M071001a
An eagle above the initials "RPM".
A few years ago, these marks sparked quite a dispute when dozens of items suddenly appeared on eBay, accompanied by peculiar stories concocted by unscrupulous sellers who were trying to imply that these goods were rare or antique.
You may come across the claim that these marks were used by a company called RPM Imports Inc., which was established in New York "around 1920". It was the US subsidiary of a German parent company originally founded in 1878. While this may have been true to some extent, the whole background is somewhat dubious; I am sure you will see what I mean.
Let me start with the "around 1920" claim. Various New York telephone and business registers can easily be consulted to verify that this company is not mentioned before the Second World War, either under this name or at this address (which apparently did not change over time). It is possible that, until then, the company had merely been represented by a sales agent or import bureau, which would, of course, have used a different name. Therefore, not finding RPM Imports Inc. earlier than 1946 would not usually be significant; however, in this case, it raises another question (see below).
Needless to say, a German business could not simply set up shop in the US during the war. Various sources suggest that business registrations were not accepted again until 1947. For now, then, let us assume that the business opened in 1947 or shortly afterwards. Hold that thought. Let us take a moment to look at something else: all catalogues and letterheads state that the company in question is registered as RPM Imports, Inc., 261 Fifth Avenue, New York 16, New York. Postal zones using two digits for large cities (like "New York 16, New York") were introduced by the US Postal Service in 1943. This lends weight to the idea that the business was established after the war, not before.
Over time, several different claims as to who actually owned the marks emerged. However, most point towards Otto Reinecke from the Bavarian town of Moschendorf, the company initials standing for "Reinicke Porzellanmanufaktur Moschendorf". Those fluent in German might observe that the name sounds somewhat clunky and that one would normally prefer "Porzellanmanufaktur Reinicke Moschendorf". Not to mention that Reinicke already owned multiple registrations for the name of his German business, Porzellanmanufaktur Moschendorf AG, none of which included his name (at least not until the name changed to Porzellanfabrik Otto Reinicke in 1937). He was also a proud Bavarian and used "BAVARIA" in all Moschendorf marks. Therefore, one might ask why none of the RPM marks include such an addition.
This makes even less sense when you consider that the US was at war with Germany, not Bavaria. This is a fact that is often overlooked (and confusing for Americans) based on Bavaria's Free State status within the German state union. Have you ever wondered why items marked "Bavaria" were OK while those marked "Germany" were blacklisted? Now you know. So advertising "Germany" to potential customers would not have been the brightest idea shortly after the war. This is especially pertinent given that Reinicke was already in deep trouble, as the Allied Forces in Germany were investigating him for alleged collaboration with the SS. This raises another question: how did he manage to create the US-based business when all his bank accounts and other assets had been frozen during the investigation?
Reinicke died in 1951, after which the German parent company was put up for sale in 1957 following a few years under his heir. The US subsidiary closed the same year. There are clearly enough arguments to challenge the claims surrounding Reinicke, so one more cannot do any harm. How is it possible that a whole branch of operations with multiple marks was not mentioned in any reference book or mark-related publication from that period?
M071001a
An eagle above the initials "RPM".
M071001b
Same as before but with additional sticker reading "RPM ROYAL PORZELLANMANUFAKTUR, GERMANY".
M071001c
Initials "RPM" above "GERMANY", mostly found in blue.
M071001d
Initials "RPM" above "GERMANY", here an example in gold.