Black Forest - my homeland

“Black Forest” has a sound far beyond the geographical area of the Black Forest. It evokes associations, for example, of farmhouses with low-pitched roofs, as depicted on a large number of wall plates made by the Georg Schmider company. Many small earthenware tins, vases and ashtrays are decorated with Black Forest houses.
In the 1950s, plastic representations of animals and some traditional costume figures are newly introduced. These earthenware figures emphasise the local costumes.
The “Black Forest” is also a brand abroad and a considerable proportion of the motifs decorated with Black Forest motifs are sold there. The ashtray shown has the stamp of a large US import company “CICO” on the back. Import stamps, or Western German then replace the manufacturer’s stamp. Together with the mould number stamped on the back, however, they always allow the attribution and chronological classification of older pieces.
The Black Forest is also famous for its “Kirschwasser” (snaps), “Most” (apple cider) and “Speck” (bacon), for which the Schmider company supplied many mugs, cups and cutting boards.