Johann Carl Weck

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Johann Carl Weck
Obituary notice for JC Weck in the monthly “Die Frischhaltung” from March 1914

Johann Carl Weck (born July 8, 1841 in Schneidhain , Taunus , † January 27, 1914 in Luxembourg ) was a German entrepreneur . After he had acquired the patent for it in 1895, he initially produced glasses for a few years as a self-employed person, which enabled airtight storage of food by means of a rubber seal, grooves in the glass and a metal locking mechanism.

The process is technically called preserving because the food is cooked in the jars, but was later also referred to as preserving . Later developments replaced the sealing mechanism with cellophane foils (especially for jams) and screw lids. Designating the process as "picking up" is also permissible when products from other manufacturers are used, as this word has found its way into the Duden and can no longer be protected as a trademark. For legal reasons, however, the glasses, pots and rings in advertising and the public may only be referred to as "Mason jars", "Mason pots" and "Einweckringe" when the products from Weck are used, as the name part "Einweck" is protected .

After Weck's sales were very low and his representative in Emmerich , Georg van Eyck , made more than half of the total turnover, Weck succeeded in persuading him to move to Öflingen in southern Baden and with him as a partner on January 1st 1900 the company J. Weck & Co., later J. Weck GmbH u. Co. KG . He registered his name as a trademark.

Contrary to popular belief, Weck was not the inventor of the glasses he produced. The patent for preserving food by heating, which Weck bought in 1895, was given to chemist Dr. Rudolf Rempel (1859-1893) and after Rempel's death it was used by Albert Hüssener from 1893 to 1895. Weck was interested in the patent because as a vegetarian and non-alcoholic he found a way to preserve fruit without the use of alcohol. The fact that the taste of the fruit was not changed and that it was therefore a particularly natural food was also in line with the tendencies of the life reform movement .

Thanks to successful advertising, for which van Eyck was responsible, the canning process became known very quickly, and the company also developed a wide range of accessories that made it possible to use the process in the home. Weck left the company again in 1901 to move to what is now French Alsace . But his name stayed in Germany: it was emblazoned on every single one of the Weck glasses, dozens of which could be found in literally every kitchen. In 1934, the term “einwecken” was added to the Duden as a synonym for “boil down”.

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  1. ^ Website of J. Weck GmbH u. Co. KG , accessed March 8, 2018
  2. ↑ Felizitas Thom: Now it's time to get down to business. Live easier: home-cooked food is trendy. In: Der Tagesspiegel . September 7, 2003, accessed March 8, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Entry of the word mark “J. WECK " in the Imperial Patent Office (registration number 92192, date of entry: November 13, 1906)
  4. ^ Company history of Weck GmbH , accessed on March 8, 2018
  5. ↑ https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/einwecken
personal data
SURNAME Weck, Johann Carl
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German entrepreneur and namesake of the Weck glasses
DATE OF BIRTH July 8, 1841
PLACE OF BIRTH Schneidhain , Taunus
DATE OF DEATH January 27, 1914
Place of death Luxembourg