Family hand me down!

The company who made this plate was founded in 1755 in Poppelsdorf, Germany (a city nowadays called Bonn-Poppelsdorf) at the order of the Prince Elector of Cologne (Clemens August von Köln). It was situated in one of his summer residences called 'Katzenburg'.

The factory was originally called "Kurfürstliche Fayencerie" (The Elector's Fayencerie) but later became known as "Franz Anton Mehlem" after a later owner. The factory also had connections with the Wessel family of Bonn. Another later trading name was 'Bonn' or 'Royal Bonn'.

Your mark is from the era of 1890 - 1920 when it was called 'Steingut-Fabrik und Kunsttöpferei F.A. Mehlem, Inh. F. Guilleaume' (The Art Pottery and Earthenware factory of F.A. Mehlem & F. Guillaume). The two marks shown on your plate were used between 1890 and 1920. There is the stamped 'DECOR LXVI' (Louis XVI) edition mark and the standard impressed mark of that period.

After this period, the plant was owned by Villeroy and Boch for a while.

The official registered titles of the various incarnations of the factory are:-

Kurfürstliche Fayencerie Poppelsdorf (The Elector's Poppelsdorf Faience Factory) (1755 - 1829)

Kurfürstliche Fayencerie Christian von Reth & Co. (The Elector's Christian von Reth & Co Faience Factory) (1829 - 1836)

Steingutfabrik Franz Anton Mehlem (Art Pottery and Earthenware factory of Franz Anton Mehlem) (1840 - 1884)

Steingut-Fabrik und Kunsttöpferei F.A. Mehlem, Inh. F. Guilleaume (Art Pottery and Earthenware factory of F.A. Mehlem & F. Guillaume) (1884 - 1920)

Villeroy & Boch, Bonn (1920 - 1931)

H.E.