UPDATE Authenticating Your Walter Bosse Hedgehog Ashtrays: How to Spot the Differences

Walter Bosse Hedgehog Ashtray Authentication Guide

A bit of history on Walter Bosse’s hedgehog ashtrays:

At the end of 1952, Walter Bosse moved from Austria, where he lived since his birth in 1904, to Western Germany. He settled in the area of Iserlohn, because creditors were chasing him and his friends and business partners were cheating him. He wanted to concentrate on his job of being an artist. This time was very productive for Bosse, and he created an entire collection of new designs in the late 1950s. During that period, the hedgehog ashtray set was born. It was a revolutionary design, and quickly became popular worldwide. By 1962 it was his most popular design and he couldn’t keep up with demand. so he looked for partners to perform the casting on his behalf. Because he was not able to pay off some of his debts after they produced for him, some foundries used his molds and masters without discretion and sold models illicitly without his knowledge to make up for those debts. Meanwhile, many thousands of copies based on Bosse’s design were being produced and sold throughout the world. The Russians proliferated sets made out of zinc in the thousands. Copies were made in Italy, Spain, Greece, England, Austria and Germany. Bosse knew about this, but he kept on selling his hedgehogs at the Frankfurt International Fair for many years. Interestingly enough, Bosse’s hedgehogs could have made him a millionaire: Woolworth offered Bosse a several million dollar contract for the copyright of the ashtray set but Bosse would not agree. He feared that with mass-production, the hedgehogs would lose the charm and quality of his originals.

Bosse spent most of his later years fighting copyright cases for his items, mostly over this set of hedgehog trays and hand-shaped ashtrays. They were among his most prolifically stolen designs. Unfortunately, he was not able to benefit from the court’s decision. Bosse died soon after the courts decision to award him copyright of his items. His was the first decision of its kind and a landmark case that would live on and benefit all arts and crafts makers and designers from that point forward.

And now, here’s a list on spotting the differences between all the stacking hedgehog ashtrays out there.

A FEW THINGS TO NOTE FOR AUTHENTICATION:

METALS USED:
Bosse mainly produced these ashtrays in brass, never in zinc/pewter or ceramic or silver colored metal. German foundries tried out aluminum, and there are a few nickel, steel, bronze, cast iron, chrome and copper hedgehogs but these sets are extremely rare and hard to find. Be suspicious of all non-brass sets of hedgehogs!

CASTING QUALITY:
Bosse did not let largely flawed castings out of his shop and onto the sales floor. If an item was flawed it was remelted and cast again. The bronze fakes are often chipped and pitted and the zinc fakes often have casting seams and sprue holes.

MARKINGS:
Bosse’s Hedgehogs were almost NEVER marked. With the exception of a few sets I’ve found with the mark “Made in Germany” stamped underneath, his sets only rarely come with markings or stickers identifying the maker. 99% of the time they were unmarked. Finding a mark is rare.

BABY HEDGEHOG:
Referring to the smallest hedgehog or “baby” of the set. It can be used to authenticate your ashtrays. Bosse’s molds differed slightly from one to the next so both “babies” with elongated legs and incised cross legs are authentic. It is thought that maybe he cut costs such as making the “baby’s” legs an incised cross instead of 4 raised legs. But it seems the two may have even been used at the same time. The “baby” was used as a tamper / or snuffer to put out cigarettes and the one with the incised legs has a flat bottom (which makes it more effective).

FURRY TEXTURE:
Bosse’s trays never had texture to them. They are always smooth bronze with a black patina. Fakes have raised fur, eyes and incised ears. He also made a rarer authentic version of hedgehogs in just polished golden brass with no black patina.

Bosse Catalog Page
Bosse Catalog Page

Walter Bosse Hedgehog Advertisement
First off, the only image out there of a real Walter Bosse set of hedgehog ashtrays is a picture of a Bosse catalog page from the book Walter Bosse: Leben Kunst und Handwerk 1904 – 1979. Though it’s almost 100% in German, even if you can’t read German it is an amazing resource on Bosse’s work.

REAL – I will be presenting 2 authentic hedgehog ashtrays for reference below to show the wide variations that are present in Bosse’s original works. Because Bosse contracted casting of hedgehogs out to different firms for some of his production, you see a lot of variation in technique even though some of the same masters were used. It’s useful to remember too that these were all handmade in small batches and each worker doing the finishing gave unique character in the way the polishing was done and even where the eyes were drilled.

Walter Bosse Hedgehog Ashtrays - Real

REAL #1 – The above hedgehog, I believe, is the gold standard when looking at Walter Bosse’s hedgehog ashtrays and trying to authenticate them. I only say this, not to play favorites between hedgehogs, but because when comparing this to the catalog picture it is the most similar. Note the length of the nose and shape of the spines: they are all rounded and polished to a slight fade as opposed to a sharp polished line. The quality of the castings is very high, the ears are slightly polished on the largest 3 sets and the eyes are drilled up higher on the face. The height of the overall stack is also very tall, giving a rounded appearance as opposed to a more squashed oval appearance. The baby has fully molded legs (not the X legs).

Walter Bosse Hedgehog Ashtrays - Real

REAL #2 – This set is one of the later versions of Walter Bosse’s hedgehog ashtrays. The nose is a bit shorter than the catalog picture. Both long and short nosed sets of trays are authentic, but made with different molds: the short nosed trays being later molds and having a “baby” with incised feet and the longer nosed trays being the earlier molds with elongated feet. This set has polishing going much further down the spines and the nose and is less subtle than the above set. It gives a bit more pop of that golden shine for a bolder set with a bit more contrast. The eyes are drilled further down on the face, the ears are not polished and the baby has X legs. The height of the overall stack is a bit shorter, because all of the legs on each hedgehog are a bit shorter, lending the stack to have more of a oval shaped appearance.

For reference, see the gallery below of all the authentic hedgehogs I have found over the years and all the unique variations. Which is your favorite?

Walter Bosse German Silver Hedgehog

REAL – This set is quite a mystery and is one of only a few sets I have seen in this metal. It is made of “German Silver” or “Nickel Silver” which is a copper alloy with the usual formulation of 60% copper, 20% nickel and 20% zinc. It is definitely from the same molds as the originals and is the same size and consistency as the others. It is also very heavy (unlike the aluminum ones). This set is extremely rare.


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Walter Bosse Aluminum Hedgehog
REAL –
This hedgehog is extremely lightweight (282 grams) and made of aluminum with a black paint applied and ground off. It’s not very highly polished and has quite a bit of wire brushing on it. The quality of the casting isn’t great and can be a bit sharp. The baby is flat and squat with just X incised legs. It’s quite rare, but most likely because it wasn’t a great idea. Bosse experimented with aluminum when working with Alexander Jost (who sold the business to Kühn KG Fröndenberg). A quote from the book states “Many models were also already available in cast aluminum, with which Bosse experimented a lot for cost reasons, but which was difficult to ship, there was a lot of breakage, and the material was not very appealing.”
Weight : 8.4 oz / 238 grams
Size : 5″ long x 3″ wide x 2.75″ tall

 

Walter Bosse Hedgehog Ashtrays - Made in Germany
Walter Bosse Hedgehog Ashtrays - Made in Germany Baby
REAL
– This set of hedgehogs courtesy of Pigeon Tree Crafting has a super interesting “Made in Germany Mark that I have never seen before. Thank you to them for allowing me to use their images in this post! The marking is stacked instead of straight across. It looks like the set has some really interesting characteristics and my theory is that the set is probably older, from the 1960s or even 70s. The spines are a little bit sharper and the polishing is similarly sharp. The baby has the X legs.

Walter Bosse Hedgehog Ashtrays
? – [UPDATE] This set somewhat confounds me and I feel like it falls in somewhat of a grey area. But I will outline my thinking below and let you decide. My thoughts on this type of set are ever evolving. I would characterize this type of set as being made much later in Bosse’s career, possibly without his knowledge and possibly even made after his death. This is a whole spectrum and it is impossible to tell which of these sets is authorized and which isn’t. For whatever reason, Bosse was not able to pay off some of his debts to casting firms he was working with and they began casting and selling his designs without his knowledge to repay those debts. Since there were no copyright laws on the books for artists at the time, Bosse went to court to try and fight. In the end, he did not live to see the benefits of his court cases. In the meantime, these casting firms proliferated his designs. So these sets were made with Bosse’s original molds and masters, but possibly without his knowledge.
This “sharper” version and is not consistent with the catalog pictures. It is often lower quality with pitting and chips on the spines. The shape of nose and spines are very sharp and not rounded. They are often ground off at the top and look squared off. The smallest hedgehogs can have either the elongated legs that Bosse’s earlier molds had or the X legs. Also, the interior of the eyes are drilled out and polished inside, which was not done by Bosse. The polish inside the eyes means the patina process was done before they drilled the eyes. The overall feeling I come away with is that these were often made with a bit of a heavy hand. They feel like they were not necessarily made with the artist’s eye. But some sets can still be really beautiful and I have seen some that are nice quality and are done with great care. My conclusion with these is mixed, you have to be really careful buying these sets and make sure you get a lot of pictures to check quality.

Walter Bosse Hedgehog Ashtrays - Green Patina
FAKE? – This set of trays is the typical set you see with green patina or “verdigris”. These sets are made similarly to the set above: sharp edges, golden eyes, polished ears. I can’t tell if the green was intentionally applied later or if it is an error in the patination process. I’m inclined to say it is an error because there is no existing black patina underneath and the green penetrates down to the brass. I really do not like the verdigris finish on these, it’s just a little strange and not at all in keeping with Bosse’s aesthetic. I’m pretty sure the green arose from the manufacturer not having the chemical composition of the acid bath just right, or leaving it in there too long, or not knowing how to seal the surface properly. These sets are the furthest from Bosse’s original aesthetic ideal for the hedgehogs, even though they were possibly made with his original molds and masters. I’m inclined to categorize them as fake because they are about as different in intent as the Russian sets are from Bosse’s originals. The only other items I have seen on the market with a similar green patina on them are NOT Bosse designs, but are often attributed to him because of these green hedgehogs.
SEE MY IN DEPTH POST ABOUT GREEN PATINA AND M.I.GERMANY HERE

FAKE Russian Winged Hedgehog Ashtrays

Russian Marking
Russian Marking
Aeroflot Marking
Aeroflot Marking
Russian Box
Russian Box

FAKE – This zinc set (not aluminum as previously thought) was produced by 1МПЗ (1MPZ) or 1st Moscow Instrument Making Plant. They were manufactured as souvenirs for sale locally and for export. One set, the 1МПЗ hedgehog ashtrays, were marked with their logo and were manufactured later in the 1980s. The other set has a winged logo and was manufactured earlier in the 1970s for “Авиаприбор” or “Aviapribor” before the name was changed to 1МПЗ (1MPZ) in the 1980s. The earlier sets often have raw silver colored metal without the addition of darker applied patina and polishing. They were both manufactured as souvenirs and possibly given away as promotions for Aeroflot, which is probably where attribution-rumor came from. Both dishes are considerably lighter weight (being made of zinc) with silver polished nose and spines and incised fur, eyes and ears. “Babies” for both trays usually have elongated legs. The Russian 1МПЗ and Aeroflot branded hedgehogs came in a box reading “пепельница ёж сувенир” which translates literally to “souvenir ashtray hedgehog.”
SEE MY IN DEPTH POST ABOUT THESE RUSSIAN 1МПЗ (1MPZ) SETS HERE

FAKE – Next up is another set of white/pot metal trays. These are usually marked “Made in Greece”. These are the lowest quality I’ve seen, with most having seams from casting that were not ground off. I think they were copies of the Russian sets, so essentially copies of copies. A bronze/copper plated patina was usually applied over the white metal to give it a darker and less silver color. They look very similar to the Russian ones, having the same incised fur and body shape, but there are usually no polishing. The “baby” has the longer fully formed legs.

 

Made in Italy Brass Hedgehog Ashtrays
Made in Italy Marking

FAKE – This set actually reads “Made Italy” and is a fully gold polished set of brass hedgehogs. Each is stamped on the bottom with the exception of the baby, which is stamped on its side. The baby has the simplified X-legs. The whole set looks like they took one of Bosse’s originals and made a new mold from it to cast their fakes. Each hedgehog has the exact same characteristics as Bosse’s authentic hedgehogs. It’s actually a really nicely made set and is excellently cast and finished… actually it’s nicer than a lot of Bosse’s later polished gold sets coming out of Germany. It might be tempting to try and put this in the “real” category because it is actually done really well, but Bosse never authorized casting in Italy. Everything authentic comes out of either Austria or Germany. If it wasn’t marked, I probably would have been fooled too.

Fake Silver Hedgehog Ashtrays
FAKE – This set is notable for its intense texture as well as its bright silver coloring and red plastic gems inset in the eyes. The outside texture has incised lines scraped in the outside and the inside texture is hammered with round indentations. The three largest hedgehogs have ears, but only the largest hedgehog has eyes, which are drilled and inset with the red crystals. They do have a baby usually, but mine is missing the baby. Again, the size and shape make me think this used one of Bosse’s originals and reworked it heavily.

FAKE Painted Aluminum Hedgehog Ashtrays
Painted Aluminum Hedgehog AshtraysPainted Aluminum Hedgehog BabyPainted Aluminum Hedgehog Ashtrays
FAKE
– This set seems like it is meant to mimic the coloring of the original brass hedgehogs, but with cheaper casting and paint. This set looks to have been spray painted or airbrushed with a dark brown base layer and a bright yellowish-gold highlight. Where the spray paint missed and is peeling, you can see silver colored metal underneath. That combined with the weight makes me pretty sure this is made of aluminum and looks to be die cast. It has some mold lines running down the front of the nose and the inside of each bowl has 2 indented circles from casting. The baby has funny cones for legs and the 3 central spines are super rounded and also cone shaped. In fact, all the legs on each hedgehog seems to be replaced with a sort of exact cone shape. It is likely they used one of Bosse’s originals to cast from, as each hedgehog in the set corresponds to the shapes of the original Bosse sets.

FAKE French Brass Hedgehog Ashtrays
FAKE
– More inspired by Bosse than a direct copy, this hedgehog set is very heavy. It is very likely they have even been made in France and sold by the shop “Galerie d’art Bourmes”. This set has very similar hedgehog shapes to the original Bosse hedgehogs, so I’m inclined to say they may have just used his originals to cast this one. This set does have a very detailed baby, with the three central dot spikes being very rounded and having fully formed legs. This set also has 3 dimensional ears on the three largest hedgehogs. Each hedgehog was painted with a bit of artistic flair in black paint (instead of etched with patina) with dots painted for eyes and notches on the ears. Each hedgehog also has golden faces with dots painted on for eyes. This set is is also a bit smaller by about 1/2″ in length.

AS AN END NOTE: I know a lot of people out there say “who cares about ‘fake and real'” or “the real sets are so expensive so I prefer to buy a fake”. I’d just like to remind those people of the importance of the original artist’s vision. If not for Bosse there would be no hedgehog ashtrays, fake or otherwise. The proliferation of fakes by people only interested in stealing intellectual property for profit harmed Bosse in his lifetime, so much that he died in poverty with nothing to his name. I think that is important to take that into account when buying a fake. These fakes are not without their impact. To those who have a fake set, please enjoy them! But also please take the time to educate yourself about Bosse’s work and may it bring you closer to understanding his artistic ethos: “to make as many people as possibly happy”.

LEARN MORE ABOUT WALTER BOSSE’S HEDGEHOGS:

PART 2 – Authenticating Your Walter Bosse Hedeghog Ashtrays: Rare Models and Marks

PART 3 – Authenticating Your Walter Bosse Hedeghog Ashtrays: All the Hedgehogs!

PART 4 – Authenticating Your Walter Bosse Hedeghog Ashtrays: Curious Cases – Steel and Ferrous Metal

PART 5 – Authenticating Your Walter Bosse Hedeghog Ashtrays: All the Fakes

PART 6 – Walter Bosse Fakes – A History of 1МПЗ Russian Hedgehog Ashtrays

 

 

46 thoughts on “UPDATE Authenticating Your Walter Bosse Hedgehog Ashtrays: How to Spot the Differences

  1. Today my husband and I found what I believe to be a set of Walter Bosse solid brass hedgehog ashtrays that were made before the original molds were destroyed. The largest hedgehog is stamped MADE IN GERMANY, and the rest of the set matches almost spine-for-spine the hedgehogs in the catalogue, with only very slight variations (as you pointed out, being handmade, each set had its own personality). This is definitely not a counterfeit set, according to your own guidelines. The MADE IN GERMANY mark on the bottom and the shape of the baby hedgehog seal the deal. If you look closely at the catalogue, you will see the four quills on the back create a cross inside the circle of the outer quills. The new sets do not have a 4-quill cross on the smallest hedgehog’s back. I find the description of the originals on this site very exciting, because war-time sets must be extremely rare. Thank you for providing this site!

  2. I made a purchase from Germany and I believe I have one of the rare silver sets of hedgehogs, it hits all the right marks for authentication right down to the heavy weight. Is there anything I should be looking for specifically to either confirm or rule it out? I would love to hear back from anyone!

  3. Thanks for the very useful information about the Walter Bosse Hedgehog ashtrays. I picked up a complete set over 25 years ago at a flea market in Russia and never gave a second thought to them. They have been on my bookshelf ever since. Recently saw a photo of an identical set being sold on a website for $70 so I did a little research, bringing me to your page. I wondered why I would have found one of these sets in Moscow but then saw your reference to Aeroflot’s giveaways to frequent fliers. I am certain that is the set I have. Love the entire set .. and will always cherish it, even if it isn’t an authentic Bosse. Thanks.

  4. Wow!I have the last real in line, the one that is “extremely rare”
    It’s in Finland but I think that It has been bought in Germany because we lived there When I was a child.
    I always played with It as a child, putting little things on the hedgehogs Backs….AMD my daughter did the same:)

  5. Came upon this site having bought cheaply what turns out to be a greek set. However the baby has the long legs not the cross. Also I note the baby and next small one both do not have ears. Great fun design which is why I purchased, and great to find the designer and history from this site. Thanks

  6. I have recently bought a brass and black dachshund corkscrew ,( thinking it may have been the work of Walter Bosse ) . on the underside its mark says
    “made in England ”
    Did he ever have any items manufactured in England ? and if so how would I be able to establish its authenticity as a Walter Bosse piece?
    Jan

  7. Hi there! This post couldn’t be written any better!
    Reading this post reminds me of my good old room mate!
    He always kept talking about this. I will forward this write-up to him.
    Fairly certain he will have a good read. Thanks for sharing!

  8. I have a snuffer the smallest one in the set and want to know if there are any offers.. As i dont know what to do with one item that should beling to a set?

    1. The smallest “baby” is often missing from sets so I’d imagine there are a lot of people out there who would love to make you an offer! You can also enjoy it by itself as all the hedgehogs were sold individually as well!

  9. I found and bought the edgehoggs’ set few days ago in Cuba without knowing anything about the function and the maker. I just liked them. Thanks to your site, I could get more information about ‘these lovely castings . The big one is marked with the russian mark, and this is in line with the russian presence in Cuba in those years. Thank you for your precise and detailed information. With my best
    regards, M.Pogliani

  10. Just ran across this forum and have a question not related to hedgehogs but to cats and monkeys. I have one of the cats lying on its back, as an egg holder possibly, and a small standing monkey, left arm connected to base and right arm extend out to the right. There are no whiskers on the cat, whose face shows signs of being rubbed a good deal. No markings on the bottom. How can I determine of these are originals or not? Thanks for steering me. Peace.

  11. I just picked up this hedgehog in Sweden while there on vacation. I found it in a second hand store and fell in love with it immediately. After reading your info I still am not sure if mine is authentic or not. It has a smooth finish, long nose and the last 3 hogs do not have ears. The baby has the long legs instead of the cross and the most noted difference is the brass tips on the spines and nose are quite short. However the spines are rounded as they are shown on the authentic examples.
    If you would accept a picture sent to your email, perhaps you could tell me for sure what I have.
    Thank you for your website

  12. I have a set of six nesting hedgehog brass ashtrays that are all stamped “Made in Italy.” I bought them at a store in the Chicago area [but I don’t remember which store] in the early 1970s. They look so much like the real ones, it’s scary, but obviously they are not. They have the indented eyes, rounded spines and nose, the incised cross legs on the baby, and barely incised ears on the 3 largest ones–none on the smallest ones. And they’re very heavy. But they’re still as cute as a bunch of hedgehogs.

    1. OK, so I JUST found a set of these too. Are they all polished gold? From the set I have they are actually really nice quality, but not Bosse. They almost look like they were cast from one of Bosse’s sets. I’m working on putting up a post about them soon but I’d love to see your set too!

  13. Hi! new to Bosse’s outstanding art, how can I tell my monkey with salt and pepper shakers is real? should it have any mark? it looks pretty old. What about the shakers? Thank You and excuse my English. Leo.

    1. I’d be happy to take a look at it for you if you want to send me an email on the contact form. There are WAY more monkey salt and pepper shakers out there that are fake than real. The fake ones usually have a shiny and grey-black paint applied as opposed to the black patina applied over the brass. You will often see either a hammered or brushed texture on the black parts of the metal. The shakers are actually the same used in the fake and the real ones. If they are real, they are usually marked “Baller Austria” somewhere. Hope that helps!

  14. Hello, thanks for the wonderful resource. How would you clean these to get the grime off and bring out the gold tips without wrecking them?

    1. If it’s not too bad you can use silver polishing pads. If it’s a bit worse, you’ll want to use a silver or brass polish with a clean cloth. Be careful of getting it on the black as it can eat through the black patina or turn it grey/white.

  15. I recently got a walter bosse sitting bear bronze stamped vienna. Was that a foundry or one of the fakes. Thanks for any info. Also was it made in the 50s or later.

  16. Thanks for this research! According this page I believe I have a original and quiet early cast.
    Mine however Is signed “SDL” or “705” underneath. Any idea what it could refer to? Does anyone have the same?

  17. Hello there, I found out today that my parents got a set for their marriage 48 years ago. We have never thought it was an original piece and all the kids throughout the years played with this. We have the German silver very heavy set and we live in France. Is it very rare ?

  18. Hello, I have a set that my mother owned… however she has now passed, and I have no history on where or when she got them. I played with them as a kid, thinking of them like stacking dolls, not even knowing they were ashtrays (my parents didn’t smoke). They look almost exactly like the Russian hedgehogs (black patina over gray metal, etched fur) except that they have NO makers mark at all! I do believe that they are made of zinc or pot metal because of the look of the metal where some spines have been damaged (one spine completely broken off). I’ve thought they maybe could be from Greece because you said sometimes those had no mark, also the casting lines on the biggest hedgehog are not entirely smoothed down and the edges of some spines are rough. However, you describe the Greek ones as being light in color; these are definitely dark. Might you have any idea as to the provenance of my set?

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