AH flatware

[Br. James]

"The large hoard of formal pieces that Shea had was vet acquired from the Kelstein house with documentation so most likely the formal pieces were delivered there."

Thanks again for this, Erich...for those who've ordered Bill Shea's newest book, there is a section which deals with his large hoard of AH Formal Pattern silverware and related pieces, "liberated" from the Kehlstein Haus, with nice photos. Check 'em out!

Br. James

[Willie M]

Great photo Chris .
There are some great photo's / history of both groupings in Bills new book !

[CPB]

Great photo Chris .
There are some great photo's / history of both groupings in Bills new book !

Thanks Willie, yeah that's a nice shot isn't it. Bill's new books are great and total respect to him for documenting his collection so thoroughly, and keeping the stories alive.

[Coltsnsox07]

I hope this picture from Getty Images is allowed here, I see about $9000 in coasters.....
http://party-reception-the-fuhrerbau-r-to-l-colonel-general-von-schoberth-picture-id50715679[1] by tod wacko, on Flickr

[Coltsnsox07]

Looks like a couple AH Formal pieces on the bottom of the photo(one face up, one face down)...
http://Bild 146-1971-041-31 by tod wacko, on Flickr

[Br. James]

I agree! Top photo is of Hitler, Mussolini, Daladier and Paul Schmidt, Hitler's chief interpreter, at the Munich Conference held at the Führerbau in September, 1938.

Br. James

[CPB]

Anyone here going to the SOS?

[CPB]

Interesting postwar silverware haul photo. Some cool pieces on display here.

Especially interesting to see some of the 'Berghof pattern' pieces (circled).

I always imagined the formal pattern pieces were looted 'loose' rather than cased, as shown here. I'm guessing these were retro-fitted to cases later on, postwar.

[CPB]

As for the photos, I think that might be Hitler's majordomo (and infamous accordion player), Arthur Kannenberg.

[Berghof]

Nice haul for sure. Nice bread server too. I was going to ask what that other item was.

[Br. James]

I agree, Chris: "Interesting postwar silverware haul photo. Some cool pieces on display here." You may be right that "...the formal pattern pieces [might have been] looted 'loose' rather than cased, as shown here. I'm guessing these were retro-fitted to cases later on, postwar." On the other hand, these pieces appear to be resting in proper tableware cases that were professionally made, and silverware is better stored in such cases than loose in drawers, where pieces could get scratched. And such cases are made to retard the effects of tarnishing, too. If a GI or a local resident came upon a storage cabinet where a number of these silverware cases were stored, it would have been quite easy to grab the whole case at one time!

I'm not sure what you mean by the "Berghof pattern" pieces; can you say more? The pieces shown here appear to be the Formal (State) AH Pattern which was found in a number of locations post-war.

And I agree that "Hofmeister" Arthur 'Willy' Kannenberg and his wife, Freda, are featured in those photos.

As Mike noticed, beside the cutlery, two photos and the silver AH candy dish, there appear to be a stack of something bearing the stylized crests of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy -- possibly commemorative pieces? They are unfamiliar to me, too. Anything further to say about those?

I wonder where this cache resides now...if other than in many different places around the world, in many different collections?! Thanks very much for sharing these with us, Chris!

Br. James

[Berghof]

James, Is that a candy dish? I thought a bread server...nonetheless, a nice not so often seen item.

The pickle fork, dinner fork and knife Chris circled do have a different pattern. Very tough to see, even if you zoom in. It looks like they just have the AH on the handles.

[CPB]

That's a bread server, or what collectors refer to as a bread server anyway.

As for the Berghof pattern, this is the style with the curved 'AH'. Mark Bando has a nice shot of this on his site. I think it's in Griffith's books too, although I don't have those to hand right now...

[CPB]

The silver box looks like a cigarette box. I can make out "Magdio XI" on it, which is Italian for "May 11". Maybe this date is significant somehow.

[Br. James]

Hi Mike,

I guess that could be a bread server, depending on the size of the piece...which we don't know. IMO the style is that of a candy dish, which would be smaller than a bread server, but the size would tell us more about the function of this piece. I don't recall seeing another piece of this design among the "AH" silverware.

You could be right that "The pickle fork, dinner fork and knife...have a different pattern," Mike, but I can't make out any detail from that photo. The shape of the handles are not that of either the AH Formal or the Informal Pattern, nor is the design along the edges of those handles familiar to me, but if they are engraved with the "AH" initials alone they could be from one of the many sets of silverware sent to Hitler for his birthday or for another holiday.

Those photos do appear to be post-war, perhaps from the late 1940s or early '50s, so there is no chance of reconstructing those photos at this point...sorry to say.

Br. James