Anton Fix

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Anton Fix (born September 5, 1846 in Vienna , Austria ; † July 13, 1918 there ) was an Austrian entrepreneur, manufacturer and upholsterer. He was the most important furniture manufacturer in Austria in the Belle Epoque and during his time expanded the company into a global company. In addition, with his company " Portois & Fix " he was purveyor to the Austrian imperial court.

Life

Anton Fix was born the son of the upholsterer Johann Fix. He himself also learned the craft of the upholsterer. In 1872 he took over the corresponding wallpapering company from his father, which on May 25, 1881 merged with the company of Frankobelgier August Portois to form "Portois & Fix", which he had met in 1880. In 1884, in addition to the trading house, the factory was also founded, where the company's own furniture creations were made. Fix was already awarded prizes at the World Exhibition in Vienna in 1873 , for example, he received the silver medal and the Golden Cross of Merit from his kuk Highness Emperor Franz Joseph I.from Austria. At first he acted as a partner in the company "Portois & Fix" until Portois withdrew from the company in 1894 and Fix became the sole owner and managed the company until 1907.

A lot of furniture was designed by Anton and later by Robert Fix himself, who created the independent "Fix style" in furniture design in the Belle Epoque.

Transformation into a global company by Anton Fix

In 1907 the company was converted into a public limited company. The name was retained as "Portois & Fix AG". Anton Fix became Chairman of the Board of Directors, his son Robert Fix (1876–1945) General Manager of the company. At that time, the company had around seven hundred employees worldwide, and in 1911 there were even a thousand. In the same year, Fix also obtained the right to wear the imperial eagle on the bronze labels, which distinguished his company as a purveyor to the court .

In 1899 he had the multi-storey residential and commercial building ( Haus Portois & Fix ) built in Ungarngasse by the architect Max Fabiani , which at the time was one of the most modern buildings in Austria.

Fix founded branches abroad in London , Berlin , Wroclaw , Cologne , Milan , Turin , Karlsbad , Paris , Budapest , Bucharest , Bombay , Cairo and Istanbul (Constantinople). It was thus present in around ten countries on three continents. Deliveries were made to the following countries: Germany, Russia, Turkey, Romania, Serbia, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Egypt.

Fix also succeeded in attracting prominent personalities as interior designers and furniture designers to his company, who further increased the company's reputation worldwide: world-famous architects such as Adolf Loos and Otto Wagner worked for him alongside Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser . Mainly in the production and sale of anterooms (Austrian for hallways ), living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms one was in charge. In addition to the imperial court, there were hotels, cafes, ships, etc. that were equipped by the company. It was also known that the company could equip entire interiors with all kinds of objects.

Since its inception, the company has taken part in important exhibitions across Europe: Antwerp 1885 and 1894, Trieste 1891, the 1900 World Exhibition in Paris, 1902 in Turin , London 1902 and 1906, St. Petersburg 1903.

Anton Fix was buried on March 18, 1919 at the Vienna Central Cemetery (KNLH group, number 381).

After Anton Fix's death in 1918, his son managed the company until his death and the company continued to exist until 1959.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Portois & Fix - A Viennese, modern furniture company . Diploma thesis by Bernadette Decristoforo from January 2009, accessed on March 1, 2015.
  2. ↑ friedhoefewien.at - Search for the dead . Retrieved March 1, 2015.
personal data
SURNAME Fix, Anton
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian entrepreneur, manufacturer and upholsterer
DATE OF BIRTH September 5, 1846
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH July 13, 1918
Place of death Vienna