THE SILVER MARK OF POSEN LAZARUS WITWE, BERLIN, CIRCA 1900; THE PORCELAIN, MEISSEN, MID-18TH CENTURY

The firm of Posen Lazarus Witwe (widow) was founded in Frankfurt on the Main in 1869 by Brendina Wetzlar, the widow of Lazarus Jacob Posen, a silversmith and retailer of Polish descent. Under the widow Posen's stewardship, the firm became the largest supplier of Judaica in the late 19th century. Her son Jacob L. Posen joined the firm by 1880, and by 1900, the company's large staff of chasers and engravers were producing some of the finest silver in the country. They received a royal warrant in 1903. In the 20th century the firm was under the direction of Brendina's grandsons Jakob, Hermann and Moritz Posen. In 1938 the company was forcefully closed and looted on Kristallnacht.