Vanished tool makers: AST, Germany

I rescued this rusty wood chisel recently.  I could just make out a trademark and the word "Germany" under the dirt and corrosion:

Below, cleaned up.  It was made by AST:

I already owned an AST mortising chisel:

The chisels were made by Albert Steup GmbH & Co. of Wuppertal, Germany.  There's very little information on this toolmaker.   The trademark was registered in 1953, but I suspect that the company's roots go much further back than this.

Source:  http://www.alte-beitel.de/steup_albert.html