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Georg Jensen jewelry
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OK...back to the Georg Jensen flatware. My mother had told me the name of her pattern was "Frontier Plain". Not only had no one heard of that, but no one had heard of "Frontier". Now I see that Frontier existed...but was apparently made in Denmark.
How would that pattern being made in Denmark square with buying the flatware during World War II in the USA? I thought it was impossible. Could Georg Jensen USA have made a "Frontier Plain" during the war...or is this Frontier (made in Denmark) my mother''s pattern?
Frontier flatware by Georg Jensen
Deb
How would that pattern being made in Denmark square with buying the flatware during World War II in the USA? I thought it was impossible. Could Georg Jensen USA have made a "Frontier Plain" during the war...or is this Frontier (made in Denmark) my mother''s pattern?
Frontier flatware by Georg Jensen
Deb
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If anyone wants to read more on Georg Jensen USA, he may enjoy this article. It discusses the designers used by Georg Jensen USA during World War II. An excerpt follows.
"The story of Georg Jensen Inc. USA begins in Denmark with Frederik Lunning, an intriguing character and an art and book dealer who also sold Jensen pieces. He was to become the esteemed director of Jensen's U.S. operation.
Jensen managing directors P. Pedersen and T. Moller first hired Lunning in 1920 to arrange silver exhibitions. This turned out to be the firm's most successful year, with foreign art critics praising Jensen craftsmanship. But in 1921, grave economic crises in Europe forced massive order cancellations. The Copenhagen factory found itself suddenly overstocked; new foreign markets were urgently needed to keep the company in business.
Lunning was sent to New York with a large collection of the best pieces, which he managed to sell quickly at private showings in such top hotels as the Waldorf Astoria. Lunning's shrewd targeting of an exclusive coterie of wealthy Americans averted a financial crisis at home. New orders poured into the Copenhagen workshops. (As sales increased, so did the fineness of the silver used, rising from 825/1000 to 925/1000 sterling by 1930.)
Lunning opened a small shop on 53 St. in New York, N.Y. in 1923, went on to weather the Great Depression and moved to a new, prestigious location on Fifth Avenue. But back in Europe, the German invasion of Denmark in 1940 and the consequent end of exports meant that silver jewelry and hollowware made in Denmark were no longer available on world markets. The Jensen factory moved to the Copenhagen suburbs to produce stainless steel products.
Nineteen forty also was a pivotal year for Jensen's American connection. This was the year in which Lunning obtained sole agency rights in America for 100 years from Royal Copenhagen, the parent company of Georg Jensen, Denmark.
Lunning soon made two major policy shifts:
* He expanded his Fifth Avenue shop into a three-floor minidepartment store devoted to a mixed bag of decorative items, including silver and gold jewelry, lamps, figurines, furniture and fabrics, clocks, handbags, perfumes and even children's clothes. Quantity unfortunately replaced quality in the process.
* He filled the gap left by Danish artisans who were otherwise employed fighting Hitler by hiring two designers in America, La Paglia and JoPol. They were to produce jewelry 'in the Jensen style' to be stamped 'Georg Jensen Inc. USA' during the 1940s.
Curiously, the Copenhagen home office was not consulted and, in fact, was surprised to discover after the war the existence of the American production. Perhaps Lunning decided that his countrymen were too preoccupied with the Resistance to care about retail sales in New York. Perhaps he reasoned that having saved the day once for Jensen in the '20s, he could continue the highly successful Jensen silverware and jewelry lines during the war by using his own designers.
Whatever the case, the new American designs were still in production after the war. This prompted lawsuits by the Jensen directors in Denmark, who did not recognize pieces produced outside of the Copenhagen smithy. Lunning had broken the strong tradition of Danish 'order' and was called to account for it. Georg Jensen Inc. USA settled with the Copenhagen firm in 1949-'50."
article
Deb
"The story of Georg Jensen Inc. USA begins in Denmark with Frederik Lunning, an intriguing character and an art and book dealer who also sold Jensen pieces. He was to become the esteemed director of Jensen's U.S. operation.
Jensen managing directors P. Pedersen and T. Moller first hired Lunning in 1920 to arrange silver exhibitions. This turned out to be the firm's most successful year, with foreign art critics praising Jensen craftsmanship. But in 1921, grave economic crises in Europe forced massive order cancellations. The Copenhagen factory found itself suddenly overstocked; new foreign markets were urgently needed to keep the company in business.
Lunning was sent to New York with a large collection of the best pieces, which he managed to sell quickly at private showings in such top hotels as the Waldorf Astoria. Lunning's shrewd targeting of an exclusive coterie of wealthy Americans averted a financial crisis at home. New orders poured into the Copenhagen workshops. (As sales increased, so did the fineness of the silver used, rising from 825/1000 to 925/1000 sterling by 1930.)
Lunning opened a small shop on 53 St. in New York, N.Y. in 1923, went on to weather the Great Depression and moved to a new, prestigious location on Fifth Avenue. But back in Europe, the German invasion of Denmark in 1940 and the consequent end of exports meant that silver jewelry and hollowware made in Denmark were no longer available on world markets. The Jensen factory moved to the Copenhagen suburbs to produce stainless steel products.
Nineteen forty also was a pivotal year for Jensen's American connection. This was the year in which Lunning obtained sole agency rights in America for 100 years from Royal Copenhagen, the parent company of Georg Jensen, Denmark.
Lunning soon made two major policy shifts:
* He expanded his Fifth Avenue shop into a three-floor minidepartment store devoted to a mixed bag of decorative items, including silver and gold jewelry, lamps, figurines, furniture and fabrics, clocks, handbags, perfumes and even children's clothes. Quantity unfortunately replaced quality in the process.
* He filled the gap left by Danish artisans who were otherwise employed fighting Hitler by hiring two designers in America, La Paglia and JoPol. They were to produce jewelry 'in the Jensen style' to be stamped 'Georg Jensen Inc. USA' during the 1940s.
Curiously, the Copenhagen home office was not consulted and, in fact, was surprised to discover after the war the existence of the American production. Perhaps Lunning decided that his countrymen were too preoccupied with the Resistance to care about retail sales in New York. Perhaps he reasoned that having saved the day once for Jensen in the '20s, he could continue the highly successful Jensen silverware and jewelry lines during the war by using his own designers.
Whatever the case, the new American designs were still in production after the war. This prompted lawsuits by the Jensen directors in Denmark, who did not recognize pieces produced outside of the Copenhagen smithy. Lunning had broken the strong tradition of Danish 'order' and was called to account for it. Georg Jensen Inc. USA settled with the Copenhagen firm in 1949-'50."
article
Deb
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I never posted pictures of the items I had planned to photograph for this thread, and now I do not even recall where I put them! Over the last week I found two sterling silver barrettes in my late mother''s jewelry box in Connecticut. They do not appear to be marked, "Georg Jensen", but they have the look of her other sterling silver pieces. If they are not Georg Jensen, they are probably from similar jewelers working at the same time she was buying pieces from Georg Jensen USA, i.e. in the 1940''s.
AGBF
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