Juweler Joh. Schwerdtner

[laurentius]

Dear fellow collectors,

 

I had a question regarding Juweler Joh. Schwerdtner from the Mariahilferstraße in Vienna. I was unsure where to ask this question since this viennesse juweler primarily produced for the Bulgarian Tsardom. I was wondering how long the company existed (it stopped producing somewhere in the 1920's) and whether they also produced for the Austro-Hungarian empire and other countries?

 

Kind regards and thanks in advance, Laurentius

[dedehansen]

Hi Laurentius,

 

https://www.biographien.ac.at/oebl/oebl_S/Schwerdtner_Johann_1834_1920.xml

 

Kind regards

 

Andreas

[laurentius]

Thank you Andreas, a fine biography, sadly it doesn't specify whether he produced for Austria too (if my German translation is correct he made civil and military orders for Bulgaria).

 

Kind regards, Laurentius

[Graf]

Hi Laurentius,

 

Yes this Company made a very high quality Bulgarian Order for Military merit and Order for Civil Merit he also produced other Bulgarian Orders and decorations

 

Edited August 16, 2021 by Graf

[Graf]

He also made the Bulgarian Order for Bravery

 

 

Edited August 16, 2021 by Graf

[Graf]

[Graf]

[Graf]

The Firm was involved in making Royal Bulgarian Red Cross Badge as well

[tifes]

Dear lautentis,

 

never seen Schwerdtner´s made Austrian decoration, just Bulgarian one and always in high-end quality, like Graf mentioned. Your post reminds me that I still have this "renegade" in my Austrian collection.

 

Regards,

 

Tifes

[Graf]

Hi Tifes,

 

Lovely Second Class of the Order for Military Merit I have the same one..sadly not in a box

I suppose that this firm was involved in making other Orders and Decorations apart from the Bulgarian Ones.

Only what we need a Catalog from The Firm Usually the produced them with the items they make and the price

Second option is the more advanced collectors  of Austrian Orders to help us

 

Regards

 

Graf

 

Edited August 18, 2021 by Graf

[Graf]

Hi,

I managed to get translation of the text  from the link provided by dedehansen

 

Schwerdtner, Johann  (1834-1920), medalist and engraver

Schwerdtner Johann, medalist and engraver. Born Vienna, July 14, 1834; died there, March 15, 1920. Son of a carpenter, father of Carl Maria and Hugo S. (both sd). S. stud. 1846–47 at the Wr. Academy of Fine Arts, among others with Sebastian Wegmayr and Wilhelm Westmann, and from 1847 attended an apprenticeship with an engraver as well as a drawing and modeling school. Due to an eye disease that led to complete blindness in the last years of his life, he had to interrupt his professional career for a while, but from 1854–64 he worked again as a map engraver in the military geographer. Inst. And trained during this time with the engraver Franz Jauner (see below Jauner Heinrich) and the medalist W. Seidan (see below). In 1864 he opened his own atelier, where he produced the Order for Civil and Military Merit of the Kingdom of Bulgaria, which he had also designed, until the end of the First World War. Numerous artists, so among othersthe later head of the technical school of the royal academy for book art in Leipzig Georg Schiller, J. Kowarzik (sd) and Adolf Hofmann, emerged from his workshop. S., founding member of the cooperative of the engravers of Vienna, was a member of several associations, so from 1869 of the cooperative of the visual artists of Vienna (Künstlerhaus) as well as their sculpture association, in 1888 the numismat. Ges. He received numerous domestic and foreign. Ausz .; 1897 k. Advice.He received numerous domestic and foreign. Ausz .; 1897 k. Advice.He received numerous domestic and foreign. Ausz .; 1897 k. Advice.

[tifes]

40 minutes ago, Graf said:

Hi Tifes,

 

Lovely Second Class of the Order for Military Merit I have the same one..sadly not in a box

I suppose that this firm was involved in making other Orders and Decorations apart from the Bulgarian Ones.

Only what we need a Catalog from The Firm Usually the produced them with the items they make and the price

Second option is the more advanced collectors  of Austrian Orders to help us

 

Regards

 

Graf

 

Hi Graf,

 

Sorry obviously I wasn´t clear enough. I dare to say that I am quite well advanced collector of Austria/ Austria-Hungary till 1918 (Bulgarian order was just "coming by and stayed") and Schwerdtner never produced anything from order/ decoration department in this sector. He was skilled engraver and medalist. Originally he was military cartographer but then he developed an interest in engraving and was student to famous Austrian engraver F. Jauner and medalist W. Seidan.  Till 1918 he was active in this field, making plaques and medals but he we was never engaged in phaleristcs, except Bulgaria. Probably he won some contract there, but this I can´t confirm.

 

Regards,

 

tifes 

[Graf]

Hi Tifes,

 

Thank you for the clarification and the additional information. Very likely he won some kind of contract during the Prince/King Ferdinand period The Prince was very popular visitor in Austria and perhaps in a way involved in the contract. I suspect he was impressed by the quality of work . King Ferdinand was mad about quality

After he abdicated in 1918 in favour his son King Boris III  it seems this contract was not renewed

 

Most of the Bulgarian Orders and decorations during King Boris III period were made by Rothe  or German Makers

[GdC26]

Rauch attributes this austrian piece to Schwerdtner:

 

https://www.hdrauch.com/site/de/coins.php?akcija=showSingleLot&what=goStart&a_sn=c112&a_gid=6310&a_pid=603&ad_id=107705

 

Not a decoration, but it could mean heproduced more than just Bulgarian awards.

Kind regards,

Sandro

 

 

Same here:

 

https://www.numisbids.com/n.php?p=lot&sid=2539&lot=544

 

Edited September 14, 2021 by GdC26

[tifes]

20 hours ago, GdC26 said:

Rauch attributes this austrian piece to Schwerdtner:

 

https://www.hdrauch.com/site/de/coins.php?akcija=showSingleLot&what=goStart&a_sn=c112&a_gid=6310&a_pid=603&ad_id=107705

 

Not a decoration, but it could mean heproduced more than just Bulgarian awards.

Kind regards,

Sandro

 

 

Same here:

 

https://www.numisbids.com/n.php?p=lot&sid=2539&lot=544

 

He was also Austrian medalist, but decorations he made just for Bulgaria. 

[laurentius]

On 14/09/2021 at 07:28, GdC26 said:

Same here:

 

https://www.numisbids.com/n.php?p=lot&sid=2539&lot=544

Thank you for this link Sandro, it's not often that we can put a face (even if it is a metal plaque rather than a photo) on jewelers of the past.

 

Kind regards, Laurentius

[GdC26]

On 15/09/2021 at 09:31, laurentius said:

Thank you for this link Sandro, it's not often that we can put a face (even if it is a metal plaque rather than a photo) on jewelers of the past.

 

Kind regards, Laurentius

My pleasure Laurentius.

Kind regards,

Sandro