Show all records
Click image for high resolution zoom or multiple image views.

    Artist

  • Graebner, Otto

    • Title

  • Porcelain from the collection of Charles Milford (Klaus Mühlfelder)

  • Physical Description

    11 porcelain pieces : porcelain, oil paint, gold decoration ; varies

  • Date

    1928-32

  • Notes

    Maker's mark of a scepter appears in blue on the bottoms all 11 porcelain pieces. Artist's signature appears on the bottoms or front of all 11 porcelain pieces. Some pieces have dates as well.

  • Summary

    2019.08a Cup and saucer set. The cup is decorated with gold bands, floral motifs, and a handle with the shape of a snake. The cup shows a black silhouette profile of Klaus Mühlfelderas a young boy. The date 2.6.1928 is on the bottom of the cup. The corresponding saucer is decorated with gold bands and floral motifs.

    2019.08b Cup and saucer set. The cup is decorated with gold band and textured porcelain around the rim, and a handle in the shape of a vine with berries. The cup depicts Klaus Mühlfelderas a young boy, riding his pet bull dog. Other motifs on the cup include a teddy bear and flowers with butterflies. The date 1929 is on the bottom of the cup. Saucer is decorated with a gold band and images of a duck and fish in a pond, and a toy lamb and rabbit by a carriage.

    2019.08c Cup is in the shape of a beaker or small vase. It depicts an Easter bunny with a basket and colorful eggs.

    2019.08d Cup is in the shape of a beaker or small vase, with a gold band around the rim. It depicts herrings in a cream sauce with pickles and onions. The date 1931 is on the bottom of the cup.

    2019.08e Cup is in the shape of a beaker or small vase. It depicts Klaus Mühlfelder as a boy, next to a dahlia plant. The date 1930 is on the bottom of the cup.

    2019.08f Cup is in the shape of a beaker or small vase. It depicts a nude boy standing on a beach, looking out at sea. Ships, fishermen, and seagulls are also in the scene.The date "2.6.1932" is on the bottom of the cupe.

    2019.08g Square plate that depicts Hedwig Mühlfelder on her honeymoon, standing on a balcony in Wengen, Switzerland. In the distance is the Jungfrau summit of the Bernese Alps.

    2019.08h Plate that depicts an Alpine forest and mountain scene from Bavaria. The artist's signature appears underneath the image.

    2019.08i Plates that depicts Alpine flowers in yellow, blue, pink, and white.

  • Subject

    Children; Flowers

  • Medium

    Saucers (plates); Cups (drinking vessels); Furnishings and equipment; Tableware; Culinary equipment; Objects; Silhouettes

  • Part Of

    Mühlfelder and Roeckert Families Collection, AR 25844

  • Accession Number

  • URL

Biographical/Historical Information

Made by the Koenigliche Porzellanmanufaktur, King Frederick II of Prussia's Royal Porcelain Factory in Berlin.

Charles C. Milford was born Klaus Mühlfelder in Berlin on July 13, 1927, to Simon Mühlfelder and Hedwig Mühlfelder née Roeckert. Simon came from a Jewish professional family in Thuringia, while Hedwig was a Berliner from a Christian family. Simon and Hedwig intended to leave choice of religion to Charles; however, they baptized him on April 15, 1933, after the Nazis came to power. Because he was classified by the Nazi regime as a Mischling of the first degree, Charles was expelled from school in March 1943. Milford was apprenticed as a telecommunications fitter from April 1943 until he was conscripted into forced labor under Organisation Todt in June 1944. Brought to France, he was forced to repair damage from Allied aerial attacks on the railroad yards at Beauvais and Soissons, which were bombed nightly. As the Allied forces advanced into France, he managed to flee to Berlin in September 1944. He resumed his apprenticeship for three months. In January 1945, he was again conscripted by Organisation Todt and assigned to work as a concrete laborer in Berlin.

After the war’s end, Charles studied German and English in Berlin from 1946-1950. Milford emigrated from Germany to the United States in 1950. In 1951, he signed his “Declaration of Intention” and officially changed his name from Klaus Mühlfelder to Charles C. (Claus) Milford. He entered Columbia University’s School of Library Service in September 1950 and completed his master’s degree in August 1951. Charles was drafted into Army for service in the Korean War in September 1951. After basic training at Fort Lee in Virginia, he was deployed to Korea, where he was assigned to manage the only Special Services Library in South Korea, located in Pusan, from 1952-l 1953. He was released from active duty September 1953.Charles was naturalized as an American citizen on February 1, 1954. Charles C. Milford’s career as a librarian spanned almost 40 years. He was employed as a librarian at the Tacoma Public Library (1953-1959), Oregon State Library (1961-1964), and Stanford University’s Food Research Institute (1964-1991). From 1959 until 1961 he earned his master’s degree in political science from the University of Washington. It was during his time at the Tacoma Public Library that Milford met Patricia Elizabeth Shannon, and they married in 1963 in Berlin, where Charles’s father Simon Mühlfelder and maternal grandmother Agnes Roeckert were still living.

Related Works in the LBI Catalog

Artists :

This will search DigiBaeck, a subset of the LBI Catalog concentrating on all of its digitized materials that are available online. The search will list all of LBI's digitized materials pertaining to this artist/creator, including artworks (those described in the Griffinger Portal and more), archival collections, photographs, rare books, and periodicals.

Reproductions and Permissions

We welcome fair use of this content. Please credit the Leo Baeck Institute in your citation. For usage policies and to request higher resolution images, see Reproductions and Permissions.

Citation

Graebner, Otto: Porcelain from the collection of Charles Milford (Klaus Mühlfelder), Leo Baeck Institute, 2019.08a-i.