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I have a research copy of an
I have a research copy of an archival photo that shows the samovar with the metal lid and black knob and a footed stand and warmer like your coffee pot. There is also an archival image of the samovar on that stand but with a metal lid and wooden knob. In fact, I don't have any photos with a ceramic knob. How interesting--you have two.
I also have a picture of the teak handled piece on the stand that your samovar is sitting on. It's from a whole different line (name of which, I haven't found), but similar.
I like the way Seibel brings metal, wood, and ceramic together. Knowing your keen interest in Ernest Sohn, one might have suspected that you would find great interest in Seibel's Town House items. They really are special.
I'm not sure that I have
I'm not sure that I have seen another samovar with the same ceramic lid Mike. Just to be clear I have posted two pictures of the same samovar--so I only have one example.
Somewhere in my mountain of photocopies I have a advertisement from Gilley from the later fifties that promotes the teak handled version of the coffee pot on a similar stand to this one. I think Gilley and Ben were reutilizing designs that already existed. It was common to promote something as "new" and interesting in the giftware industry when it in reality had only been changed slightly.
The relationship to Sohn designs and the Gilley items by Ben Seibel is also clear to me. In this line Seibel was working within the gift field--most of these designs were meant to be bought separately and to serve as useful showpeices on the buffet or coffee table. They would supplement what one might have in a dinnerware set. One of the leaders in the gift field who created many lines with similar types of items was Ernest Sohn.