Featured here is a framed lot of three antique German porcelain bottle stoppers. Each would have originally been attached to a beer bottle (or other bottle) with a wire lever device called a "Bügelverschluss" (swing closure) that compressed a rubber gasket tightly to the bottle opening such that, you could "pop" open your beer. DESCRIPTION: All three bottle stoppers are decorated at the top with the name and/or logo of the beer and/or brewery to which it came. There are two different breweries represented in this collection (two are from the same) and they are as follows: 1). Gumbinnen Brewery (orange stopper): Gumbinnen WAS a government region of the former Prussian province of East Prussia (Germany) from 1808 to 1945. The regional capital was Gumbinnen and thus the origin of the bottle stopper. The region is now Russia, part of the Russian Enclave, "Gusevsky District" north of Poland. The cap top reads, "Gumbinnen Brewery Association. 2). Black stamped stoppers: Difficult to trace as the logos are a bit worn/faded. Research suggests (loosely) they are from a brewery located in what WAS Königsberg, Germany, a historic medieval Prussian City that is now Kaliningrad, Russia, in the western region of the Russian Enclave. Königsberg was founded in 1255 by the Teutonic Knights during the Baltic Crusades. The cap tops read, "GWEGDV" encircling a star while one also includes an indiscernible phrase, presumably the beer/brewery name. The second word, pulled from research on bottle stopper stamps, is "Marke" (Brand). MEASUREMENTS (approximate): Bottle Stoppers: 1" diameter Frame (w/glass cover): 8 1/4"W x 6 1/4" INCLUDED: 1. 3x framed bottle stoppers 2. Text of their origins 3. Frame w/glass cover 4. Black picture stand (frame also includes sawtooth hanger at reverse). Note: These are used bottle stoppers and thus should not be assumed to be in mint condition. They contain standard wear consistent with age.
