Rudolf Schrötter: Designs for Josef Inwald.
Rudolf Schrötter was arguably the leading Czechoslovakian
designer
of pressed glass in the years between the first and second world wars.
That he was a prolific designer is undoubted, and certainly between
1920 and 1949, he produced a multitude of designs for Josef
Inwald’s Rudolfova Hut’. There appears to be very
little
definitive information about the man. Little seems to be known of his
personal details, education, and how he arrived as chief designer for
Inwald.
Fig. 1. Three
jugs in Rudolf
Schrötter’s “Lord”, designs from
1922
onward,
pattern number
7601, from Rudolfova Hut',
Josef Inwald/Sklárny Inwald/Sklo Union Teplice.
Yet is is clear that
following the
launch of Inwald’s
“Lord” pattern in 1922, Schrötter had made
a major
impact. Certainly the licensing of the pattern to the British importer
Clayton Mayers, was significant, and Mayers approached Davidsons, to
have “Lord” (which had been re-branded as
“Jacobean”) made at Davidson’s on
Tyneside. It is
known that Schrötter arrived in the United Kingdom, during the
pre-war period, probably in order to design new items, for Clayton
Mayers, as the Davidson's-produced range grew to more than 250 items.
Very shortly afterwards came another popular range "Sigurd" with a very
recognisable "fleur-de-lys" motif. The "Lord" pattern remained very
popular, but it should be noted, that
whilst much of the pre-war production by
Inwald emanated from Rudolfova Hut', following the communist
re-organisation, certain moulds from the range were transferred to
other plants within Sklarny Inwald n.p. (and its successor,
VHJ
obalované a lisované sklo), particularly Rosice,
where
the original production numbers appear to have been changed.
In the 1930’s it would appear that Schrötter went
into
over-drive, and from the mid 30’s, during the recovery from
the
1929 Wall Street financial crash, both utility and decorative
items appeared in rapid succession. “Breitecken”was
for
the most part, extended as a range from 1933, though one
vase from this range was known to have been made @ 1928. By 1932-33,
Rudolf Schrötter had started to change his manner of designing,
and whilst there were several ornate patterns that followed,
increasingly he was engaging wih the challenges of modernism,
(Czechoslovakia was one of the most important centres of modern
architecture) and his work becomes increasingly spartan. The
functionalist pattern “Argos”,
originally thought to date to 1935, probably dates to late 1933, given
that the pattern appears in H. Markhbeinn (the Paris-based importers)
sales catalogues during 1934. In 1935, two
major services
appeared, “Bull”,
(also known as Boule, and as Candlewick in the USA) and “Pollax”(from
1945, only made occasionally, then later, to special order only).
Compare the two images below, Schrötter's purist lines contrasting
sharply with products in an "Art Deco" manner from the Belgian pressed
glass manufacturer Val St Lambert.
Josef Inwald a.s. "Pollax" plate, 1935. Schrötter
|
Val St Lambert "Romeo" bowl, 1935 Graffart and Delvenne.
|
It is probable that a further functionalist design, "Ariel" dates to
the same year.“Feston”
and “Orlow”, are
thought to have been
issued in 1936, to be followed by four utility patterns in
1937, “Olympia”, “Wien”, “Barock”
(image © M. Newhall 2006),
and “Doris”.
There is little known of the
designs of 1938
and 1939, for the most part due to the annexation of the Sudetenland,
by the Nazis, and the outbreak of the Second World War. It is however
thought that that new patterns were introduced in 1940, with
one pattern
(whose name
remains unidentified), well documented in Czech archive
material.
After 1940, little further information is available, with the exception
of a pattern-book issued by Vereinigte Böhmische Glasindustrie
A.G. which controlled Josef Inwald during the Nazi occupation. One
pattern for which there is no clear date, is “Teplitz”,
which Czech sources have indicated as post-war, but arguably is
earlier, particularly as it was featured in the VBG catalogue.
(Adlerová suggests somewhere around 1940.)
Rudolf Schrötter’s first post-war designs for
decorative
glass-ware appears to have been a toiletry/boudoir set, in a pattern
known as “Roma”,
released in 1946, and the still-produced pattern
“Perforal”, which was released in 1947. According
to
Langhamer's "Bohemian Glass", Rudolf Schrötter's career with
Josef
Inwald/Sklarny Inwald ended in 1949. From 1955,
Schrötter became senior designer of VÚSU, working
alongside
Jiři
Zejmon and Václav Hanuš. Amonst the first items,
designed
here, was Schrötter's legendary "Bullet" vase, which the
exhibition catalogue of "Lisováne Sklo" ( held at the
Applied
Arts Museum in Prague in 1962) dates to 1955. This was probably amongst
the first designs distributed to various companies which were merged to
form VHJ Obalováne a lisováne sklo n.p. in 1958.
This
item was product number 914, and was made at Rosice glassworks. There
are another two un-named table-ware patterns that have been identified
as being produced from the mid-1950s, and possibly a third, known to
have been made at Rosice. Little
else is recorded, other than a set of drinking glasses,
which were
produced at Rudolfova hut, and exhibited in Moscow in 1959. The
Pressed Glass Design Centre allegedly closed in
1959. After this date
Schrötter seems to have dropped from view. However,
the
longevity of popularity of his designs, meant that certain designs, for
example "Lord" and "Bull" were in continuous production until the 1980s
whilst "Perforal" was still being made until 2006.
It remains the case that very little attention has been paid to Rudolf
Schrötter outside the Czech Republic, but his contribution to
pressed glass deserves much wider recognition. Seen as a leading figure
of Czechoslovakian functionalism, his work is of significant
importance, given just how much glass designed by him, is found
throughout Europe.
(Note: In
order to use the pattern list, if you can identify the
pattern from the live links above, one should then be able to find your
item pattern number.
The list is not complete, but will be added to as more information
becomes available. As photographs become available, these will replace
line drawings.)
Rudolf Schrötter: Design List and
Pattern Numbers
Article © 2006, by Marcus Newhall
Images courtesy of Eva
Pánková, Curator of Glass,
Regionalni Muzeum, Teplice
Please note: Images of "Argos" pattern in the design list, are copyright of www.hogelandshoeve.nl and published here with the kind permission of Jay and Han.
