A plate with a view of the St. John Evangelist Church in Szczecin

The featured plate with a view of Szczecin was produced by the porcelain manufactory founded in 1832 by Johann Friedrich Ferdinand Schumann, which was originally located on his estate in Kehnert and later moved to the Moabit district near Berlin. In 1835, the Porzellan-Manufaktur von F. Schumann und Sohn was taken over by Schumann's son. The manufactory specialised primarily in the production of drinking cups and tableware, which were not of the highest quality, but were perfectly suited to the needs of a more wide-ranging clientele. The products of the Schumann manufactory were mainly produced following fairly modern designs inspired by rococo forms, competing with other manufactories such as the Royal Porcelain Manufactory of Berlin, which used a classicist design that was no longer fashionable at the time. In 1846, the factory became the largest porcelain manufacturer in Germany. On the back of its popularity, the company began to open a network of branches, including one in Szczecin, the capital of the Pomeranian Province. To attract local customers, the products were designed to feature views of places of interest in the city. A plate depicting St. John's Church, painted after a lithograph, is a good example. The products of the Porzellan-Manufaktur von F. Schumann und Sohn are now coveted by many collectors. The fragility of the material from which the plate was made, as well as the fact that it has remained unchanged to this day, mark its value and uniqueness. Anna Lew-Machniak