Hi Everyone, I'm a little confused on these. When searching for them, some people say that the S within C mark belongs to Craftsman Studios of Laguna Beach, while others say that it is the mark of Carl Sorensen of Philadelphia. From the examples that I've seen, they appear to be more in keeping with Carl Sorensen, but I'm unsure if those examples were properly attributed in the first place. Does anyone know for sure?
Maybe you came across this page-> The person seemed to have done their due diligence in researching Craftsman Studios marks. From that page: Mark # 2. CS Combined What can be said with relative certainly is that the combined CS mark is the earliest known mark. Pieces with this mark generally have the greatest detail in execution, most hand hammering and chasing, and possibly the most unique patinas and addition of extra colours added to chased portions. Bookends, desk sets, tall candlesticks are among the common types found. Some examples of these have patinas and hand-hammering and chasing that rivals the well-known makers. This is particularly true for the multi-coloured patinas on bookends and desk sets.
I'm guessing you've seen this: https://www.flickr.com/photos/39474653@N04/3654052663/ I don't know these makers, but from a brief online look, the Sorensen mark is distinctly different:
Thank you for this! I guess that this is what confused me in the first place, as this person also seemed to know what they were talking about: https://bookendcollector.wordpress.com/2012/08/09/blue-sorensen-hand-hammered-bookends/
Interesting discussion. This mark has traditionally been attributed to Carl Sorenson for years. I see that the site you posted disparages attribution to Craftsman Studios. "There is a website which claims that Craftsman Studios of California used a trademark of S within a C on some of their bookends, but no evidence is offered. Until we see some evidence, we will attribute this shopmark to Carl Sorenson." Based on what I know about both company's products, I am inclined to believe it is a Craftsman Studios mark. Unless Sorenson made some things nearly identical to Craftsman Studios in the early years, your bookends are similar to others with a more typical Craftsman Studios mark.
@verybrad, I've haven't been around for a couple of weeks, but wanted to thank you for your comment - much appreciated!
Definitely Craftsman Studios. I collect CS. If you ever part with these, please keep me in mind. They’re awesome!