“a new line of business, which spread from here into the neighborhood and has heldon to the
present day. Realizing correctly that iridescent glass would come into fashion, one started iridiz
ing mostly seed beads and a fewjewelry articles (the bijouterie-wares producer Josef Ullmannin
Morchenstern was the first to try iridescence on jewelry and buttons). Paul Weiskopf supplied the
necessarv chomicals or oot thom from somGwh&rG olso...
Other metallic reflection effects such as luster were used for decoration. The results offortunate
coincidences were exploited and led to specialization in the business and so this branchofwork
has lasted up to the present. The equipment, the iridizing drum or muffle, is fairly simple to use, a
kiln was also needed for the rest of the procedure..." (Meissner 1954, p. 22).
The Company Zimmermann & Weiskopf/Morchenstern which was registered in 1876
after the death of Hartwig Weiskopf, printed business cards listing numerous
“Chemical products for decorating glass, porcelain and ceramic wares: vitrifiable and
luster colors; Chemicals for gilding, silver coating, platinizing and etchmg; enamel
colors, aniline dyes, aniline paint dyes, adhesives, etc."
Meissner pointed expressly to Weiskopf’s products and their importance:
“Iris and luster, and different metallic reflexes were very much the fashion for decorating beads
and other jewelry articles, also gilding and silver coating for seed beads, and for that reason the
demand for Chemicals for these purposes mcreased enormously... (Meissner 1954, p. 22).
In 1886 Duisburg & Co. in Gablonz and Anton Brückner in Morchenstern were
awarded a privilege (No. 36/1586) for a process for achieveing a mother-of-pearl effect
on glass buttons, glass beads and similar glass products by “Incorporatmg iridescent
glass clumps, pieces of glass or glass beads into the glass batch. ”
Iridizing and lustering, developed during the period of histoncism, became one of the
characteristic art nouveau finishing techniques, also used for gkass and porcelain
beads A display of these achievements was provided by the German-Bohemian
exhibition in Reichenberg. Here Joh. Pitter, Neudorf, showed innumerable drawn
beads- “About 100 of the many color effects are presented and achieve various lusters
or iridescent effects by firing” (Arnold 1909, pp. 89, 90). The pressed beads fromJoh.
Pitter Neudorf, were also “for additional refinmg ... cut, iridized, decorated with melted
on brocade flimmer or rapidly cooled after pressing so that the surface becomes
stranqely cracked. ”(Arnold 1909, p. 92). One can presume that this Company was only
one of many which made use of iridescent and lustered effects, which were also very
well received throughout the art nouveau period and into the art deco of the time
between the two wars. „ . . Q „ n
A selection taken from a list of products found in a Contemporary source from 1930
appears to be characteristic for the period: . n
The Chemical laboratory of Anton Rössler in Gablonz, founded in 1919 produced
silver nitrate and gold Chloride for processing blown beads and Imitation stones using
the wet method, also bright gold and silver luster for exterior metalizing of glass and
porcelain wares (Lodgman-Stein 1930, p. 387). Gustav Keil in Gablonz also had an
extensive selection to point to: “Fabrication of solid French beads. Strun9 ^ ea ^ °^
the plainest to the finest execution in oriental-iris for jewelers, etc., etc. waxchatons
and notions for bijouterie, Iris bugles, pear-drops buttons, stones, single and d ° uble
perforations, smooth, baroque, etc., in all shapes" (Lodgman-Stein 1930, p 414)
One of the most important Companies was probably the glass b ead f actory, TG^
Schöler in Wiesental a. N„ founded in 1884 and expanded during 1925-1927, which
employed 25 executives and workers along with 80 cottage workers. Their P rodu £ ts
included “qlass beads and bugles of all types, which are used for dress trimmmgs hat
Ornaments, lamp fringes, Ornaments, embroideries, etc. ... In addition to the modern
glass bead dye works, glass beads and bugles are lustered, iridized and electroplated
in a neighboring building”. (Lodgman-Stein 1930, p. 434).
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