International fur trade exhibition
The International Fur Exhibition (IPA) was a large-scale specialist exhibition of the fur industry that was held in Leipzig over four months in the summer of 1930 ; associated with it was an international hunting exhibition. From June 22nd to 29th of that year the first and probably the only remaining World Fur Congress took place there.
The planning
At that time, the fur industry saw itself at a turning point in the history of fur, from an unrational to a systematic economy with many accompanying changes. The fur trade markets had shifted many times after the First World War and old trading companies had given way to new ones. Innovations in fur finishing resulted in new, inexpensive products for the constantly growing international demand, especially in rabbit processing .
In November 1926, the meeting of the Reich Association of German Tobacco Manufacturers, founded in 1921, decided to organize an international exhibition at the suggestion of its chairman Paul Hollender. The originally intended name was “World Exhibition for the Fur Compartment (WEPA)”, but the Reich Commissioner had objected to the word “World Exhibition . “Because of the presumably larger number of visitors and capital strength, Berlin was proposed with the new exhibition grounds at the radio tower, but ultimately it was decided in favor of this city because of Leipzig's worldwide importance for fur processing and trading. The fur industry was also the most important taxpayer in Leipzig at the time, so that considerable financial and personal support could be expected from there. But it had to be decided whether it should be in the city center, with a focus on the Brühl, or on the grounds of the technical fair . Since the exhibition was to last until September, but the exhibition rooms in the city center were needed for the autumn fair, the site of the technical fair, which at that time only took place in spring, was preferred. Initially, the date was planned to be 1929, but it turned out to be 1930. The fur finisher and tobacco merchant Paul Hollender became the head of the preparatory committee for the exhibition.
The extension of the name and the exhibition to the "International Fur Exhibition, International Hunting Exhibition Leipzig 1930" was not originally planned. The state of Saxony, as an important donor, absolutely wanted to have the Moritzburg trophy collection housed, the middleman Dr. Erich Klein, a passionate hunter, could not be dissuaded. “As could hardly be expected otherwise” there was a chain reaction, the other countries did not want to lag behind. After all, other countries also wanted to participate. Ultimately, all concerns were given up, the exhibition was expanded to include a hunting show, and the new name was agreed. The hunting show was not allowed to stand back behind the fur show, it was set up with the help of the University of Rostock .
It was similar with the planned fur animal show. Actually, only a few Karakul sheep were planned, which Russian exhibitors had announced. The domestic fur breeders, focused on export, did not want to be inferior. In order not to discourage the breeders from visiting, their wish was accepted, despite the urgent warnings from the zoological advisors that they might not be housed in an animal-friendly manner and that fur animals in their summer coats are by no means particularly attractive. This correction resulted in a real IPA zoo.
The exhibition
The International Fur Exhibition took place from May 31 to September 30, 1930 with the participation of companies and organizations from 15 countries on the grounds of the Technical Fair. A total area of 400,000 m² was rented. Of this, 32,442 m² was covered in five halls. The open spaces included animal enclosures, kiosks and an amusement park.
The main task of the IPA was to make visible the monopoly that Leipzig had in the international fur trade. In addition to this self-portrayal, the initiators hoped above all for an expansion of business relationships through the expected international flow of visitors. In retrospect, it was found that a number of small entrepreneurs in western, but also eastern and southern European countries, were said to have been encouraged to set up companies by visiting the exhibition.
The show showed in detail the breeding of fur animals, the individual trades of fur processing, such as fur trimmers and fur refiners as well as the furrier in action. In the outdoor area, almost all animals used for fur processing were shown in enclosures and kennels, a large part of which was provided by the Leipzig Zoo. The herd of Karakul sheep , the suppliers of Persian pelts, imported from Russia , could only be shown in the zoo due to disease regulations. The caretaker was a Buchare who lived next to the herd in a customary tent, a yurt .
Among other things, a large panorama of the tundra showed the living environment of the animals found there. The keeping of pets was also exhibited in many ways. In the Achilleion as Germany Hall, the German and especially the Leipzig companies presented their capabilities. The most important and best organized part of the exhibition concerned the refinement of tobacco products . Internationally, the industry was represented in country shows in the Hall of Nations. A total of around 3000 skins of the most unusual species were on display. In addition to regular fur fashion shows during the exhibition, a special show presented “Fur fashion through the ages”.
The hall of honor
The replica of the old Brühl
The country status of the Soviet Union
In the hunting exhibition
When entering the halls, the visitor first came to the "Ehrenhof", created at the suggestion and with the collaboration of the architect Paul Poser (Leipzig), and then into the adjoining "Ehrensaal" with the representation of how God hands furs to Adam and Eve . The artistic decoration was designed and carried out by the graphic artist Erich Gruner , who designed the “MM” emblem for the Leipzig sample fair in 1917 and later designed some postage stamps on the subject of the Leipzig fair . In the following master hall there were documents, books, journeyman's and master's letters, shops and chests as well as old possessions of the city of Wroclaw as examples of the history of the organization of the furrier trade. After walking through the history of fur fashion, you came to the reconstructed old Leipziger Brühl. The fur industry was shown in many halls, statistics, specialist training, technical schools, advertising and the specialist press.
Dyers and dressers could be seen in a separate hall. The fur finishing industry had set up a complete finishing plant that was manned by a different company every four weeks. Here, behind glass, the path from the raw hide to the product that can be used for shortening was shown. Laboratory, finishing, dyeing, bleaching and hair treatment revealed for the first time an event that had hitherto been secretly guarded . In a modern furrier sample workshop it was demonstrated how manual work was increasingly supported by technology in this craft.
The latest developments and inventions, such as fur cutting devices, electrically operated fur sewing machines , pricking machines , the latest fur knocking machines and much more were shown there. The teaching show showed skins in a previously and later never achieved completion. In addition, there were many special exhibitions by companies, authorities, manufacturers and breeders. In addition to the six large halls, there was a reading room with a wide variety of graphics, oil paintings and sculptures. The conclusion was a hall decorated by the painter Willi Geiger . His work showed an archer based on the Persian model and the most famous fur animals, it symbolized the use of fur and showed Leipzig as the center of the international tobacco trade .
The largest area was occupied by Russia, which traditionally carried out a considerable part of its fur trade via Leipzig. The commission agent, publicist and chronicler of the fur industry, Philipp Manes , stood out among the supporters of the IPA, along with Paul Hollender, and the Reich Minister of Finance Dietrich described him in his welcoming address as the "father of the congress". Manes writes in 1941, three years before his murder by the Nazis in the concentration camp: "The splendid exhibition of the Russians, who all showed what hergaben the forests of the vast empire, in a presentation so clearly and concisely, like no other country rave every visitor . Here you could study fur science in practice, see assortments, get to know places of origin and their differences - as it is never offered again in perfection. "
The old American fur trading company Hudson's Bay Company was represented with historical pictures and objects. The third largest exhibitor was France, which, as a fashion leader, confidently showed its handcrafted products: “We want to let our fur products be admired, both in terms of the cuts and in terms of the overall effect, which can only be found in Paris, the undisputed center of all elegance, with the same effect are. We don't want to bring many things, but rather good and exquisite and by doing this we want to thank the organizers of the IPA for making our department an attraction of elegance and good taste. "
Argentina, Finland, Denmark, the Netherlands, Persia, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Spain, Czechoslovakia and Hungary also took part, mostly only with small areas on which they gave an insight into their work in the fur industry. Only little Austria had built its own pavilion, which with its front garden and the “Viennese Café” in it formed an ornament in the area . The Viennese furriers showed their most beautiful creations and all sorts of special little things, in which they were unsurpassable , on podiums illuminated in the evening . The Viennese processing industry and the tobacco trade exhibited in side structures. It was all designed with a lot of love. Ultimately, it was also the Viennese and Hungarian companies that were probably the only ones who benefited directly from their participation. The Budapest lambskin specialists had shown their highly refined products in large format, which then began their triumphal march through the world .
A 738 page catalog was published for the exhibition. The motif of a blue fox designed by the illustrator Otto Arpke was the identification mark of the exhibition, which was used on posters, advertising leaflets, pins and other items. The medalist Bruno Eyermann created a bronze medal for the exhibition with the fox and a portrait of the exhibition president Paul Hollender.
Like the fur exhibition, the hunting and trophy show was the largest of its kind on German soil. Most of the praise came from the international press. The Leipzig city fathers saw it a little differently, because for them the mostly poorly attended show was a financial failure. They even formulated a “bankruptcy exhibition”, which was probably the reason that no other city started such a company afterwards. The fur industry also viewed the event with very mixed feelings regarding its economic success. If the event had taken place a year earlier, as originally planned, it would have fallen into a time of economic prosperity. In 1930, however, it fell into the wake of the global economic crisis that began with the price drops on the New York Stock Exchange .
Part of the collection was then taken over by the Leipzig City Fur Museum . During the Second World War , the museum's holdings were almost completely destroyed in a bomb attack on Leipzig . From Leipzig taxidermist Friedrich H. Wöbke , Brühl 27, the furriers were able to borrow "animals from the great exhibition" for their decorations.
Art at the IPA
In the state hall and at special stands there were statements about fur-bearing animals in art. The USSR had concentrated on folk art with the work of the “Academy of the North”. Sweden showed paintings by Bruno Liljefors for the first time in Germany , while France showed his well-known handicrafts and tapestries. A huge diorama came from the Museum Bucharest from Romania .
The German exhibition was under the motto "Of fur animals and fur in art of all times and peoples". Museums from Dresden, Kassel, Berlin and Munich provided valuable, sometimes famous, works that fit the topic. Among other things: "The Pelzchen" by Peter Paul Rubens , "Pelzstilleben" by Wenzel Hollar, " Saskia " by Rembrandt van Rijn , "Torgauer Jagd" by Lucas Cranach and the "Wermsdorfer Jagd" by Ferdinand von Rayski . In addition to the classic works, a jury selected 287 current works for the exhibition from 540 submitted works, including 74 sculptures, including a "sea bear group" by Edith ter Meer, "which was an IPA hit". The Leipzig painter Willi Geiger had created four colossal paintings for the IPA, symbolizing the “world of fur”.
The World Fur Congress
During the exhibition, the First World Fur Congress took place in Leipzig from June 22nd to 29th, at which Paul Hollender was elected the first President of the newly founded International Federation of Fur Industries , based in Leipzig. In contrast to the opening, representatives from all the countries participating in the IPA appeared. The US delegation was headed by mammal researcher Frank G. Ashbrook .
The second World Fur Congress, scheduled for 1932, probably did not take place. - Looking back after the Second World War and the subsequent relocation of the fur trade and the fur industry to the western part of Germany, especially to the fur trading center Niddastrasse in Frankfurt am Main, the London fur trader Francis Weiss noticed that it was probably more of a meeting of mourners and a swan song for the dead Fur City Leipzig was when a meeting of experts discussing trade issues.
The World Association of Workers in the Clothing Industry also moved its fourth congress to Leipzig (Fourth International Clothing Workers' Congress). From June 14th to 17th, 1930 representatives of various associations of clothing workers, tailors, furriers and milliners met there. The German clothing workers association took the international fur exhibition as an opportunity to publish a book in 1930 on the history of the furrier organization and the development of the furrier trade in Germany, especially from the point of view of the workforce.
The amusement park
The amusement park from above
Bath and IPA restaurant
Before the zeppelin exhibition
As in previous major Leipzig exhibitions (for example the Saxon-Thuringian Industrial and Commercial Exhibition in 1897 and the International Building Exhibition in 1913 ), a large amusement park was also set up for the IPA. It was located on the northern edge of the exhibition grounds, roughly in the area of today's Bio City Leipzig . In addition to the catering for the exhibition visitors, it should also contribute to their entertainment. But last but not least, it should also attract other exhibition visitors. In addition to some thematically designed restaurants (Black Forest house), there was a roller coaster, a toboggan run illuminated in the dark and an outdoor pool with an attached restaurant. There was a zeppelin show, and parts of the old Brühl were recreated as a further exhibit. The entire facility was owned by the Riebeck and Ulrich breweries .
The bathroom and the main restaurant were preserved after the exhibition and were only destroyed by bombs in World War II.
literature
- Heinz-Jürgen Böhme , Günter Clemens: Bilderbogen - Leipzig postcard series from 1895 to 1945 . PRO LEIPZIG, Leipzig 2010, ISBN 978-3-936508-39-0 , pp. 340–342.
- Wolfgang Stichel : The zoo of the international fur and hunting exhibition Leipzig 1930.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Philipp Manes: The German fur industry and its associations 1900–1940 - attempt at a story , Volume 3. Bound copy of the original manuscript, Berlin 1941, pp. 31–70 ( IPA ); Pp. 71-94 ( World Fur Congress ).
- ↑ Wolfgang Bohne: Development tendencies in the fur industry . Inaugural dissertation to obtain a doctorate at the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Leipzig, 1931, p. 79 ( → table of contents ).
- ^ Philipp Manes : The German fur industry and its associations 1900-1940, attempt at a story . Berlin 1941 Volume 2. Copy of the original manuscript, p. 167 ( G. & C. Franke collection ).
- ↑ a b c J. Kistner: IPA 1930 - Leipziger Pelzkongreß 1930 . In: Brühl May / June 1980, VEB Fachbuchverlag Leipzig, pp. 9-14.
- ↑ a b c d e Walter Fellmann: The Leipziger Brühl . VEB Fachbuchverlag, Leipzig 1989, pp. 160–166.
- ^ Leiske (Ed.): "IPA" International Fur Exhibition Leipzig 1929. A memorandum . Leipzig November 1927.
- ↑ A. Ginzel: Memories of the IPA . In: Die Pelzwirtschaft, issue 4, April 7, 1982, p. 50.
- ↑ Werner Schüler: For the introduction . In: IPA - Internationale Pelzfachausstellung, Internationale Jagdausstellung Leipzig 1930 , official catalog, p. 324.
- ^ Philipp Manes: The German fur industry and its associations 1900–1940 , Volume 4, Berlin 1941, manuscript p. 332
- ↑ Otto Lerche (Ed.): IPA. International fur exhibition, international hunting exhibition, Leipzig 1930. Official catalog .
- ^ Image of the medal with the portrait of Paul Hollender .
- ↑ Winckelmann table for the pocket, Leipzig with appendix Berlin, 1936 2nd edition . 52nd edition, p. 112 ( → advertisement by Friedrich H. Wöbke ).
- ↑ Agenda of the World Fur Congress, first pages .
- ^ Friedrich Lübstorff: Hollender, Paul. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 9, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1972, ISBN 3-428-00190-7 , p. 541 f. ( Digitized version ).
- ^ Philipp Manes : The German fur industry and its associations 1900-1940, attempt at a story . Berlin 1941 Volume 2. Copy of the original manuscript, p. 93.
- ^ Francis Weiss: From Adam to Madam . From the original manuscript part 2 (of 2), in the manuscript p. 222, undated (approx. 1980 / 1990s) (English)
- ^ Report of the Fourth International Clothing Workers' Congress . Conference report (cover and table of contents).
- ^ Heinrich Lange, Albert Regge: History of the dressers, furriers and cap makers in Germany . German Clothing Workers Association (Hsgr.), Berlin 1930, foreword by Albert Regge, March 1930.