W. & H. Seibert

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Seibert microscope from 1910
Seibert's stereo microscope from around 1920.
Another Seibert microscope

W. & H. Seibert was a German company that manufactured optical and precision mechanical instruments and in 1911 produced the world's first commercially available comparison microscope. The company was based in the central Hessian city ​​of Wetzlar . The company was thus significantly involved in the development of the German optical industry and Wetzlar to become the “city of optics”.

history

The company was founded in 1867 by the brothers Wilhelm Seibert (born September 22, 1840 in Wetzlar, † July 17, 1925 in Wetzlar) and Heinrich Seibert (born February 7, 1842 in Wetzlar, † June 12, 1907 in Wetzlar).

In the early days of the Wetzlar optical industry, the company emerged from a workshop in the old town on Brodschirm. Despite economic difficulties, they later moved to the vicinity of the Silhöfer Tor. From there they supplied Robert Koch , for example , who made groundbreaking discoveries such as the anthrax or tuberculosis pathogen through one of their new microscopes .

From 1872 the company was financially supported by the Wetzlar-based businessman Georg Krafft.

In 1889 W. & H. Seibert moved to the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Ring, later Karl-Kellner-Ring. In 1900 the ten thousandth microscope was manufactured.

After the death of Heinrich Seibert, a GmbH was founded . Based on the basic idea of ​​the Russian geologist Alexander Alexandrowitsch Inostranzew and the constructive suggestions of the Osnabrück chemist Wilhelm Thörner, the company succeeded in developing the first commercially available comparison microscope in 1911 .

At first sight, the brothers' main concern was to make a contribution to science - for them, economic profit came second. During the First World War, however, difficulties in selling the research instruments were faced . In 1917, the company was incorporated into the Ernst Leitz company for economic reasons , but continued to operate under its own company name W. & H. Seibert and manufactured its own products. At that time the company employed around 75 people.

Before William Seibert died at the age of 85 years and the company passed to his son Henry Seibert, he was from the Technical University of Darmstadt , the honorary doctorate awarded for his contribution to the development of the German optical industry. The company continued to run until the son's death in 1931. During the Second World War , due to production restrictions on specific optical and precision mechanical instruments, the company was fully integrated into the production process of the Leitz works, and in-house production was discontinued. An entry in the commercial register at the Wetzlar District Court confirms that the company had expired in 1971.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Irene Jung: Wetzlar: a small town history . Sutton, Erfurt 2010, ISBN 978-3-86680-715-0 , p. 105 .
  2. ↑ a b c Karlheinz Rosenbauer: Microscopic Preparations: Manufacturers and Suppliers. A compilation from two centuries . GIT-Verlag, Darmstadt 2003, ISBN 3-928865-36-6 , p. 89 .
  3. ^ Comparative microscope according to Thörner - Museum optical instruments . In: Museum of Optical Instruments . ( musoptin.com [accessed October 19, 2018]).
  4. ↑ a b Gerhild Seibert: Pioneers of optics and precision mechanics in Wetzlar. A city tour. Announcements from the Wetzlar History Association. tape 49 . Wetzlar 2018, p. 151 .
  5. ↑ Gerhild Seibert: pioneers of optics and precision mechanics. A city tour. Announcements from the Wetzlar History Association . tape 49 . Wetzlar 2018, p. 150 .