S. Perémi Ágota (szerk.): A Veszprém Megyei Múzeumok Közleményei 27. (Veszprém, 2012)
KISS Gábor Iván: A városlődi keménycserépgyár edényjegyei a Mayer korszak kezdetétől a gyár megszűnéséig
STAMPS OF THE EARTHENWARE FACTORY OF VÁROSLŐD FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE MAYER ERA TO THE TERMINATION OF THE PRODUCTION After the early initiations of the 18 t h century, conditions in Hungary allowed the industrialised earthenware production to start in the middle of the 19 t h century. The history of the industry and at the same time the exploration of the factory stamps is a neglected field of the Hungarian handicraft history, the present study intends to contribute to completing our knowledge with new data. Pressing a stamp in the clay (dollop) was the generally used method in Hungary in the 19" century, which was replaced by use of coloured stamps in the 20" century. The stamp gives important information for the buyer, besides it being a substantial instrument of trademark from the point of view of the producer. The most significant parts of information the stamp can unfold: place of manufacture, name of firm, name of owner of the firm, at times name of the painter and date of making. Unfortunately, in many cases the stamp is not easily defined, especially when there is no sufficient specimen available. First summary of the earthenware stamps were published in 1879 in Hungary and since that time Városlőd is represented by 2-8 marks in nearly all publications of stamps. History of the earthenware factory of Városlőd in the period of 1866-1920 is connected to the Mayer family. Mayer György junior is the only owner until 1848, later he enters into partnership with Láng Mihály tradesman of pots. During this period the factory uses the Láng and Mayer stamp. In 1898 Láng Mihály leaves the partnership. Until his death in 1910 the widow of the founder runs the factory together with her nephew and sons. In 1910, Mayer Béla - nephew of the founder - takes the baton and manages the factory with family agreement until 1 920. After this the owner structure changes frequently. During the Second World War the production is stopped, after the restart in 1948 the factory is nationalised and soon it is shut down. During its operation the Városlőd factory has succeeded in elaboration of many individual themes. This is the reason why the artifacts prepared are typical, easily recognisable. During the 88 years - the focus period of the study - 29 different stamps were recognised and their period of use was determined more or less accurately. Furthermore, three supplementary marks were placed near to the factory stamp. Two of these are export stamps referring to real export activity supplemented with data. Exploration of the marks can not be considered final, since new artifacts from Városlőd with unknown factory stamps can turn up any time. 225
