Loetz

The early years
- 1 -
1885-1898

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The glass factory, originally founded in 1836 by Johann Baptist Eisner, was taken over by Susanna Loetz, widow of Glass entrepreneur Johann Loetz in 1852. She renamed the company "Glasfabrik Johann Loetz Witwe", a name that was retained until all activities were stopped in 1947. In 1879 it passed to Max Ritter von Spaun. Under his guidance, together with director Eduard Prochaska, the glassworks flourished as never before and enjoyed its most successful period.
Von Spaun and Prochaska concentrated on the development of innovative glass types and new production techniques.  Their first successful speciality was a glass type simulating semiprecious stones. 
It is often called "Marmoriertes Glas" ("marbled glass").
The range contained Onyx  (red/brown), Karneol  (red/pink) and later Malachit  (green).  It was introduced in the second half of the 1880's.  
From the same period dates the Octopus glass, of which the decor resembles the tentacles of a cephalopod. 

The production of Marmorier-
tes Glas was resumed in 1906, in different colours like yellow and white.
Octopus, 1885-1890, unknown, © DH  Karneol, 1885-1890, unknown, © AN Malachit, 1885-1890, unknown, © AN


The master glass-blowers of Klostermühle had already carried out experiments with iridescence in the first half of the 1890's, and they produced the  Olympia, a classically inspired olive green type, in 1896.
Similar, in variants of creta green, bronce or Olympia and averse to any redundant decoration was the  Glatt  decor.  It highly contrasted with the more elaborate finishes of that time, but it constitutes a part of the production with a deep sense for taste and quality.  Most of the pieces shown in the "Glatt" decors were manufactured for Max Emmanuel in London.  The glatt decor remained in use for many years.

 

The Chiné decor had thin glass threads spun around the body in irregular patterns.  It is not to be confused with the type of glass that was produced by Kralik.  Loetz "Chiné" came in clear, opal, green and pink,  Kralik "Chiné" in dark purple.  More information can be found in the Kralik and Pallme-König chapters, where a comparison is made between similar threaded types. 

Olympia, 1898, unknown, © AN Bronce glatt, 1899, 346/716, © AN Zephir Chiné mit creta, 1897, I - 7024,
© AN

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