Bunzlauer Keramik

The result of an international interdisciplinary research project, this publication is the first comprehensive monograph of a ceramics factory in Lower Silesia, the Feinsteinzeugfabrik Julius Paul &Sohn in Bunzlau, active from 1893 to 1945.

A particular challenge for the authors was the fact that no historic source material had survived, all the regional achives and librairies having been destroyed during the war. Only a few original documents, which withstood expulsion and flight, remained for evaluation. After the most thorough and wide-ranging researches, it became possible to reconstruct almost completely the factory’s whole output on the basis of over 6,000 Julius Paul ceramics scattered among more than forty museums, collections and private owners in Poland, Germany, Austria and Holland, and finally to publish the results.

This work seeks to trace the history of a small pottery that became a world-famous company. Through comparison of measurements, shapes and designs as well as production technologies, it is possible to clearly differentiate between Bunzlau and other ceramic producers. All shapes and variations (about 650) are documented with photographs and precise technical drawings, and the highly diverse designs (some 800) and glazing techniques have all been analysed. A full documentary section including a register of over 170 marks, logos, paper labels and merchants’ marks, complete this standard work.