Richard Klemm

Karl Richard Klemm, also known as simply Richard Klemm, founded a porcelain decorating studio in Striesen, Germany in 1869. At the time of Richard Klemm's foray into porcelain decorating, there were more than forty studios that specialized in the painting of porcelain. All of these factories were located in Dresden, or very near to that German city. These studios were all using the Meissen style to decorate the porcelain. The porcelain itself was obtained primacy from the Meissen factory itself, although much of it was seconds.

Richard Klemm, along with his fellow porcelain decorators such as Helena Wolfsohn, Karl Thiem, Ambrosius Lamm and Donath, was among the most sought after porcelain decorating studios specializing in the Dresden style at that period of time. The Meissen factory eventually took Helena Wolfsohn to court in 1883 to force her to stop using the Meissen mark on her own work. As a result of this development, Richard Klemm registered his mark, known as the Klemm Dresden crown, at the RWZR. Richard Klemm

Richard Klemm At that period of time, the Reichs-Warenzeichenregister, or the RWZR, was the central office for registering all porcelain trade names as well as marks. The Richard Klemm Dresden mark was registered under the number 24 with the RWZR. Besides Richard Klemm, other important porcelain decorators also registered their versions of the Dresden crown. These companies include Oswald Lorenz, Donath and Company, and Adolf Hamman. Within a few years, however, all of these companies, including Richard Klemm Porcelain, registered their own unique marks.

The decorating style of Richard Klemm closely matched that of the Meissen factories at that time. He often used a heavily applied style that focused on florals. In many instances, the porcelain pieces of Richard Klemm are emblazoned with a gold leaf at the base. This gold leaf was used to hide the marks made by the original manufacturer of the blanks that he used for decorating.