Collections
| Back New Search Tips |
Schierholz & Sohn
| Name: | Schierholz & Sohn |
|---|---|
| Dates: |
()
1818 - 1907 (Life/Active Dates)
|
| Biography/History: | The factory was called Schierholz & Sohn (son) in 1890s when the character steins were being produced. Very often these steins carry the word "Musterschutz", usually in green, stamped onto the base over the glaze. This word in reality simply means "copyrighted" or "patent-protected" and has absolutely no bearing on the manufacturer. But even though collectors knew this fact, the characters were called "Musterschutz steins" for want of a better name. Majority of character stein production occurred prior to 1899; it is my opinion that Schierholz tried to revive the character line after 1910, but, as all stein manufacturers found out, the demand was no longer there. These well-known character steins were made in a small town called Plaue (East Germany, about 60 miles north of Coburg). Factory established by two brothers, Johann Karl Rudolf Heuäcker and Dr. Gottlob Ferdinand Heuäcker, in 1816. Dr. Heuäcker died a year later and Johann took on Christian Gottfried Schierholz in 1817. In that year the factory was granted an exclusive license for porcelain wares by the government of Schwarzburg-Sondehausen, which ruled the town of Plaue. These porcelain wares were manufactured for the pharmaceutical and chemical industries. In 1818 Johann Heuäcker left the partnership, leaving C.G. Schierholz as sole owner. The factory prospered over the years, especially after their most outstanding modeler, Edmund Haase, joined the firm in 1884. He remained with them until his death in 1914. Haase had been trained as a sculptor at the Munich Academy of Art and he is believed to have been responsible for the design and modeling of the character steins. Another modeler, Oskar Sieder, joined the firm in 1873 and worked with Haase to produce the majority of items in that product line. In 1887, Arthur Schierholz - who appears to be the grandson of Christian - became the owner of the factory. He died in 1899, and in 1907 the firm became a private limited liability Company (Corporation), known as "Von Schierholz Porzellan Manufactur Plaue G.m.b.H.". In 1972 the factory was nationalized by the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) and became known as "VEB Porzellan Manufactur Plaue", the name which it still retains today. [1987] http://stein-collectors.org/library/articles/Schierholz/Schierholz.html |