Lately, Kochenburger is interested in tracking down information about the hallmarks on a Russian porcelain inkwell, his latest acquisition. I ll probably write to a Society member in England who knows a lot about European marks and see if he will give me some help. I ll probably have to buy him a drink at the next convention, he jokes. Lack of markings on many examples adds to the difficulty of identifying, dating and researching inkwells. Even those pieces that are marked don t necessarily tell complete stories.
Some marks give only a patent date.
This can be misleading, says McGraw, because the date indicates only when the patent was granted, not when the inkwell was necessarily produced some are still being produced. There is an up side, however. As for other collectibles, prices are determined by the amount a collector is willing to pay for an item, which is in turn dependent on scarcity and demand. The difficulty in identifying and dating collectible inkwells has had the pleasant effect of keeping prices reasonable. Many of the inkwell collectors that we spoke with seem less concerned with makers, markings and prices than with the aesthetic and historical appeal of their pieces.