Historical Notes:

Introduction

This section gives you a few short descriptions of different political and/or historical proceedings that are not explained in the manufacturer history texts every time but are part of the basic knowledge needed to understand certain events:

Bohemia, German or not?

Lots of sites and books state that former Bohemia was actually German over a long period of time and quite a few manufacturers there were German which is not correct as most of these manufacturers came from Austria. The history of the area shows quite a few changes over the years and that may be the reason for the many misinterpretations even though it actually is very simple when one takes a look at the facts. From 1904 onwards the area was part of the Austrian-Hungarian empire and after the end of WWI in 1918 it became a part of the newly founded state of Czechoslovakia. Many people know that the western parts of former Bohemia were occupied by Germany during WWII (1939-1945) but it should be mentioned that a specific north-western part of former Bohemia was occupied by German troops in a minor conflict that took place between the first and tenth of October 1938, nearly a year before the outbreak of the war. The annexed areas were called the 'Sudetenland' and officially declared part of the German Reich on November 21st 1938. This fact is often missed but explains the use of marks relating to Germany in that area earlier than 1939 which confused some collectors and resulted in many wrong datings. Generally, the whole area was occupied by Germany until 1945 when it became Czechoslovakia again until 1993. On January 1st 1993 the state of Czechoslovakia split into Slovakia and the Czech Republic; the former area of Bohemia today is part of the Czech Republic.

'Czechoslovakia' on marks past January 1st 1993:

Another fact that regulary confuses people is that although Czechoslovakia split into Slovakia and the Czech Republic on January 1st 1993, the name 'Czechoslovakia' was still used in some trademarks for quite some time after the split, some sources indicate it was used until the end of 1995.

Origin of the 'FOREIGN' marking:

On October 1st 1890 the Congress of the United States passed the so-called 'McKinley Tariff Act', a law that was introduced by the 25th President, William McKinley. This law not only imposed the highest tariffs that the United States had ever placed on imports, it also demanded that regardless of country of origin all items imported to the US had to be marked as such. The act was later revised in two steps, first allowing the true country of origin to be used and then changed to allow standard English characters only after the newly-founded state of Czechoslovakia in 1918 had tried to introduce Slavic characters.

Historical Notes:

Origin of the 'Made in ...' marking:

The term 'Made in Germany' came into being thanks to the British Parliament who passed the 'Merchandise Act' on August 23rd 1887 in order to protect the British market from German imports. It required that all goods from Germany had to carry an unremovable marking exactly reading 'Made in Germany' as the term was dictated in the Merchandise Act. Today we of course know that the whole act backfired because what was originally intended as a branding mark finally became a free trademark and the epitome of a seal of quality or warranty for good value. And of course a few years later, especially after the revision of the US McKinley Tariff Act, manufacturers all over the world started to adapt this form of marking. The 'Made in' prefix by the way never was a requirement of the US rules and regardless of what some people claim it is simply not true.

'MADE IN WEST GERMANY' or 'MADE IN G.D.R.':

With the founding of the German Democratic Republic in October 1949, the new East German Government started to instruct companies to replace the marking '(Made in) Germany' with 'Made in German Democratic Republic' or 'Made in G.D.R.'. The West German manufacturers took up the challenge and started to mark their products with 'Made in West(ern) Germany' or 'Made in W.-Germany', distancing themselves from the now state owned companies of the G.D.R.. After the fall of the Wall in November 1989 and the official German reunification on October 3rd 1990, all companies instantly used 'Made in Germany' again. The exact proceedings had been formed into a law by the West German Government some time before, therefore you can be sure that a product marked 'Made in West Germany' or 'Made in German Democratic Republic' can only have been made between 1950 and 1990. On the other hand one should hold in mind that some East German companies continued to use '(Made in) Germany' even after the founding of the German Democratic Republic; some even used it up until 1972. So an item claimed to been made before 1949 could also have been made much later, a dating is only possible when knowing more about the marking procedures of the company.