Paul Larisch
Paul Larisch (born May 24, 1870 in Frankenstein / Silesia ; † September 26, 1934 in Berlin ) was a German master furrier and specialist author of the fur industry. He was the first to publish comprehensive publications on modern working techniques in skinning, as well as the first specialist book on the history of skinning and the fur industry that was emerging at that time .
Life
Paul Larisch was born in 1870 in the small Silesian town of Frankenstein, today Ząbkowice Śląskie in Poland. There he attended school and then completed a four-year apprenticeship as a furrier. In accordance with the custom of handicrafts, he went on a wandering trip via southern Germany and Switzerland to the final destination Paris. Every aspiring furrier journeyman at that time set his ambition to perfect his manual skills in the Paris workshops with French fashion taste. He met many compatriots there, and some of the friendships he made with them lasted until the end of his life.
Revillon Frères was then the leading house in the rapidly developing fur industry, and not just for the Paris fashion center. The owners were among the first to expand their range to include other product groups. Up until the 1950s they shone as “the” name for luxury furs. Larisch joined the company as a young furrier, soon he was given the management of the fur production and after a few years the extensive business was entirely in his hands. The son of a furrier, whose father wasstill employed at Revillonunder Larisch when the First World War broke out, reported that up to then German furriers had preferred to be employed in this house.
However, the success at Revillon was not enough for him. After work, he continued his education and opened up an area that had previously been almost unexplored, the history of skinning. In October 1902, together with his colleague Joseph Schmid in Paris, he published the first edition of the German-language trade journal “Das Kürschner-Handwerk”, in 1910 “The Processing of Furs” and in 1913 the book “Die Pelzmosaik” under a pseudonym.
His constructive work in the French fur industry was greatly valued, and he was officially honored as it is only very seldom a foreigner . The two sons, who were born to him by his wife at the time, whom he had met in the German journeymen's association, received German citizenship.
In 1914, the year the First World War broke out, the family had to leave France, no matter how hard the company tried to keep it. Apartment, property, everything was left behind. The son, master furrier Hans Larisch, described in a letter to the tobacco product refiner Richard Franke in 1971 how the ultimate escape came about: “The man who called my father on the street as a spy was a German furrier. My father had fired him for theft at Revillon. ”--- In number 6 of the magazine“ Das Kürschner-Handwerk ”there was an obituary notice for an employee of Hans Larisch, who died on February 22, 1903 at the age of 27. He may have been a nephew of Paul Larisch, not his son of the same name.
Paul Larisch found a job as the workshop manager of the furrier at the renowned H. Wolff AG fur store in Berlin, Krausenstrasse 17/18. Here, too, he succeeded in making himself indispensable in the other departments of the house, he became a trusted advisor to the boss and had great influence on important decisions. During this important time for him, Larisch met many leading men in the fur industry. The furrier guild secured his cooperation. In the then fur center, the Leipziger Brühl , he was valued as an expert on his many shopping trips. He campaigned for the professional support of the youth and raised the demand that the apprentice should only be trained by real experts. He gave encouraging lectures for the further training of the young journeymen and was inexhaustible in citing practical examples . When the industry's association life flourished in 1922, he was a helpful employee everywhere.
Paul Larisch was convinced that not only the newly formed merger of the members of the fur industry represented a profit, but that the fur industry of the world had to unite. When it was decided to hold the IPA, the first and only remaining international fur trade exhibition , in Leipzig , he became the most ardent employee in the preparations. He participated very intensively in the World Fur Congress that took place at the same time . With the members of a study commission of furrier colleagues he went to Paris and led them as an interpreter through the city and through the fur factories, where he was celebrated as a mediator. Back in Berlin, it was he who accompanied the return visit of the French commission a year later. In the evenings he continued his studies and read old works and documents, some of which were difficult to access, for his large-scale work “The Signs of the Furriers”.
After the H. Wolff company went out in 1926, Larisch had to start all over again. He and his sons opened a fur storey in Berlin. His French and Belgian diplomas hung on the walls of the reception room, technical memorabilia and rare objects from ancient times were in glass cabinets . He continued to be involved in meetings and board meetings and gave slide shows. Philipp Manes , the biographer of the fur industry who was murdered by the National Socialists, writes: “It is hardly possible to describe the activities and influence of Paul Larisch on the life of the industry. There has not been a man who has been as master in all fields as he ”. Despite all his activities, he now found the opportunity to finish his books.
Larisch also tried to create a German fur fashion that was based on French suggestions, but should develop independently. He founded a fashion commission, which was intended to have far-reaching effects later on. When he died in 1934, he had not achieved the goal of independent German fur fashion, and it was not achieved in the future either, despite the re-establishment of his “Fashion Office for Furs” in 1936. Son Hans wrote in the letter quoted above: “His death followed from the consequences of a head injury. During an interrogation in the 'Third Reich' he was hit on the temple on the basis of a complaint calling for resistance to the NSDAP at a meeting of the Berlin furriers' guild. Although they stood up for him right away, so that the proceedings were suspended, he could not recover from the blow. ”He was buried in the family grave of his hometown Frankenstein.
“The furrier trade. A commercial monograph "
The first edition of the magazine “Das Kürschnerhandwerk. A commercial monograph ”is dated October – November 1902. Apparently the only authors and, at the same time, publishers were Paul Larisch and Joseph Schmid, Schmid designed the drawings for the chapter“ Processing the skins ”. Although published in Paris, the booklet appeared in German. At that time, so many furriers from Germany were working in the Paris fur workshops that there was even a German choral society with 30 to 40 members. Of course, the magazine also addressed the numerous German-speaking furriers in other countries, in Belgium and especially in Germany and Austria.
Originally, the factory was to consist of 36 partial deliveries. The fashion supplement was discontinued from issue 7 "until further notice". On the grounds that health reasons compel them to do so, the last editions were also streamlined and deliveries were reduced to half of the announced 36 editions, this announcement was made in the 12th delivery. The last to appear was the number 17 + 18, dated April - May - June 1904. In 1910 a revised and increased edition was printed again. The complete edition was available in bound form and was the most important specialist book in the fur industry at the time. It then took again until 1924 until Larisch received the volumes that had remained in France during his escape and was able to sell them again through the Berlin publisher Carl Schmalfeldt. In 1926 it was already advertised as “out of stock”. The work was divided into three subject areas: the history of the handicraft, fur science and the processing of the fur. The three parts did not appear in chronological order, but were distributed over the booklets.
In the foreword of the first edition, the authors point out that the invention of the fur sewing machine had brought about a complete transformation and an upswing in the fur industry, but that the training of apprentices was still largely and in many places at a medieval level. The training of the apprentices and the furrier journeyman was a topic that Larisch campaigned for until the end. In England and America, where industrialization in the fur industry was already much more advanced (it did not reach this level in Europe later), there was no real training at all, the work process was often divided among many semi-skilled workers. The purpose and aim of the monograph would be to replace the missing technical schools with thorough self-teaching.
- I. part
- History of the furrier trade
The first part of the monograph deals with the development of fur production from the Stone Age to modern times. Like all the other parts, this one is also richly illustrated. Based on the documents available to Larisch in Paris, a detailed chapter, also in French, deals with the history of the fur trade in France. The other countries that are important for fur production are also covered: Belgium, Bohemia, England, Hungary, Holland, Spain, Switzerland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Russia, Italy, Turkey, North America, China, Australia and of course Germany and Austria.
The furrier work of the World Exhibition Vienna 1873 , the World Exhibition Paris 1889 and the World Exhibition Paris 1900 are discussed and illustrated in detail. At the Paris exhibition of 1900, exuberant mink coats were shown for the first time , a processing technique that only became economically viable with the invention of the fur sewing machine and which today fur fashion can no longer be imagined without it.
- Part II
- Origin and trade of the skins
Up until then, the origin and trade in fur skins was mainly presented in general reference works and trading encyclopedias, which, however, was largely overtaken by the sometimes rapid development of the fur industry. At that time, numerous new, previously neglected types of fur were put into use. The hunt is described and the first emerging attempts at breeding, especially of silver foxes , but also of mink , skunks and opossums . One chapter, supported by statistics, is devoted to the tobacco trade and the storage areas for hides in Greenland, North America, Russia, London and the Leipzig Brühl .
- III. part
- Processing of fur skins
The instruction about fur processing begins with the determination of the cost price of the fur and includes the furrier work for the different types of fur, from the making of patterns to calculating the fur consumption, sorting, cutting, fur sewing , the purpose to matching and making the finished product Fur garment. Elaborate sketches illustrate the cutting systems described for letting the skins in and out. The machines used in the fur industry are described and some of them are shown for the first time in the specialist literature using the manufacturer's brochures.
Probably for the first time a performance competition for the furrier trade was announced. The task was to make a set from Feh , but not to use more than 120 heads . The first prize was a fur sewing machine, given for the design of an etole with a matching flat muff . Since this sender provided understandable reasons with which he asked not to include a picture, there is unfortunately no picture of this true masterpiece of a fur stole plus a hand warmer.
Another competition called for “the song of the furriers” to be created, based on the master chants of the time of Hans Sachs . The winning song from the 13 entries was then set to music by professor and composer Alois Strasky, son of a Viennese master furrier. The triad when knocking the furs was chosen as the leitmotif :
- “Furriers, we are really happy people! Have traveled widely across the country.
- To see what beautiful the earth preyes on us, lifts the heart and delights the eye. "
- From: "The furrier trade"
Furs from the Revillon company at the 1900 Paris World Exhibition
Trimmings made from ermine tails
First silver fox farms in America, 1901
Efficient calculation of the area of a pattern
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"The fur mosaic - La Mosaïque - The Furs Mosaic"
The work describing a specialty of skinning, fur mosaics, appeared in 1913 under the pseudonym “P. Pellifex ”(Latin for“ fur maker ”), published by M. Melzer in Larisch's hometown Frankenstein.
The actual beginning and the boom of modern, now almost forgotten, mosaic work made of fur was in the 1850s and flourished between 1870 and 1890. The beginnings of artistic fur mosaics were in Vienna. Here they were particularly well cared for and achieved world renown as a Viennese specialty. Mainly covers for foot baskets , footstools, pillows, hunting muffs and ladies' beret sets were made, but also decorations for coats and decorative carpets.
The work itself was decried as ungrateful in the industry, the yield, especially for exclusive individual pieces, almost never justified the effort, the artistic endeavors of some particularly talented furriers were in the foreground. The works, which often require months of work, are also not permanent. Natural aging and fading from light soon make them less conspicuous and destroy them in a few decades. Unfortunately, this also means that hardly anything is left of it today. With his work, Larisch ensured that these partly artistic works were not completely forgotten. The fur mosaic shown here was made by Hans Larisch (probably the one mentioned above), it shows a lion, perhaps based on the coat of arms of the Silesian district of Frankenstein, the home of the Larisch family. The representation is rounded off with the mosaic work of other peoples.
See the article → Fur remains under "Mosaic work" .
"The furriers and their characters"
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The book with 300 illustrations was completed by Larisch in August 1928, using the work already published in his magazine. Larisch had dedicated it to the Berlin furriers' guild. His furrier friend Josef Schmid, who had died in the meantime, had contributed both financially and with drawings. Different bindings originate from subsequent binding of still existing prints after the Second World War by the CB-Verlag, Carl Boldt, Berlin.
Larisch writes about his work: «If this was given the new title,“ The furrier and his characters ”[Note: not as in his magazine, there“ The history of the furrier craft ”], it was done with the intention of To particularly emphasize the value of the old, beautiful, historical signs of our trade and to recommend them as models for the further and new development of artistic external works and accessories (such as business brands, house and own logos). From the thousand-year development of the furrier trade, the present sheets give a short, but sufficiently detailed treatise and a faithful reproduction of all those symbols that were chosen by our colleagues in the good old and bad days as a symbol of their class. "
The book is not limited to the illustration of the furrier's signs, but uses the work published in the magazine to describe the history of furring up to 1928, the year it was printed. For the costume story , "one of the main pillars on which the entire monument of the trade can once be built", some particularly typical forms were shown. Larisch posthumously thanks his French friend L. Fougerat († 1917) from Lyon for his collaboration on the section relating to prehistory and antiquity. The apprenticeship and journeyman system as well as home work and the newly created house industry are treated, in part socially critical. The title section shows images of furriers, furrier coats of arms and the coats of arms of the furrier guilds, depicted on old engravings, paintings and church windows. An extensive chapter is devoted to fur in heraldry and the symbolism of the fur of fur animals.
Works
- The furrier trade (18 partial deliveries), Larisch and Schmid, 1902–1903.
- The processing of the skins. 1910.
- The fur mosaic. 1913. p. 163 (in three languages, German, French and English; under the pseudonym P. Pellifex)
- The furriers and their characters. 1928.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Philipp Manes: The German fur industry from 1900-1940. Your history. In: The fur trade. Vol. XI / New Series, 1960 No. 6, Hermelin-Verlag Dr. Paul Schöps, Berlin et al., Pp. 264-268. From the manuscript by Philipp Manes: The history of the German fur industry and its associations. Volume 4, pp. 152-159, Otto Nauen (Ed.), Frankfurt am Main.
- ↑ Unspecified: Révillon is for sale. In: Winckelmann Pelzmarkt. November 17, 2006.
- ^ Rudolf Garbe: 80 years of Rudolf Garbe. That was my life. Fashion in fur, leather and knitwear . Self-published, Bad Kissingen approx. 1994, ISBN 3-925722-08-4 . See Franz Garbe .
- ^ Paul Larisch, Joseph Schmid: Das Kürschner-Handwerk. A commercial monograph . 1st year Nos 1 + 2, Paris 1902 October - November. Published by Paul Larisch and Joseph Schmid, 236, Faubourg St. Martin. Price of the complete work, paperback = 18.75 francs .
- ↑ a b Signed "M." [Manes?]: The furrier's "beautiful" book. In: The tobacco market. No. 68, June 10, 1924.
- ^ A b Hans Larisch: Dear Mr. Franke, [...] . Letter from Hans Larisch, Schwarzenbek ("Formerly Berlin W 30, Augsburger Str. 60") to Richard Franke, Murrhardt, January 29, 1971, G. & C. Franke collection .
- ^ Heinrich Lange, Albert Regge: History of the dressers, furriers and cap makers in Germany . German Clothing Workers Association (Ed.), Berlin 1930, p. 112.
- ↑ Editor: A fashion department for fur. In: The tobacco market. No. 32, Leipzig, August 7, 1936, p. 3.
- ^ A b Paul Larisch: The furriers and their characters . Self-published, Berlin 1928.
- ↑ Recommended specialist books for every furrier . In: Kürschner-Zeitung No. 15, Alexander Duncker, Leipzig, May 21, 1926, p. 558.
See also
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Larisch, Paul |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Pellifex, P. |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German master furrier and specialist author |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 24, 1870 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Frankenstein in Silesia |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 26, 1934 |
| Place of death | Berlin |