Just wondering if anyone knows this makers mark. I believe it says "Japan". Has a pat pending #, but I cannot find anything about it. Also, the age of this piece. It seems to be from the 40s, but I could be mistaken.
Yup. The "what is it" forum is the place to be for this.
I recall that marks are "Japan"..."Made in Japan"...and "Made in occupied Japan"...but not sure of the timescales those marks were used in apart from the occupied one obviously lol.