Hirschorn 'Hirso'. 1920s.

'Hirso' a stove produced by the Berlin based German-Jewish lamp manufacturer Jacob Hirschorn during the 1920s, and marketed a little more widely through an association the Parisian retail outlet of Händlers H. Markhbeinn.

The stove has very few markings. The model name Hirso itself on the tank top:


The Hirschorn identity leaping stag rebus on the pump knob:


And a single production process 'U' on the tank base:


But there are several design features of interest. The tank base is the typical lamp style found on many German manufacture stoves of the time:


The pump rod cap is more lamp-style too, in fitting with Hirschorn's main output:


The legs have a more complex form than most:


And a further more costly than the norm fitment is the combined pressure release and filler cap which has threaded removable capstan arms to aid turning:


The final real touch of ostentation is the stunning original cast trivet which has to have been supplied by Hirschorn's French outlet Markhbeinn:


The burner too is of interest, having the same peg-type supports for the flame spreader as were found on French Cobra and Melius stoves Cobra 'Rechaud de Voyage' No.0. 1920s/30s(?)



A couple of interesting pieces of documentation discovered in researching this stove include a Markhbeinn catalogue cover from 1921 which clearly displays the Hirschorn rebus:


And a 1926 Hirschorn Aida advert which includes the only contemporary representation of a 'Hirso' stove in print that I have been able to find:


See also discussions here, here and here.

 

What there are are classy though Ian (the leaping stag).

John

 

Ian, here´s a Hirso stove image from a Markhbeinn 1921 catalogue!

/Conny

 

Great, thank you Conny; very interesting to see all of the small detail differences between this 1921 image and my stove.
Ian



@Conny C

 

Ian, @igh371
H. Markhbeinn was a wholesaler/retailer of lamps burners of all sorts and also of glassware.
Much was imported to Paris from Germany …… wick lamp and burners, incandescent burner lamps,
pressure lamps and lanterns and also stoves and heaters. Many of these products were rebranded
often also with the Markhbeinn H.M marking. I think these Markhbeinn imports also could vary slightly in details
from the German original.
I have also the 1925, and 1927 Markhbeinn catalogues and your one burner Hirso stove is not shown in these catalogues.
The only Hirso products found is a two burner stove and a Hirso heater.
Instead there is a one burner stove branded "L' Étoile". It looks very much like your Hirso stove, with a pump knob
and fuel filler cap more like on your stove. Maybe a development from the Hirso stove and rebranded to L'Étoile.
The name change probably to focus on the French market. Just a guess but who knows……

/Conny

 

@Conny C , another possibility with Markhbeinn's "L' Étoile", however, could be that it is a somewhat stripped down Hasag (q.v.). I don't think it looks to be the same stove as in the 1926 Hirschorn advert.