Anyone recognize this monogram brand

[Guido]

I have a take on what it actually reads but have been unsuccessful turning up a meaningful match in the literature.

Hence I'll hold back on what I think it reads.

Best would be someone has actually seen it before and can tell me who is behind it.

[Guido]

P.S. the brand is quite small, maybe the size of a shirt button, and positioned in good sight just above where a label would be.

[Michael Darnton]

Well, K isn't an Italian letter, so that narrows it down somewhat. What maker has the initials T.K.F? I'm too lazy to work my way through the books. I'm guessing German.

[Andreas Preuss]

I would read it as FJK.

In my database I could pull up three matches.

Franz Joseph Klier

Franz Joseph Koch

Franz Joseph Kretschmer

 

None of them has been reported in the literature to have used a brand stamp. 

[Michael Darnton]

https://www.bridesofnorthtexas.com/article/monogram-etiquette-101-must-monogrammed/#:~:text=Traditionally%2C a monogram reads First,her monogram would read KVE.

Style One: Larger Middle Letter

Traditionally, a monogram reads First Name Initial, Last Name Initial, Middle Name or Maiden Name Initial. With the Last Name Initial being the larger Middle Initial. For example, if you had the name Kelsie Elizabeth Vogds, her monogram would read KVE. 

[Guido]

3 hours ago, Andreas Preuss said:

I would read it as FJK.

In my database I could pull up three matches.

Franz Joseph Klier

Franz Joseph Koch

Franz Joseph Kretschmer

 

None of them has been reported in the literature to have used a brand stamp. 

This is pretty much exactly where I got to, minus Kretschmer.

I have rules out Koch, but couldn't clarify if FJ Klier may or may not have used a brand.

[Guido]

3 hours ago, Michael Darnton said:

https://www.bridesofnorthtexas.com/article/monogram-etiquette-101-must-monogrammed/#:~:text=Traditionally%2C a monogram reads First,her monogram would read KVE.

Style One: Larger Middle Letter

Traditionally, a monogram reads First Name Initial, Last Name Initial, Middle Name or Maiden Name Initial. With the Last Name Initial being the larger Middle Initial. For example, if you had the name Kelsie Elizabeth Vogds, her monogram would read KVE. 

That's new to me, but I shell go a flip some pages in the books accordingly.

[Guido]

And yes, the violin appears to be a nice Markie from between the wars.

It is made with some effort, fluted f-wings, scroll carved to the bitter end. The pegbox is blackened though and the overall appearance rather clean. I don't have much doubt about origin or quality of the violin itself, but it would have been nice to have a name for it.

I would think a monogram like this takes a bit of effort to design (I thinks its rather well done actually), and the violin certainly doesn't look like the owner of the monogram only made a few. 

[Michael Richwine]

Where did that monogram font come from? Looks Anglo-American to me, not at all Germanic. 

[jacobsaunders]

11 hours ago, Michael Darnton said:

https://www.bridesofnorthtexas.com/article/monogram-etiquette-101-must-monogrammed/#:~:text=Traditionally%2C a monogram reads First,her monogram would read KVE.

Style One: Larger Middle Letter

Traditionally, a monogram reads First Name Initial, Last Name Initial, Middle Name or Maiden Name Initial. With the Last Name Initial being the larger Middle Initial. For example, if you had the name Kelsie Elizabeth Vogds, her monogram would read KVE. 

Americans even write the date backwards

[Wood Butcher]

15 minutes ago, jacobsaunders said:

Americans even write the date backwards

That gets me every time 

[Blank face]

On 10/7/2022 at 2:22 AM, Guido said:

I have a take on what it actually reads but have been unsuccessful turning up a meaningful match in the literature.

Hence I'll hold back on what I think it reads.

Best would be someone has actually seen it before and can tell me who is behind it.

To me the fluent style looks more like from the postwar period; earlier brands often have something either functional reduced or "heroic". Could be from the GDR, but also from anywhere in the German/Austrian/Czech region. I'm not even sure if the first letter shouldn't be read as minuscle "h" rather than F, nor if there any rule about which letter stands for which part of the name, or possibly even the place/city, can be applied. All in all, with so many insecurities, one could speculate day in, day out, searching dictionaries or the internet and guessing names without a reliable result. I can see no other chance than to find a second instrument with the same brand and a fully written name.

Not to mention that it's a kind of sport now for fakers to apply self produced brands to violins and sell them off- and online.

[Michael Darnton]

4 hours ago, jacobsaunders said:

Americans even write the date backwards

Well I guess the Europeans must be following the Americans on this then because the style is not uncommon.

https://german242.com/en/monograms-on-antique-watches/

[Guido]

Interesting. Family name in the middle: J. O. Szymanski Berlin 1951 (currently at Tarisio Berlin).

But in the OP case I can't turn up anything with F.K.J. either