Costume Jewelry maker
Eisenberg marks
Eisenberg & Sons was a Chicago clothing company that began sewing rhinestone ornaments onto its dresses in the 1930s.
- Active
- c. 1935–present (jewelry)
- Based in
- Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Marks listed
- 8
- Typical pieces
- brooches, dress clips
The marks, by date
Each mark’s wording is written out as a transcription: the words and line breaks, not a picture of the mark. Where a source describes a mark instead of quoting it, the description is shown in italics.
Where: back of brooch or clip
handwritten-style script; used on pot metal and sterling pieces
Where: back of piece
RCJ: may have been used later where space was limited
Where: back of piece
block-print E
Where: back of piece
same script as Eisenberg Original, without the second word
Where: back of piece
bold block letters
Where: back of piece
Where: hang tag
many pieces of this period carry only a removable paper tag
Where: back of piece
block letters with copyright
History
Those ornaments became removable brooches and clips, first sold only with the garments and made by outside firms such as Agnini & Singer and later Fallon & Kappel. The company stopped making clothing in 1958 and continued in jewelry alone.
Dating clues
- Eisenberg Ice was an advertising name before it appeared stamped on jewelry.
- Wartime metal rules pushed Eisenberg from pot metal to sterling in the early 1940s.
- From about 1958 to 1970 many pieces were unmarked apart from a paper tag, so attribution is hard.
- Early pieces made by Agnini & Singer are mostly unmarked and are identified by matching them to that firm's design cards.
Look-alikes and reproductions
- Collectors report fakes marked Eisenberg Ice, many made in the 1990s when prices were high.
- 1990s revival pieces made under new ownership are marked Eisenberg Ice and are of lower quality than the vintage work.
Other names on the marks
Eisenberg & Sons; Eisenberg Original; Eisenberg Ice; Eisenberg Jewelry Inc.
Where sources disagree: Eisenberg Ice dates vary: RCJ gives trademark first use in 1935 (typed version 1942) and stamping from 1970; one guide says pieces were marked Eisenberg Ice in the late 1940s up to about 1952. The dates for Eisenberg Original also differ slightly (RCJ c.1935–1945, Around The Block c.1935–1948). The block EISENBERG c.1945–1958 date comes only from Around The Block.
Sources
Marks help identify a maker and a date range, but they can’t prove a piece is genuine. Reproductions and later reissues can carry old marks. This entry isn’t an appraisal.