I'm up in Kingston, NY and found a hammered brass bowl, about 9" x 4" h, signed by Interlaken School. Anyone know anything about it?

Frank, I believe the bowl was made by someone from the The Intelaken School of La Porte, Indiana.

The earliest listings I have found for this school are in 1908. It was founded by Dr. Edward A. Rumley after German schools of it's kind.

In 1910 the school was advertized in Elbert Hubbards "Roycrofter" as a school to prepare
young men for life not for college.

By 1913 it is already known as the Interlaken School for Boys.

There is documentaion of the private school in 1918 and it mentions that it offers manual training for boys in crafts including metalwork.

I have attempted to acquire a bowl like the one you describe to no avail. I have seen two rather large copper examples that have been on the internet auction site. They seem to be well crafted and I do not know who was their instructor of metalworking at the time.

Could you post an image of the bowl and it's mark? As I recall the ones I have seen have itilicized lettering.

Best,
Fred

quote:

Interlaken School

Here is a transcription of a 1917 ad for the school:
=====================
Interlaken School
Rolling Prairie, LaPorte Co., Indiana

A School community on 740 acre estate with woodlands and water.

"Where boys learn by doing."

Prepare for all universities. Thorough instruction in German, French, Spanish, in mathematics, physics, chemistry, botany. Life preparedness taught by applying academic work in practical, mechanical and agricultural training. Each boy is daily assigned some practical work in either the wood or metal shops, light or power plant, or on the farm. A simple open-air life, with plenty of athletics, group and team games, develops a robust body. Initiative and executive developed through opportunities of leadership in work assignments. Observation trips to factories, city institutions, etc. Boys received at any time.
=====================
Can't wait to see the bowl.

Lauren

Thanks Fred and Lauren for the absolutely great info! I purchased the bowl and will post pictures tomorrow.

I'll also need some tips on cleaning it without removing the patina.

Frank,

Glad to hear we could be of help. I would be interested in what you paid for the bowl and we can certainly offer cleaning advice once we see the images.

Best,
Fred

I'm trying to figure out how to post pics (like most who haven't done it before). Hopefully I'll get them up tomorrow.

Fred, the bowl cost 32 bucks, so I think I did ok even if I can't clean it!

I hope you see a picture...

The picture came up fine. Can you show us pictures of the complete bowl? What a great bargain on the bowl. I look forward to seeing it.
Thanks,

Pic 2

Pic 3

Pic 4

Pic 5

Pic 6

The dimensions of the bowl are 3" x 8 1/2"

These are great! You have a treasure there. Not sure of the value. It is a great example of work from this little known school.

Thanks,

Thanks Fred. Any idea about cleaning? I think I'm in trouble here. I tried dish detergent and a Scotch Brite sponge (very gently). It did nothing. I also tried my fingernail. Nothing.

It looks like someone tried to wipe off this black stain when it was still wet. There's even an antique fingerprint in it!

Would it be safe to try mineral spirits, lacquer thinner, or denatured alcohol?

I'd love to clean it, but don't want to destroy the original patina. As I'm kind of a purist, I'd rather the dirty original than the new patina.

The solvents you use on the bowl will do nothing to harm it. The bowl appears to be a brass bowl.

You have two main options.

1. Leave it alone and enjoy it for what it is. The loss of the patina is part of it's history.

2. Polish the exterior of the bowl and let it slowly develop whatever patina it can over time.

Whatever you do it is a wonderful bowl and I hope someday to be able to acquire an example for my study.

Best,

I'd go with option one from Fred, though Im not a fan of brass finishes I did like it's decorative value just the way it is, no need for it to be perfect. Great price for a nice little piece. Good Find!

Dano

If I can't clean it, I'm definitely leaving it as is. To me, there's not much worse than shiny hammered metal! Just to clarify a couple of things: the bowl doesn't suffer from patina loss, it suffers from some horrible black stuff that's covering part of the original patina. Also, the bowl is brass so it has a brass patina, not that applied brass patina over copper (like Roycroft).

Thanks for the advice, Fred and Dano!