Johann Conrad Altherr

Johann Conrad Altherr (born November 10, 1797 in Teufen AR ; † April 11, 1877 there ; entitled to live in Teufen) was a Swiss inventor from the canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden .

Life

Woman working on a satin stitch loom in a weaving cellar in Appenzell Ausserrhoden. Postcard, around 1910.

Johann Conrad Altherr was the son of the weaver Daniel Altherr and Anna Zellweger. In 1819 he married Anna Barbara Bodenmann, a daughter of the weaving manufacturer Ulrich Bodenmann. At that time Johann Conrad Altherr was working as a sheet maker and supplier and later as a weaving manufacturer himself. Around 1823 he invented the satin stitch plate , the only significant invention in the weaving industry in eastern Switzerland . His improvement on the jacquard loom , which had recently been introduced from France, made it possible to provide the resulting fabrics with embroidery-like patterns at the same time. Initially, Johann Conrad Altherr was exposed to severe hostility from the embroidery manufacturers . Nonetheless, the satin stitch weaving he invented became one of the most important branches of business for Appenzell Ausserrhoden from the 1830s and 1840s. The connection between Johann Conrad Altherrs, who operated a factory with around 30 satin stitch looms in Teufen, and the St. Gallen trading company Vinassa & Cie. at.

In 1839/1840 Johann Conrad Altherr was councilor and founder of a scientific society in Teufen.

literature

• Säntis, No. 32, 1877.
• Louis Specker and Regula Buff: The satin stitch weaving - an old Appenzell home industry. Herisau: Schläpfer 1992, pages 13-14.
• Hans Amann: resourceful Appenzell and Appenzell inventors. Herisau: Verlag Appenzeller Hefte 1989 (Das Land Appenzell, Heft 20). Web access via appenzelldigital.ch

Web links

• Thomas Fuchs: Johann Conrad Altherr. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland . May 17, 2001 , accessed March 27, 2020 .

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