Ernst Leitz I.

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Ernst Leitz I (1843–1920)

Ernst Leitz I (born April 26, 1843 in Sulzburg , Baden ; † September 12, 1920 in Solothurn , Switzerland ) was a German entrepreneur and owner of the Ernst Leitz Optical Works in Wetzlar (today Leica Microsystems and Leica Camera ).

Life

Youth and years of traveling

Birthplace in Sulzburg

Ernst Leitz was born on April 26, 1843 in the small Baden town of Sulzburg as the son of the teacher Ernst August Leitz and his wife Christina, née Döbelin. In the renowned "workshop for physical instruments", founded by Ferdinand Oechsle in Pforzheim, Ernst Leitz was trained as a mechanic from 1858–1863 and at the same time attended the local trade school. The most important stop on the subsequent hike was to be Matthias Hipp's modern telegraph and watch factory in Neuchâtel (Switzerland), where he learned how to start series production. On the recommendation of Karl Junker from Gießen, Ernst Leitz joined the former optical institute of Carl Kellner (* 1826) in Wetzlar in 1864 , who had already died in 1855.

Takeover of Kellner's Optical Institute , focus on microscope construction

His successor, the optician Friedrich Belthle from Tübingen , made Leitz his partner in 1865. In 1870, just a few months after Belthle's death, Ernst Leitz became the sole owner of the small craft business. The optical institute initially dealt with the construction and optimization of telescopes . Thanks to Carl Kellner's most important invention, the orthoscopic eyepiece, in 1849, leading scientists in Germany, such as Carl Friedrich Gauß and Justus von Liebig , became aware of the young Wetzlar workshop, which now turned more and more to the construction of high-performance microscopes . Even if the waiter's tripods could not keep up with the best tripods of their time from Paris (above all from Georg Oberhäuser ), the optics of his microscopes with a large field of view for almost flat images were far superior to those of the competition, even at higher magnifications. Belthle had continued making microscopes after Kellner's death. Now the future of the company was in the hands of the young mechanic. As early as 1867, Ernst Leitz had married the master craftsman's daughter Anna Löhr (1844–1908) from Wetzlar, who was to become an indispensable assistant to him in the following years and to advise him successfully on important business matters.

User-oriented series production led to success

After the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871, the workshop experienced a significant boom. Realizing that the microscope would become the most important aid in science, Leitz concentrated his production on this instrument and its optimization. With that he had chosen the right product at the right time. He succeeded in combining the best quality with value for money by using the methods of rational series production learned in Switzerland. With this strategy, Ernst Leitz was able to boost production and thus sustainably increase sales. This gave him a clear lead over the competition at an early stage, while always staying in close contact with users at universities and in industry. By implementing their suggestions as quickly as possible, his company became a trendsetter in microscopy at the end of the 19th century.

Expansion of the product range from 1880

Ernst Leitz turned to other fields of optics from 1880 onwards. His eldest son Ludwig Leitz (1867–1898) devoted himself very successfully to micro and macro photography , micro projection and microtomy . In 1880 the first large horizontal camera from Leitz appeared on the market. In 1881 the first microtome was created to facilitate preparation of the specimen . From 1889 there was the Edinger drawing and projection apparatus. Ernst Leitz had a connection to normal photography early on. As early as 1894, the company was offering the duplex lens type for various focal lengths . Further lenses for micro and macro photography followed, such as B. Summar and Periplan. The first hand-held camera (“Moment”) appeared around 1900. Projectors for large-format slides were created around 1900 and became the forerunners of the epidiascopes that were later used worldwide. In 1910 the first cinema projector for flicker-free film screenings caused a sensation. Finally, in 1913, the original Leica appeared, the later triumph of which the company founder was no longer allowed to witness. From 1907 Leitz also built binoculars .

Expansion of Leitz branches in Germany and abroad

Leitz recognized early on that the domestic market was insufficient for high-quality optics and precision engineering products. As early as the 1880s, with the help of his son Ludwig Leitz, the number of branches and agencies in Germany and abroad was expanded more and more. The early death of Ludwig Leitz in 1898 was a painful turning point for the family, but also for the company. The work the brother had begun was continued by the second son Ernst (1871–1956), who joined the company as an apprentice in 1889 and became its partner in 1906.

Social and political engagement

In addition to his great successes in optical instrument making and in company management, Ernst Leitz's humanity should be emphasized, which he combined with high social commitment. His door was open to everyone. His “Agreement to support employees in need or unable to work” in 1885, as well as the invalids, widows and orphans' fund created in 1899, which over the years was expanded into a pension fund, were exemplary and ensured the livelihood of the employees much more than the statutory insurances of the state social security could. The eight-hour day introduced in 1906, as well as the high wages of his employees, made him an exceptional figure among entrepreneurs of his time. "Leitzians" had a respected special position far beyond Wetzlar's borders. Influenced by his home in Baden and his parents' house, Ernst Leitz was committed to progressive liberalism at an early age. He was a co-founder of the liberal association in Wetzlar. For a short time he was a member of the Wetzlar Liberal People's Party and, together with his son Ernst, was one of the founders of the German Democratic Party in Wetzlar in 1918. From 1897 to 1902 Ernst Leitz was a member of the city council and was also a member of the district assembly. He made generous donations to his adopted home Wetzlar, among other things for the construction of a crèche for foster children and for the design of the children's home in Wetzlar, as well as to beautify the cityscape. The National Foundation for the Relatives of Those Who Fallen in the War also received generous donations, as did the Society of Friends and Supporters of the University of Giessen.

Good employees contribute to the company's success

Ernst Leitz and his wife Anna also showed great skill in the selection of their leading employees. Leitz mastered the art of delegating important tasks early on, transferring responsibility to people who should justify his trust with outstanding performance. In 1887, he found a reliable accountant and financier in the Swiss Max Günthert, who, appointed as authorized signatory in 1899, played a decisive role in the company's expansion, also outside of Europe. He paved the way for Henri Dumur, a great-nephew of Ernst Leitz, who joined the company in 1903 at the age of 18 and was to remain closely connected to it for 60 years. Dumur took over Günthert's commercial department as early as 1915. With the help of his numerous trips abroad, including to North and South America, he succeeded in revitalizing the business relationships that had been interrupted during the war and in renewing the sales organizations. By putting the company on a sound financial footing, Dumur secured Leitz growth rates at a time when the majority of other German companies were suffering from the aftermath of the economic collapse after 1918.

Last years

However, Ernst Leitz himself was no longer to experience this. In 1908 he had already lost his faithful companion and wife Anna. The end of the First World War , the national collapse, but also the unrest caused by those returning from the war, even in his own company, are said to have broken his heart again. In southern Germany and Switzerland he once again visited the places of his childhood and youth. He died on July 10, 1920 at the age of 77 in Solothurn.

With his life's work, Ernst Leitz created the basis on which his son could build. With his decision to mass-produce the Leica 35mm camera, Ernst Leitz II was to change the world of photography. With this, father and son Leitz wrote German economic history.

Inventions and new designs

Expansion and improvements of the microscope range

As early as 1865, Leitz expanded Belthle's microscope range, which previously consisted of a small, medium and large tripod, to include his “smallest microscope”, intended for the training of students. Furthermore, the mechanics of the larger microscopes were more and more adapted to the standard, e.g. B. by equipping them with a horseshoe base, a nosepiece and a hinge to tilt the top. A significant innovation was the polarization device according to the specifications of the Tübingen botanist Hugo v. Mohl, the range was also supplemented by a magnifying microscope and the terrestrial telescopes that were designed in the waiter's time. In 1870 the range of microscopes consisted of 7 types. A laboratory microscope according to J. Stuart, with its multiple expansion and experimentation options, fulfilled the wishes of the scientists with whom Leitz was in close contact. In 1876 the ancestor of all single microscopes was created, i.e. the tripods of the new series valid until 1904, equipped with a horseshoe base, joint between the tripod base and object table, objective turret and a new fine drive with micrometer screw.

Further improvements

Further significant improvements followed: since 1870 only eyepieces with a diameter of 23.2 mm have been manufactured. In 1879 the microscope Ia was brought out, which enjoyed great popularity because of its handiness. In the same year, the water immersion lens No. 12 with a focal length of 1/30 '' = 0.8 mm was released. In 1882, in addition to four different water immersion objectives and nine dry systems, the first oil immersion objectives were in the range. The large Leitz microscopes at this time were equipped with Altmann or Abbe brightfield capacitors. In the same year, 1882, Ernst Leitz was able to bring the first two simple polarizing microscopes for geosciences onto the market. They became the forerunners of the first large polarization microscope, which he developed in 1885 for geological and mineralogical investigations together with his mechanics manager Richard Kuntz. In 1885 the oil immersion objective 1/12 oil (100: 1, aperture 1.30) came onto the market. Thanks to its low price and because the lens could also be used in microscopes from other manufacturers, it became a best seller. The total price of the microscope equipment also fell significantly, so that sales of Leitz microscopes soared.

New types of optical glass

From 1886, new optical glasses of unprecedented quality and uniformity were available from the Jenaer Glaswerke Otto Schott . After the mathematician Carl Metz, who worked in the company from 1887, calculated all optical systems including the new types of glass on a uniform tube length of 170 mm, eyepieces and objectives could be used on a wide variety of microscopes, which in turn made larger series possible.

From 1888, in addition to the inexpensive achromatic lenses, the Leitz range of lenses also included higher quality apochromatic lenses, i.e. lenses whose lenses were no longer made only of glass, but also of fluorspar. This significantly improved color correction. In order to achieve an optimal image, Leitz recommended using additional compensation eyepieces.

From 1890 on, Leitz had switched all lenses to the internationally common RMS male thread, and also matched the lenses to one another, which meant that you no longer had to readjust the focus when changing the lens. With the help of the pentachromatic glasses , which were based on new types of glass (borate, phosphate and baryta glasses) from Schott, Carl Metz developed a new lens class from 1890, which was between the achromatic and the apochromatic in terms of performance and price . With their help, it was possible to manufacture high-quality lenses without the costly and labor-intensive use of fluorspar , including the now famous 100-fold “1/12 oil”. Instead of the complex compensation eyepieces, the inexpensive, simple Huygens eyepieces were sufficient for them.

Since the new types of glass had only a limited shelf life, Leitz began producing fluorite objectives from 1902, a semi-apochromatically corrected series with lenses made of environmentally resistant glass and fluorspar. These glasses, labeled F1, were manufactured in large series in terms of price and performance, and were also somewhere between the achromatic and the apochromatic.

New eyepieces, new microscope variants

The high magnifications that were achieved with the aid of the oil immersion objectives resulted in a large reduction in the field of view when using the Huygens eyepieces. In 1909, Carl Metz developed his Periplan eyepieces in addition to the newly calculated Huygens eyepieces: instead of the planoconvex lens in the Huygens type, a planoconcave lens was cemented with a biconvex lens. His concept for the construction of optimally corrected large field eyepieces, presented in 1914, still serves as a guideline for the calculation of modern eyepieces.

In the 1890s, additional versions of the microscope equipment, as well as collapsible travel microscopes, appeared. With the research microscope type A, which came onto the market in 1902, a type of tripod was created which, thanks to its beautiful and handy shape, was to become the model for all microscopes for many years, and indeed a symbol for the natural sciences. Microscopes of this shape have been built over 50 years with only minor deviations. The double-sided fine adjustment with worm drive and heart curve for precise focusing, developed by the outstanding mechanic Emil Keller, became exemplary for all microscope construction from 1902 onwards. Keller also used ball bearings as an innovation. In 1913, Leitz again caused a sensation with an immersion objective with a previously unattainable numerical aperture of 1.48, which was primarily used in the conoscopy of crystals.

Polarization and microscopes for metallographic examinations are revolutionizing research

With the help of the talented mechanic Paul Weilinger and the mineralogist Gabriele Lincio (1874–1938) from Varzo / Italy, the large AM polarization microscope and eight other variants for geology and mineralogy were developed. After Linzio's departure in 1908, following a call to Padua as a professor, Ernst Leitz and his son Ernst, who had become a partner in the company in 1906, decided to hire a new research assistant to look after and develop the polarization optical instruments. The choice fell on Max Berek , who came to Leitz in 1912. As early as 1913, he was able to present the new BM, CM and KM polarization microscopes, equipped with the rotary compensator he invented and the Berek condenser. Berek's accomplishments alone in the further development of polarization microscopes and the creation of new examination methods for these instruments are so important that specialist scientists call him the "Abbe of the 20th century". Special microscopes for metallographic examinations were also part of the company's program from 1906. Foreman Paul Weilinger was responsible for their development. As early as 1909, following suggestions from the French chemist and technician Henry Le Chatelier, the first inverted microscope of the MM series was created, in which the objective and observation tube were located under the object table. This “metallograph” has seen numerous modernizations and was in use until the late 1980s.

From the double loupe to the stereo microscope

In 1897 Leitz presented the Westin double magnifier, an early stereomicroscope that replaced the monocular magnifying glass tripods that had been used up until then for preparation technology. Since the objectives and eyepieces were firmly integrated, however, the magnification could not be changed. From 1910 onwards, the stereomicroscope after the American zoologist Horatio S. Greenough provided a remedy, with which magnifications of up to 120 times were achieved by changing the pairs of eyepieces and lenses. The image was erected with the help of Porro prisms. In 1920 Hermann Heine developed simple binocular stereo microscopes based on the Greenough principle with Porro prisms and permanently installed lenses. There were three pairs of eyepieces for each of the two magnification ranges in order to obtain different magnifications. Because of its large working distance, the prism magnifier became extremely popular with natural scientists, but especially in industry, and was in the sales range for 50 years. No other microscope has ever seen such high numbers in production. Since the housings for the image erecting Porro prisms were identical to those of the binoculars of the time, there were additional cost-saving synergy effects.

Modular system for microscopes

It was also thanks to Hermann Heine to adopt the modular system for microscopes created by Paul Weilinger for the first time. This gave users the opportunity, by exchanging the corresponding parts, e.g. B. to make a polarization microscope or a metal microscope from a transmitted light microscope.

The dark field lighting made the smallest pathogens visible

With the dark field lighting , which he presented in 1907, Leitz gained a unique position in the microscope market. With the help of its powerful dark field condensers, the smallest pathogens, such as syphilis, could be made visible like stars in the night sky. It was the physicist Waldemar Ignatowski from Tbilisi, who had been working at Leitz since 1906 , who had developed this special condenser. It was revised in 1909 by the physicist Felix Jentzsch . If oil immersion objectives were used, his bicentric mirror condenser D 1.20 improved the dark field illumination again. It was the simplest method to make the difficult to color, very mobile pathogens of syphilis visible. This is why Leitz's soon-to-be-patented process was widely used. The optical structure of this dark field condenser formed the basis for the world-famous E. Leitz Wetzlar trademark in 1913.

The first working binocular microscope

At the suggestion of his son Ernst, the world's first fully functional binocular microscope was presented in 1913. This instrument, for which a right-angled prism with physical beam splitting formed the basis, had been developed by Felix Jentzsch and became the archetype of all modern binocular microscopes. After the end of the war in 1918, it was to change the world of microscopy decisively.

Microtomes completed the program

The more powerful the microscope became, the thinner and more precise the sections of the specimens had to be. An important addition to his microscope program was a sled microtome in 1881, which Leitz constructed based on suggestions from the Leipzig anatomist Richard Altmann. In 1905 a rotary microtome was built according to Ch.S. Minot, 1909 of a basic slide microtome. The cooperation of the outstanding mechanic and foreman Emil Keller proved its worth in these innovations. Ultimately, serial cuts with the almost unimaginable fineness of a few 1/1000 millimeters became possible.

Carbon arc lamps, photomicrograph and microprojection

When electricity began to be used to generate light, microscopy got rid of the lack of light. Leitz carbon arc lamps for microscopy, microphotography and microprojection have been available since 1897. Its development was driven by the capable foreman Georg Koblitz.

In the 1980s, Ernst Leitz and his son Ludwig expanded the product range to include microphotography and microprojection. As early as 1880 Leitz had brought out the first microphotographic apparatus No. 50, in 1885 the large microphotographic horizontal camera appeared, later the horizontally and vertically applicable MA II camera. Numerous additions followed. From 1894, Carl Metz calculated photographic lenses for micro and macro photography with focal lengths between 24 and 64 mm and a speed of 1: 4.7. They appeared on the market in 1896. The Periplan lens should be emphasized, a five-lens system consisting of two elements with a speed of F: 8, later F: 7.7. They were used on Edinger's drawing apparatus for microscopic overview images at low magnification or for macro shots with a bellows plate camera specially made by Leitz on a tripod. Ludwig Leitz wrote extensive technical publications for the production of micrographs and promoted Leitz microscopes and photomicrographic devices on his trips abroad with self-made recordings. His suggestions were one of the roots for the later so successful Leica production.

Photo lenses and cameras

In 1901, the mathematician Ernst Arbeit took over the newly established photo-optics production area as a research assistant. In the years that followed, in close collaboration with Carl Metz, Arbeit created a wide range of excellent photo lenses. His first systems included the double anastigmate with the name Summar, six-lens systems with two-lens cemented elements on one side and the other of the iris diaphragm and one outer individual lens each. They appeared in the light intensities F: 4.5 to F: 6 and were largely corrected with regard to coma, distortion and color errors due to their symmetrical structure. In the Leitz catalog of 1906, almost all Summar and later Periplan lenses were offered in three different lens mounts as purchased parts for a wide variety of camera models from other manufacturers of their time. In 1906 the micro-summaries specially created for the local area were added, later the milars. From 1905, Leitz also offered complete cameras with Leitz photo lenses. These were still made entirely of wood. Travel cameras soon emerged that could later be folded up, bellows cameras and folding cameras, to name just a few.

From the first projection apparatus to the epidiascopes

As early as 1899, the first projection apparatus for the projection of microscopic preparations and slides was created. In 1905, at the suggestion of the Berlin pathologist Carl Kaiserling and with the help of the excellent construction of the foreman Heinrich Plies, a large universal projection apparatus for both transmitted and reflected light projection was presented, which can be used for slides as well as for microscopic preparations, but also for documents and could use smaller items. The projector is considered to be the forerunner of the later large epidiascopes. Carbon arc lamps were used for lighting. This instrument and the projection devices that followed it, which were constantly being further developed as "Leitz specialty", owe their worldwide success to the outstanding quality of the lenses calculated by Ernst Arbeit. Leitz epidiascopes were found in every major lecture hall around the world in the following decades.

Edinger's drawing and projection apparatus

The internist and founder of neurology at the Medical Faculty of Gießen, Ludwig Edinger, worked with the Wetzlar company to develop a drawing device with which it was possible to trace sections of the brain. This resulted in Edinger's drawing and projection apparatus, which was widely used in neuro-anatomy and pathology and which could also be used to take photographic images.

From cinema projector to Leica

On the initiative of the film and television pioneer Emil Mechau (1882–1945), who became a technical employee at Leitz from 1910, a cinema projector was created for flicker-free film screenings at all frame frequencies. As early as 1912, a mechanical-optical masterpiece was set up in a Wetzlar cinema with the first projector, which would later make film history as a Mechau projector. Max Berek calculated the high-speed main lens required for this.

It is also thanks to Mechau that the inventor of the Leica, Oskar Barnack (1879–1936), came to Leitz in 1911. Barnack, an avid amateur filmmaker, tinkered with a test device for the 35 mm wide movie he used for his own purposes. The result was a small, handy still camera, the “Ur-Leica”. It was junior boss Ernst Leitz II who in 1912 recognized a product idea in this machine that was to revolutionize the world of photography from 1925 onwards.

Max Berek has also calculated many lenses for the Leica. It was only with their help that it was possible to create optimal enlargements from the small negatives. Ernst Leitz did not see the progress of all this development work, above all the triumph of the Leica.

Binoculars

Around 1900 Ernst Leitz decided to invest in binoculars as well. Here, too, he assured himself of the collaboration of the mathematician Ernst Arbeit, who, together with the Gießen mechanic August Bauer, who emerged from weighing scales, presented the first "binoculars" models with Porro 1 prisms in 1907 and 1908. In order to keep up with the competition, new prism mountings and adjustment methods were developed. The hard-rolled telescope body made of magnalium, an alloy of aluminum and magnesium, was characterized by density, weather resistance and lightness. In 1910, new models appeared with higher magnifications, the fields of view of which were 50 to 53 degrees on average.

From a craft business to a large company

Division of labor according to the performance principle

Anyone who has ever seen a microscope in its individual parts - from the fine mechanical precision of the tripod to the tiny lenses - gains an idea of ​​what it meant in the 19th century to manufacture such devices individually and painstakingly by hand. That is why Ernst Leitz's first concern was to implement the experience he had gained in Neuchâtel in his own company. As early as 1870 he began to divide labor according to the performance principle. The individual optician only manufactured the part of an optical instrument with which he achieved the best results in the shortest possible time. It was an important step towards series production. Already in this phase Leitz was able to deliver excellent quality faster and at lower prices than the competition. In 1870 the 1000th microscope left the workshop. Ernst Leitz published his first eight-page catalog. The microscope range already comprised 7 different types.

Carl Reichert's partnership leads to further rationalization

In 1872, the mechanic Carl Reichert from Württemberg joined the Leitz workshop and became its partner. Reichert's stay at the microscope manufacturer Edmund Hartnack in Potsdam from 1874 to 1875 led to a systematisation and thus to a noticeable tightening of the tripod range at Leitz after his return. This rationalization led to further cost savings, shortening of delivery times and lower prices. There were family ties to the business ties: Carl Reichert married Anna Leitz's younger sister, Jeannette Löhr, in 1878.

Two moves and expansion of the company. Separation from Reichert

As early as 1870, the rooms of the former waiter's workshop at the Jäcksburg had become too small. After 5 years in the house of master blacksmith Grell at Wöllbacher Tor, the expanding business was relocated in 1880 from the narrowness of the old town to the outskirts, to the freer location at Kalsmunttor. In the following years, extensions and new buildings were built that changed the cityscape considerably. Many young people who found employment and good earning opportunities at Leitz settled there.

In 1875 the first detailed catalog appeared in the new currency, the mark. There were already 16 different microscope configurations for three tripods alone. The directory for ancillary equipment contained 15 additional articles.

As early as 1876 there was an amicable separation between Leitz and Reichert, above all because Anna Leitz refused a permanent partnership. Reichert then founded his own workshop in Vienna for the production of microscopes.

Successful Marketing

From the start, Ernst Leitz maintained personal contact with the leading scientists of his time. The delivery program, which is always oriented towards the wishes of his customers, his participation in natural scientist and medical congresses including demonstration of his instruments, his intensive exchange with the users and his extremely fast implementation of suggestions in new or redesigns quickly secured him the trust of himself more and more expanding customers at home and abroad. In-house courses in microphotography and microtomy were used to support sales. Publications in specialist journals increased the level of awareness of Leitz instruments. Leitz was represented at the world exhibitions in Antwerp in 1891, Brussels, 1897 , Paris 1900 and St. Louis (USA) 1904 and received high awards. As early as 1909 there were Leitz branches in Berlin and Frankfurt, as well as in New York, Chicago, London and Saint Petersburg. Leitz representatives were in Wroclaw and Munich, in all Scandinavian countries, as well as in Holland, Belgium, France, Austria, Hungary, Italy, Switzerland and Japan.

Machines facilitate the flow of production and improve working conditions

From 1883 a central steam engine and from 1894 a steam turbine relieved the manual work. They enabled the use of larger tools, and an optician could operate several spindles and machines at the same time, so that the individual production of lenses and prisms was not necessary. The electrification of the individual machines introduced with the new turbine replaced the transmissions that had been common up until then. In addition, the working conditions (occupational safety, reduction of the noise level, more daylight) have been significantly improved. The production flow was also optimized, as the machines could be set up in a variable manner. The division of the production process also in mechanics led to the establishment of working groups, later to workshops that specialized in certain work processes. This compartmentalization went hand in hand with the training of a sufficient number of precision mechanics and skilled workers. The machines were adapted to the ever higher and more specific requirements, and from 1903 onwards they were also manufactured in the company's own mechanical engineering department.

Refined measuring methods and production controls ensure consistent quality

In order to record the rejects that arise in series production as early as possible, good measuring methods were required. The measuring equipment required for this was manufactured in-house. Finally, efficient production control ensured consistent quality. The foremen of the adjustment departments were responsible for the design of the company's various products. A design-ready sample was used for series production. Sometimes the foreman also made hand sketches. Until 1918 one can speak of a series production on a manual basis. From then on, construction work was gradually separated from production, and in 1920 Hermann Heine took over the management of the construction department.

Leitz becomes the world's largest microscope manufacturer by 1912

So it happened that the number of microscopes manufactured increased almost tenfold between the years 1885 and 1912: while in 1885 there were still 1,250 instruments, in 1912 almost 12,000 microscopes left the factory. With 55,000 microscopes sold, Leitz had already become the world's largest microscope manufacturer by 1900. In 1907 Ernst Leitz had the 100,000. Microscope dedicated to the great scientist and Nobel Prize winner Robert Koch. Just five years later, in 1912, microscope No. 150,000 left the factory that Ernst Leitz presented to Nobel Prize winner Paul Ehrlich.

Change of the product range from 1912 towards military optics

In addition to many of the company's other products in the projection, film and photo sectors, there were also binoculars from 1907, and the First World War was casting its shadow. In a very short time, the company, more and more under the leadership of the son Ernst Leitz II, had to reluctantly switch to military optics. The company met the needs of the army with the construction of various telescopes for the navy, army and the beginning air force. In addition to 96,800 binoculars, telescopic sights, aviator observation instruments, scissor telescopes, telescopes for trenches and artillery aiming circles were built. Around 50 different models of binoculars had been built by 1920. A total of around 115,000 copies had been made by then.

New cost-saving measures in production

The expanded product range required new cost-saving measures in production. The optician Rudolf Zak, who worked as operations manager from 1889, succeeded in structuring the optics business according to the material flow principle, completing the optics principle introduced by Ernst Leitz. After the turn of the century, August Bauer succeeded in adapting the internal organization to the new requirements. He replaced outdated production methods and introduced a modern economic management.

War-related fluctuations in the workforce and production focus

If 40 employees were counted by 1880, 10 years later the number was already 200. By 1910 the number of employees rose to 947. During the First World War 1914–1918, many workers were drafted into military service, the missing positions in production were filled by women . During this time, the workforce grew to around 2000 employees.

At the end of the war, the Versailles Treaty abruptly ended the production of military optics. The company again produced microscopes and projectors, binoculars only for civil purposes. With the loss of foreign markets, its position as the world market leader for microscopes was lost. In 1920, only 1266 people worked at Leitz. The industrial peace between the masters and the journeymen who had returned from the war was also noticeably disturbed.

Germany should not recover so quickly from the economic decline after the First World War. The war had used up all reserves. What was left was used for reparations payments. Universities and public institutes did not have the money to buy scientific instruments. The rebuilding of exports proved to be long and arduous.

In this phase of the laborious new beginning, Ernst Leitz's life path was completed in 1920. He was not to see the glamorous resurgence of his company under the leadership of his son.

literature

  • Rolf Beck: The Leitz works in Wetzlar. Erfurt 1999.
  • Rolf Beck: microscopes from Ernst Leitz in Wetzlar. Erfurt 2002.
  • Christine Belz-Hensoldt: Two pioneers of optics - Carl Kellner's letters to Moritz Hensoldt 1846–1852. Gladenbach 2007.
  • Max Berek: Chatting about the making of the Leica. In: Photo magazine Camera, issue 8/1948.
  • Alexander Berg: Ernst Leitz - Optical Works in Wetzlar 1848-1949 , Frankfurt 1949, Part 1: The history of the plant , Part 2: The importance of microscopy for the development of biology and medicine .
  • Willi Erb: From the microscope to the Leica. Freiburg 1956.
  • Ernst Leitz GmbH (Ed.): Ernst Leitz 1849–1949. From the group of employees, Wetzlar 1949.
  • Ernst Leitz GmbH (Hrsg.): Commitment for Ernst Leitz on his 70th birthday , Frankfurt 1941, Part 1: Optics in the service of science, Part 2: Origin and development of the Leitz works.
  • Dieter Gerlach: History of Microscopy. Frankfurt 2009.
  • Joseph Grehn: 125 years of Leitz microscopy. Special print by Ernst Leitz GmbH, Wetzlar 1974.
  • Wilhelm Homberg: The optical industry in Wetzlar. Dissertation, Darmstadt 1928.
  • Emil Keller: E. Leitz Inc. New York, Millbrook 1996.
  • Krueger Helmut: The Emil Mechau Story, Berlin 2007.
  • Knut Kühn-Leitz (Ed.): Ernst Leitz, pioneer of the Leica. Königswinter 2006.
  • Knut Kühn-Leitz (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I, from mechanic to world-famous entrepreneur. Stuttgart 2010.
  • Knut Kühn-Leitz (Ed.): Max Berek, creator of the first Leica objectives, pioneer of microscopy. Stuttgart 2009.
  • Ludwig Luckemeyer:  Leitz, Ernst. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 14, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1985, ISBN 3-428-00195-8 , p. 173 f. ( Digitized version ).
  • Carl Metz: Memoirs (handwritten record), Leica Microsystems CMS archive, Wetzlar.
  • Karl Heinz Mommertz : Drilling, turning and milling - history of machine tools. Reinbek 1981.
  • Wolf-Otto Reuter: From mechanic to world-class entrepreneur. Lecture on the occasion of the presentation of the book of the same name, Wetzlar, October 6, 2010, Haus Friedwart.
  • Erich Stenger: Photography in culture and technology. Leipzig 1938.
  • Wolfgang Wiedl: Ernst Leitz I, from mechanic to world-famous entrepreneur. Obituary in the WNZ on October 17, 2010.
  • Erwin Schneider: Ernst Leitz, Sulzburg's famous son. In: Badische Heimat , 30.Jg. 1950, issue 1/2.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Entry by Ernst Leitz in the family bible, undated, Leica archive
  2. ↑ Knut Kühn-Leitz: Apprenticeship and wandering years. In: Knut Kühn-Leitz (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation. Stuttgart 2010, pp. 31-34
  3. ↑ Knut Kühn-Leitz: Apprenticeship and wandering years. In: Knut Kühn-Leitz (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation. Stuttgart 2010, pp. 34, 38
  4. ^ Carl Metz: Origin and Development of the Leitz Works (fixed edition for E. Leitz on his 70th birthday), Wetzlar 1941
  5. ↑ Heidi Trabert: From Carl Kellner to Ernst Leitz. In: Knut Kühn-Leitz (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation. Stuttgart 2010, p. 66 ff
  6. ↑ Christine Belz-Hensoldt, Gerhard Neumann: Carl Kellner and the optical institute. In: Knut Kühn-Leitz (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation. Stuttgart 2010, pp. 44-62
  7. ↑ Rolf Beck: Becoming the market leader through pioneering innovations. In: Knut Kühn-Leitz (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation. Stuttgart 2010, pp. 139-140
  8. ↑ Knut Kühn-Leitz: The family. In: Knut Kühn-Leitz (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation. , Stuttgart 2010, p. 69 ff
  9. ↑ Trabert, Heidi: In forty years to a company with a global reputation, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: Vom Mechanicus zum Unternehmer von Welttruf, Stuttgart 2010, p. 211
  10. ↑ Belz-Hensoldt, Christine and Gerlach, Dieter: The microscope - symbol for science and research, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Hrsg.): Ernst Leitz I: Vom Mechanicus zum Unternehmer von Welttruf, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 89-114
  11. ↑ Trabert, Heidi: In forty years to a company with a global reputation, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to an entrepreneur with a global reputation, Stuttgart 2010, p. 211
  12. ↑ Leitz, Ernst Michael and Neidull, Günter: From handwork to industrial series production, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 120 ff
  13. ↑ Beck, Rolf: Through pioneering innovations to the market leader, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 142, 160
  14. ↑ Trabert, Heidi: In forty years to a company with a global reputation, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: Vom Mechanicus zum Unternehmer von Welttruf, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 210 ff
  15. ↑ Beck, Rolf: Through groundbreaking innovations to the market leader, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation, Stuttgart 2010, p. 148
  16. ↑ Osterloh, Günter: New Business Fields - Photographic Lenses and Projectors, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 173 ff
  17. ^ Berg, Alexander: Ernst Leitz - Optical Works in Wetzlar 1849-1949 - Part 1: History of the Work, Frankfurt 1949
  18. ↑ Beck, Rolf: Through pioneering innovations to the market leader, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 167 ff
  19. ↑ Osterloh, Günter: New Business Fields - Photographic Lenses and Projectors, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 173 ff
  20. ↑ Osterloh, Günter: New Business Fields - Photographic Lenses and Projectors, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 185 ff
  21. ↑ Osterloh, Günter: New Business Fields - Photographic Lenses and Projectors, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 188 ff
  22. ↑ Hengst, Alfred: Binoculars complete the product range, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: Vom Mechanicus zum Unternehmer von Welttruf, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 194-206
  23. ↑ Wiedel, Wolfgang: A fulfilled life, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 234-242
  24. ↑ Kühn-Leitz, Knut: Die Familie, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (ed.): Ernst Leitz I: Vom Mechanicus zum Unternehmer von Welttruf, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 71-76
  25. ↑ Wiedel, Wolfgang: A fulfilled life, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 236-239
  26. ↑ Trabert, Heidi: In forty years to a company of world renown, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: Vom Mechanicus zum Unternehmer von Weltruf, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 210-233
  27. ^ Wiedel, Wolfgang: A fulfilled life, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation, Stuttgart 2010, p. 235
  28. ↑ Trabert, Heidi: In forty years to a company of world renown, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: Vom Mechanicus zum Unternehmer von Weltruf, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 219, 220
  29. ↑ Trabert, Heidi: In forty years to a company of world renown, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: Vom Mechanicus zum Unternehmer von Weltruf, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 231-233
  30. ^ Wiedel, Wolfgang: A fulfilled life, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation, Stuttgart 2010, p. 241
  31. ↑ Beck, Rolf: Through pioneering innovations to the market leader, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 141 ff
  32. ↑ Beck, Rolf: Through pioneering innovations to the market leader, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 146 ff and 150 ff
  33. ↑ Rolf Beck: Becoming the market leader through pioneering innovations . in: Knut Kühn-Leitz (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation . Stuttgart 2010, pp. 154 ff
  34. ↑ Beck, Rolf: Through pioneering innovations to the market leader, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 155 ff
  35. ↑ Website about Lincio Gabriele, (ital.)
  36. ↑ Beck, Rolf: Through pioneering innovations to the market leader, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 157 ff
  37. ↑ Beck, Rolf: Through pioneering innovations to the market leader, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 164, 169
  38. ↑ Beck, Rolf: Through pioneering innovations to the market leader, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 164, 169
  39. ↑ Beck, Rolf: Through pioneering innovations to the market leader, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 147 ff
  40. ↑ Beck, Rolf: Through pioneering innovations to the market leader, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 147 ff, pp. 148-150
  41. ↑ Osterloh, Günter: New Business Fields - Photographic Lenses and Projectors, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 175 ff
  42. ↑ Osterloh, Günter: New Business Fields - Photographic Lenses and Projectors, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 185 ff
  43. ↑ Osterloh, Günter: New Business Fields - Photographic Lenses and Projectors, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 188 ff
  44. ↑ Hengst, Alfred: Binoculars complete the product range, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: Vom Mechanicus zum Unternehmer von Welttruf, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 194 ff
  45. ↑ Leitz, Ernst Michael and Neidull, Günter: From handwork to industrial series production, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 115 ff, pp. 120, 121
  46. ↑ Beck, Rolf: Through pioneering innovations to the market leader, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 142 ff
  47. ↑ Leitz, Ernst Michael and Neidull, Günter: From handwork to industrial series production, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 130-133
  48. ↑ Trabert, Heidi: In forty years to a world-famous company, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to a world-famous company, Stuttgart 2010, p. 214
  49. ↑ Beck, Rolf: Through groundbreaking innovations to the market leader, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation, Stuttgart 2010, p.146
  50. ↑ Beck, Rolf: Through pioneering innovations to the market leader, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 166-168
  51. ↑ Trabert, Heidi: In forty years to a company of world renown, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: Vom Mechanicus zum Unternehmer von Weltruf, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 222
  52. ↑ Trabert, Heidi: In forty years to a company of world renown, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: Vom Mechanicus zum Unternehmer von Weltruf, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 224-231
  53. ↑ Leitz, Ernst Michael and Neidull, Günter: From handwork to industrial series production, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 121 ff
  54. ↑ Leitz, Ernst Michael and Neidull, Günter: From handwork to industrial series production, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation, Stuttgart 2010, p. 122
  55. ↑ Leitz, Ernst Michael and Neidull, Günter: From handwork to industrial series production, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 129, 133
  56. ↑ Trabert, Heidi: In forty years to a company of world renown, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: Vom Mechanicus zum Unternehmer von Weltruf, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 220, 221
  57. ↑ Belz-Hensoldt, Christine and Gerlach, Dieter: The microscope - symbol for science and research, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Hrsg.): Ernst Leitz I: Vom Mechanicus zum Unternehmer von Welttruf, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 108.113
  58. ↑ Hengst, Alfred: Binoculars complete the product range, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: Vom Mechanicus zum Unternehmer von Welttruf, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 197 ff
  59. ↑ Leitz, Ernst Michael and Neidull, Günter: From handwork to industrial series production, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (ed.): Ernst Leitz I: Vom Mechanicus zum Unternehmer von Welttruf, Stuttgart 2010, p 137
  60. ^ Wiedel, Wolfgang: A fulfilled life, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: From Mechanicus to Entrepreneur of World Reputation, Stuttgart 2010, p. 236
  61. ↑ Trabert, Heidi: In forty years to a company with a global reputation, in: Kühn-Leitz, Knut (Ed.): Ernst Leitz I: Vom Mechanicus zum Unternehmer von Welttruf, Stuttgart 2010, pp. 231-233
personal data
SURNAME Leitz, Ernst I.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Leitz, Ernst senior
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German industrialist
DATE OF BIRTH April 26, 1843
PLACE OF BIRTH Sulzburg , Baden
DATE OF DEATH September 12, 1920
Place of death Solothurn , Switzerland