GERMANY – 1930S: VINTAGE ENAMEL SIGN “SPRECHSTUNDEN” (DOCTOR’S CONSULTING HOURS)

125,00 €

Product no. 13-1634

1 in stock

1 in stock

Category: Civilian Items 1933–1945 / Non-Market Items
14-day return policy

Smooth reversal

An enamel sign featuring the German word “Sprechstunden” (Consulting Hours / Office Hours), typically utilized by medical practitioners or public offices during the early 20th century.

  • Format: Landscape format orientation (Querformat).
  • Text: Stenciled gothic/block typography in white against a dark background with a border.
  • Period: Dated to the 1930s era.
  • Dimensions: 30 cm x 20 cm.
  • Mounting: Fabricated with factory-punched corner holes for wall mounting.

A Sprechstunden sign is a German-language notice giving the consulting or office hours of a doctor, dentist, lawyer, midwife or public office. It is normally fixed beside a door or entrance. The type belongs to the wider family of vitreous enamel signs (Emailleschilder). These are sheet-steel plates coated with powdered glass that is fused on in a kiln. Commercial enamel signs appeared in Germany in the 1890s, and production peaked between the 1920s and 1930s. Besides advertising, the signs served as business, practice and house-entrance plates. Enamel was chosen because it resists weather, fading and scratching. Text was applied by stencil or screen printing, and each colour needed its own firing. Many signs of this kind are plain lettering on a plain ground, with the hours changed to suit each practice. Collectors usually judge originals by the heavy steel, the glassy fired surface and the uneven enamel runs on the reverse. Small rust spots and edge chips caused by punched mounting holes are also typical. Some makers' marks sit near the lower edge. Modern reproductions exist and are often lighter, printed or lacquered.

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