Ok so where so I start? (This will be a long post.)
Ken sent me some improved or enlarged pictures of the words on this knife asking for some translation help.If you could post those pictures again in this thread Ken that would be great. It could be useful for other translators or detectives in the future.
In my opinion, this little knife is packed full of symbols. To fully understand the makers thoughts, you not only need to understand the written words but also the symbols used.
Anyways, this is my take (& my wife's) on the words.
The "Lady" Who is standing on a globe (representing the world) is holding a ribbon the reads "Feur ALLE WELT"
Feur means "for" and is normally spelled "für" but since not alle languages have letters with dots over them like ü, the ü can be substituted with the letters eu. So "Für & Feur" are both the same word and mean "For".
ALLE = All, the Entire, the Whole
WELT = World
So: "Feur ALLE WELT" "For the whole world!" or "For the entire world!" (Could relate to the suggested "World's Fair")
Furthermore, I also interpret that the latter words being written in all capital letters is to emphasize their meaning.
On to the next text.
(Keeping in mind that the German letters from the past were often written in a type of "calligraphy" they do vary in from from the present day letters) That being said, we read the next set of letters as: "Meine Heimat"
"Meine Heimat" = "My Homeland" or my country but my homeland is a more fitting translation.
And the last set of letters is anyone's guess.
It could be Seacpy or Seaept or Seaen or Seacn or who knows?
Trying to figure this out I thought it could be a person's name, it could be the name of a place or colony, it could be the name of a ship, it could be a different language like Greek or Latin? I just can't tell.
As I said before, to understand the thoughts behind the design, you would have to include all the symbols.
The symbols that I could see were...,
1) "The Lady" what does she stand for? Lady liberty???
2) She is holding an Ankor. What does this mean? I'm sure you can find many definitions for this & the rest of the symbols.
"The Anchor – A Symbol of Hope, A Symbol of Steadfastness
That cross within an anchor is a symbol of masculinity while the crescent moon within the symbol is feminine, representing the womb. It is symbolic of hope in how when lifted up from the water of a port, it represents a new adventure, a new voyage."
"No matter if you have sea legs or not, you can appreciate the deeper meaning of the anchor symbol - security, stability, and being grounded. It is a symbol demonstrating that a person is in tune with themselves and hold on to the values they believe in."
3) The globe she stands on. Is she on top of the world ?
4) The two ships. ? Or a passenger ship & a barge?
5) The lighthouse. ?
6) The ribbon. ? "The ribbon is a symbol of awareness and support. It was originally used in the early mid-1900s in a United States."
7) The crossed hammers. ?
"Within our cemeteries, it is common to find among different symbols objects that may reflect either the profession of the buried person, or act as a reference to their affiliations or membership (i.e. Freemasonry). They may also represent their hobbies, leisure or fields of interest. A hammer is often found on graves of carpenters, though it may also be used to symbolise the power of creation.
A hammer crossed with a sickle, however, would obviously have a communist meaning."
8.) The train off to the left of the lighthouse. ?
9) Three birds off to the right of the lighthouse. ?
10) The beehive. ? Ancient symbolism— “The beehive has been used as a symbol for thousands of years,”
11) The olive branches. ? And other ornamental leaves. ? Could these be tabacco leaves?
"The olive branch is a symbol of peace or victory allegedly deriving from the customs of ancient Greece, particularly regarding supplication to both the gods and persons in power, and is found in most cultures of the Mediterranean basin."
Obviously you could find many meanings for all the symbols used.
Coming back to the suggested "World's Fair" idea.
just bob said "The company Friedrich Hartkopf has a long tradition. Founded in 1890 by Friedrich Wilhelm Hartkopf in Solingen. Hartkopf is specialized on producing handmade pocket knives. Due to their high quality Hartkopf knives are known all over the world."
The World's Fair of 1893 was held in Chicago.
http://www.mormonthink.com/glossary/worldsfair1893.htm#
"Eighteen ninety-three was heralded as the end of the frontier era as the world gathered in Chicago to celebrate civilization."
"The Parliament of Religions at the Chicago fair, which Smith claims “received more media attention and applause than any of the other congresses,” was designed to gather faiths with “brotherly sympathies any who are groping, blindly, after God.” Nevertheless, the Mormons — who Smith says expected to be invited — “were deliberately excluded.”
The Mormons were in Utah. Utah was at the Fair but the Mormons were not invited although freedom of religion was one of the themes of the fair. The beehive is found in many religious symbols and throughout the symbols of Utah.
Anyways, was this a knife from the 1893 World's Fair. Meant as a tribute to "The New World", the USA, the promise land, the land of milk & Honey, the start of the industrial revolution, freedom of religion ect. ?
So, I did a little translating & a whole lot of guessing.
If you made it this far, Thanks for reading.
Maybe Tom (TPK) will see this and lend a hand in translation. Here’s the best I can do with the existing pictures.
