Franz Bujatti

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Franz Bujatti Sr.

Franz Bujatti (born August 7, 1813 in Vienna ; † October 6, 1897 ) was an Austrian industrialist and operator of a silk factory in Vienna.

biography

The Hof-Seidenwaaren-Fabrik Franz Bujatti in Vienna dates back to the first half of the 18th century. In the history of Austrian silk industry the name Bujatti first surfaced casually around 1740, but not as a Viennese commercial company, but as the owner of a modest silk weaving in the Austrian Littoral , in the semi-Venetian Cormons where it famous and highly respected silk growers and weavers were . The Cormonese Bujatti are called by tradition from that time as particularly capable masters of their subject.

Giovanni Battista Bujatti, whose year of birth is recorded in the Cormones church book of 1740, moved from his hometown to nearby Gorizia , where he now successfully continued his silk hand-weaving, which he already operated at home in Cormons, on a larger scale .

The ambition and ability of old Giovanni Bujatti was passed on to his son Georg Bujatti. He was born on July 1st, 1770 in Gorizia and took over the management of the business at a young age. After several successful endeavors, he succeeded in moving his entire factory to Vienna, to which a number of Austrian branches of industry gravitated at that time. Georg Bujatti was probably not only prompted to move to the great fashion center of the imperial city, not only because of the ongoing warlike unrest in the coastal area, but even more because of his work, which until then consisted exclusively of the production of peasant items.

The relocation took place in 1811. The economic conditions in Vienna at that time were initially not favorable. Trade was sluggish as a result of the long Napoleonic wars , but a new, rapid upswing followed after the Congress of Vienna . The silk industry in general and the company "Georg Bujatti", which soon achieved a very prestigious position in the branch, played an excellent part in this upswing.

The birth of the company's founder, Franz Bujatti Sr., who was the youngest son of Georg Bujatti on August 7, 1813, was born in Vienna at this time. The personality of this extraordinary man protruded into the immediate present and his creative activity was well known.

Franz Bujatti attended secondary school , completed the commercial department at the kk polytechnic institute and the manufactory drawing school in Vienna for professional training for his father's profession. As early as 1824, his father took him into his factory as an apprentice "as a master's son with a six-year contract" in order to learn the entire trade practically at the loom. In 1830 at the Christmas quarter he was solemnly acquitted after completing his apprenticeship at the "Guild of Silk, Velvet and Thin Cloth Makers in Vienna".

Franz Bujatti used his years of apprenticeship not only to study languages, but also to acquire general education, which in later years helped him to a leading commercial position. The master rights he acquired only in 1835 after moving to former guild custom has made his masterpiece. Franz Bujatti was awarded the master craftsman's license according to old Viennese trade law by the Schotten monastery , which at the time exercised jurisdiction over the suburb of Schottenfeld and as such gave the young Bujatti the “silk fabric maker trade”. In fact, however, he had been working as co-boss in his father's factory since 1830.

The factory grew rapidly, so that by the beginning of the 1830s its own spacious building had to be built at Zieglergasse 8. In addition to the supervision and appropriate establishment of this new factory building, the young factory owners took on the preparatory work for the company's participation in the first Viennese industrial exhibition. The same took place in 1838 in the great imperial winter riding school on Josefsplatz in Vienna. The silk department was very well stocked; in addition to the Viennese manufacturers, the most outstanding companies from Milan and Como were represented brilliantly. In view of this competition, the award of an "honorable mention" that was given to the Bujatti factory at the time can be posted all the higher.

Franz Bujatti participated in later exhibitions as the sole manager of the company, as he had taken over the factory after his father's death in 1842. He participated with great success in the exhibitions in Vienna in 1845, in Leipzig in 1850, in London in 1851, in Munich in 1854 and in Paris in 1855.

In Franz Bujatti's planned, steadfast participation in the major international exhibition competitions of the industry, an even more significant drive is expressed as the Austrian silk goods manufacture had to go through a serious crisis in the 1850s.

Factory in Mährisch-Schönberg (before 1900)
Court silk goods factories in Haškow (before 1900)

Franz Bujatti was among the first to move into new settings. Quickly decided, he shifted the focus of his production to the provinces, first to Mährisch-Schönberg , where he put 600 handchairs into operation, mostly in the workrooms of his own branch factory, but then also in around 40 workers' apartments. He also rented larger buildings in Blauda , Frankstadt and Deutsch-Liebau in Moravia, where he had weaving.

As early as 1862, the first silk goods from Schönberg reached the Great Exhibition in London . These were fabrics of exquisite beauty and high craftsmanship that Franz Bujatti had put together for the showcases of his London object at the time and combined for a house exhibition in his factory building in Zieglergasse before they were sent to London. This received general recognition, the imperial court also took notice and on April 7, 1862 Emperor Franz Joseph I personally paid a visit to the Bujatti factory and exhibition in Zieglergasse.

The next consequence of this outstanding activity of industrial ambition was the high order that Franz Bujatti received to furnish the royal castle in Ofen with decorative silk fabrics. The fabrics in the court festival salon of the kk court opera were also created by Bujatti, whose artistic work was finally recognized by the award of the Franz Joseph Order .

Distinguished works of art are the magnificent panneaux made by Bujatti for the Paris World Exhibition , as well as the damask fabrics for the Imperial Pavilion of the Vienna World Exhibition in 1873 , which he later dedicated as award-winning objects to the Austrian Museum for Art and Industry .

On his 60th birthday he was given the title of kuk court silk fabric manufacturer by the emperor .

A year later he surprised the business world by founding a second large provincial establishment, a branch factory in Haškow near Münchengrätz in Bohemia, which he built on a grand scale not only for weaving, but also for dyeing, printing and finishing. For a few more years he dealt with the establishment and organization of this plant, but then he stepped back from the company into private life by handing over the entire factory and business operations of his house to his three sons - Hermann, Theodor and Franz Georg Bujatti.

The Bujatti brothers have now completed the final transformation of the establishment into a modern, large-scale motor-driven company by first expanding the factory in Mährisch-Schönberg by adding two sheds with a steam engine , while they took over the Haškow factory, the picture of which is at the top of this article, equipped with turbine drive. At the same time, the last-mentioned factory, which initially mostly only produced and printed foulard cloths , was now almost exclusively set up for printed, oriental atlases after this article was almost no longer sought.

These profound transformations and innovations, in which large amounts of capital were invested in just a few years , were no easy matter. However, this enabled the company to maintain the company's efficiency at the same level as all competition, and in particular to gain considerable advantages through efficient production. The most radical redesign and enlargement was experienced by the dye works , which since then has been working with the latest and most modern machines.

The Bujatti factories employ 1,200 workers around 1900, mostly families, while the number of mechanical looms was 700 and the engines provided a total of 300 horse power. With regard to dyeing and finishing , the Bujatti factories were almost independent of outside institutions, as almost all raw goods produced in Mährisch-Schönberg and Haškow are finished there and are sent directly to customers. Only a very small part of the products came to Vienna in foreign contract finishings, only to be sold and shipped from the local defeat. Both factories were equipped with modern facilities in terms of heating, lighting and all industrial hygiene measures. In the same modern spirit, provisions for welfare institutions for the benefit of the workers were also often provided, namely through the provision of seemingly accommodation, which contributed significantly to the stabilization of the workforce.

The company's production extended to almost all areas of silk goods production. Magnificent innovations in ready-to-wear fabrics, umbrella articles and printed silk goods, however, were her specialty. Almost half of all products were exported abroad, where the "Franz Bujatti" company had its own representatives in all major trading centers such as Paris , London , New York , Cairo , Constantinople , etc.

Franz Bujatti in old age (1893)

Honors

Franz Bujatti was an honorary member of the Lower Austrian Trade Association .

The Bujattigasse , previously holder Bachgasse in Hütteldorf was in 1898 named in his honor because he was a benefactor of the area.

Works

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Franz Bujatti, in: Die Gross-Industrie Oesterreichs. Commemoration for the glorious fiftieth anniversary of the reign of His Majesty the Emperor Franz Josef I, presented by the Austrian industrialists in 1898. Volume 4, Weiss, Vienna 1898, pp. 37–39.
personal data
SURNAME Bujatti, Franz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian industrialist and operator of a silk factory in Vienna
DATE OF BIRTH August 7, 1813
PLACE OF BIRTH Vienna
DATE OF DEATH October 6, 1897
Place of death Vienna