembergische Metallwarenfabrik), and they date to c. 1905 to 1915. This is a deskpiece, and indeed the hood and rear lid open to reveal storage compartments for various items. Under the front lid (hood) there is a series of small compartments for storing stamps, and the rear compartment has a removable piece with a hole in it for an inkwell. Of course, the front of the piece is a tray for pens or other writing instruments. The markings on the inkwell are WMF marks which carry certain meanings. For example, the "EP" designation means "electro-plated", and "I/O" signifies the "normal thickness of gilding or silver-plating". The "WMH" is actually WMF which is the company marking.
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