Hutschenreuther is the name of the family that established the production of porcelain in Northern Bavaria, in 1814. Hutschenreuther was a trend-setter and enabled Germany to gain an excellent reputation in the European porcelain industry. The Hutschenreuther "Mark of the Lion" is a symbol of excellence that continues to this day, though, since 2000, it is a trademark of Rosenthal.
Contents |
The company was founded in 1814 by Carolus Magnus Hutschenreuther (1794-1845) in Hohenberg an der Eger, Bavaria, Germany. He had previously worked at the Wallendorf porcelain manufactory in Lichte (Wallendorf). After his death in 1845, the factory was headed by his widow, Johanna Hutschenreuther, and her two sons. From 1860, they produced hand-painted gilded porcelains. A large part of the factory was destroyed by a fire in 1848, but it was rebuilt.
In the early part of the 20th century, Hutschenreuther grew quickly by absorbing factories at Altrohlau (today Stará Role, Karlovarský Region, Czech Republic) (1909) and of Carl Auvera in Arzberg (1918/1919).
In 1857 Lorenz Hutschenreuther (son of C.M. Hutschenreuther) established a porcelain factory in Selb. This firm expanded from 1902-1969 and became the Porzellanfabriken Lorenz Hutschenreuther AG Selb (Lorenz Hutschenreuther Porcelain Factories Company, Selb). It acquired the following other porcelain manufacturers:
In 1969, Porzellanfabriken Lorenz Hutschenreuther AG Selb merged with C. M. Hutschenreuther of Hohenberg.
Since 2000 Hutschenreuther survives only as a Rosenthal trademark. The brand continues to produce porcelain and bone china ranges, including its classic ranges, the most famous of which is Blau Zwiebelmuster, a range based on the [Meissen porcelain] service of the same name. Hutschenreuther was the only officially licensed manufacturer to be allowed to mass-produce this very traditional range by Meissen in the 1930s, even though copies based on the same pattern had been allowed by the German courts of law since 1926.
Rosenthal AG, Hutschenreuther's owners, have been a division of Italian firm Sambonet Paderno since 2009; prior to that they were part of Waterford Wedgwood, which was broken up in 2008 due to financial difficulty and was reborn as WWRD (Waterford Wedgwood Royal Doulton). For Hutschenreuther's porcelain collections, all of this has had little effect. However, a few ranges were sold under the Wedgwood brand in the USA, even though they were identical to Hutschenreuther ranges and produced on the same production line. The backstamp and packaging were the only difference. These ranges included Alfabia and Medley, both patterns on the Maria Theresia shape.