P. Ladstätter & Sons
P. Ladstätter & Sons was a Tyrolean straw and felt hat manufacturer and supplier to the royal court . At the turn of the last century there were branches and factories in Vienna , Domžale , Budapest , Prague , Graz , Lemberg , Wels , Mannsburg , Florence , Marostica and Bucharest .
history
The Ladstätter from the “Hinterlippen” farm in St. Veit- Raut in Defereggental (East Tyrol) were a successful peddler family. It is not entirely clear to what extent the cloth merchant Michael Ladstätter, mentioned in 1684, was an ancestor. Due to the barren soil, the Defereggers were dependent on a sideline very early on. Their peddling has been mentioned as early as the 17th century , where they offered their goods wandering across Europe. However, this suffered a serious crisis due to the Napoleonic Wars and the turmoil of the 1848 revolution and had to redefine itself.
The development of this business began in 1858. The founders come from the Defereggental. Peter Ladstätter sen., Mathias Veider and Jacob Oberwalder sen. moved to Vienna and set up a small straw hat shop in the Hotel Schröder under the company Oberwalder & Ladstätter. At first it was only kept open seasonally when there was a need for and interest in straw hats and limited to the sale of ready-made, cheap goods for the rural population. Soon, however, the company's own production began and was expanded to include better sorts and fashion goods, and hats sourced from Florence and Marostica, which were the most popular and authoritative articles at the time, were sold. In order to have this main variety at first hand, production itself began in Marostica in 1864 and the eldest son of Peter Ladstätter Sr., Chrisant Ladstätter, was sent there to learn the Italian business.
The size of the business grew rapidly. The goods met such demand that new forces from relatives of the founders soon opened defeats in larger provincial towns, including in Wels in 1860, in Lemberg in 1862 (under the company of Josef Tegischer, who was entrusted with the management), in Graz, Linz and 1868 in Prague under the M. Veider company.
The year 1866 brought an important change. Veneto had been ceded to Italy. At the new border, customs duties were levied on hats coming to Austria, which put their competitiveness with goods from Germany in question. For this reason a new factory was built in the Carniola . A small house industry focused on the production of the most common goods had existed there almost since the beginning of the 19th century, but it had potential for growth.
After completing his professional training in Marostica, Chrisant Ladstätter was sent to Domzale, in the Stein district , and he was given the task of buying a house, furnishing it as a factory and managing it. With twelve workers brought with him from Italy , he laid the foundation for industry in the area.
The year 1868 brought great progress with the introduction of the first lever press from Florence, which was later followed by the first hydraulic press imported from Germany, which significantly increased performance. After the remaining sons grew up, the original company was dissolved by mutual agreement and the company P. Ladstätter & Sons was re-established in 1870.
The parent factory in Domzale remained in the possession of this new company, in Vienna the main branch was established at Hohen Markt 11 and Peter Ladstätter jun. transfer. Defeats were opened in several cities of the Danube Monarchy, including in Budapest (leader in 1898: Jacob Ladstätter), Graz (Johann Ladstätter), Linz and Wels (Thomas Ladstätter), as in Vienna under the company P. Ladstätter & Sons, in Prague (under the M. Veider company), in Lemberg (J. Tegischer Company), Marostica (Georg Tegischer Company). The production has now been extended to all types of straw hats. Peter Ladstätter jun. it was possible in Vienna to stay up to date with all innovations and improvements in manufacturing and with the latest fashion trends. In this way, in addition to the simplest and medium-sized varieties, the best varieties could also be produced independently in each individual branch.
The company grew and was able to successfully take part in the 1873 World Exhibition in Vienna, in which it received the Medal of Merit and Employee Medal. The next major advance was the introduction of the straw hat sewing machine in 1874 , and in the same year the expansion of production to the production of ladies' and children's hats made of felt. The preference for fine Italian hats, the "real Florentines", which increased again in these years, prompted the establishment of a factory in Florence in 1875 under the management of Sylvest Ladstätter. The increasing sales of the company's domestic products led to the establishment of a factory in Mannsburg, not far from Domzale, in 1878. Steam operation was set up in the Domzaler establishment itself , the first in the branch in Austria. In 1887 a factory was opened in Bucharest under the management of Christant Ladstätter to meet the needs of Romania . In 1891 the Prague branch, which developed very well under the management of Josef Veider and Johann Ladstätter, moved into a specially built department store.
The company's felt women's hats also gained recognition over time. In 1892 our own factory was built in Lieben near Prague to produce them , and in 1893 the latest machines and equipment were put into operation. The Domzal establishment has also been expanded to include its own bleaching , dyeing , turning , joinery , locksmithing and foundry shop .
In Vienna, too, it was slowly getting too tight at Hohen Markt 11. In the summer of 1899, a real estate in Mariahilf was acquired and converted into a shop and factory.
In this way, the company was able to produce better goods from the originally very simple products for the peasant population over time and successfully produce everything that was available in men's, women's and children's straw hats, women's and children's felt hats in all fashion styles and with the English and keep up with French competition on the world market. The initially modest trading company turned into a factory that in 1898 had 400 sewing machines and 50 presses in operation. Over 2,000 workers were directly employed in and outside the house. According to Chamber of Commerce reports in the Stein district, more than 20,000 people were able to find income and support through this article.
Despite this significant expansion of the company, internal circumstances remained patriarchal . Each of the branches was run by a son of the founder, Peter Ladstätter Sr., or a close relative. Large numbers of family members were in the business. The relationship between owner and employee was described as good. Residents of the respective localities were also employed in the individual squares. Almost all of the commercial staff and the workers were, however, compatriots of the boss. Every year in autumn the employees moved to their place of employment and in summer to the local mountains to take their vacation until the next season. The income in the city helped the workers to send "remittances" back and thus to support the Defereggental economically.
P. Ladstätter & Sons received several recognitions. It received the Medal of Merit and Employee Medal at the World Exhibition in 1873, and the gold medal in Vienna and Graz in 1880. In 1882 the title of kk court straw hat manufacturer was awarded in Prague and a year later the title of court supplier in Vienna. In 1888, the Most High satisfaction from the emperor was Franz Joseph I expressed. Josef Veider was appointed juror at the general national exhibition in Prague in 1891. In 1889 the head of the Viennese house Peter Ladstätter was awarded the title of kuk Kommerzialrat .
The First World War and the collapse of the dual monarchy caused great difficulties for the company. The defeat in Vienna had to be liquidated in 1931 in the Great Depression after heavy losses.
Individual evidence
- ↑ P. Ladstätter & Sons . In: Presented by the industrialists of Austria under the high protectorate of His K. and K. Highness of the Most Serene Archduke Franz Ferdinand (Hrsg.): Die Groß-Industrie Oesterreichs . Festival ceremony for the glorious fiftieth anniversary of the reign of His Majesty the Emperor Franz Josef I. Volume 4 . Leopold Weiss, Vienna 1898, X. Garment Industry, p. 459-461 .
- ↑ Zwanowetz: Ladstätter, Peter sen .. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815-1950 (ÖBL). Volume 4, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 1969, p. 398 f. (Direct links on p. 398 , p. 399 ).
- ^ Rudolf Kropf: Ladstätter. In: New German Biography (NDB). Volume 13, Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1982, ISBN 3-428-00194-X , p. 394 f. ( Digitized version ).
literature
- V. Pogatschnigg, The production of straw hats in Domzale, in: Lienzer Ztg., Jg. 8, 1893, No. 35 u. 36, I. Beil.
- P. Paßler, Vom Hausierer z. Commercial u. Manufacturers, in: Osttiroler Heimatbll. 4, 1927, no. 1
- R. Granichstädten-Czerva, Tyrolean in Vienna, 1932
- G. Stemberger, The Gesch. d. Defereggentales and trade s. Resident, 1950 (ungedr)
- Kröll-Stemberger, Defereggen a landscape in Tyrol, Verlag Schendl, 1985
Web links
- Farmers - traders - manufacturers. In: Defereggental cultural guide. Defereggental regional office, accessed on January 30, 2011 .