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| | Since 1821 Gien's archives have made it possible to identify when each piece was made by means of marking. Some of these marks were used several decades.
Deciphering stamps
Stamping with letters was used to mark biscuit porcelain between 1852 and 1967.
The period between 1852 and 1929.
 - In 1852 they first started marking with a letter of the alphabet for each year, so A-Z for 26 years until 1877.
- Then from 1878 to 1903 again for 26 years, using slightly different characters.
- From 1904 to 1929, same principle but with a third character.
The period between 1930 and 1967.
Beginning in 1930 the marking procedure was modified: one letter of the alphabet was used for two years, and the month when the piece was manufactured was indicated by adding second letter (A for January, B for February, etc.) to the first one. A third letter to identify the craftsman was added to a few pieces. | |
