At the end of the 19th century the Carstens family owned several ceramics and porcelain factories in Germany. After World War II, Ernst Carstens and his son Christian started a new ceramic factory in Fredelsloh, Carstens Tönnieshof, where production started in 1947. The company went bankrupt in 1977 (but business was taken over by employees and continued under another name until 1984).

Some links: Fat Lava Marks & Labels; W-G kermiek blogspot; Keramiksammlung Carstens; Fatlava-Schiedam Carstens

See also Mark Hill, Fat lava. West German Ceramics of the 1960s & 70s, p.41-50; M.P. Thomas, Deutsche Keramik und Porzellane der 60er und 70er Jahre, p.95-101, and idem, Der "Fat Lava Stil" Deutsche Zierkeramik der Nachkriegsjahre, p.195-205; H. Makus, 50er Jahre Keramik, p.134, and Keramik der 50er Jahre. Ein Handbuch, p.119-121 and p.370.