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Lobmeyr, J. & L.
Austrian glass company. It was founded in Vienna in 1823 by Josef Lobmeyr (b Grieskirchen, 1792; d Vienna, 1855). Glass for the firm was made mainly at the Harrachhütte glassworks in Neuwelt and the Vetterhütte glassworks in Parchen. In 1835 the first large table service was delivered to Emperor Ferdinand (Vienna, Hofburg-Schauräume; Vienna, J. & L. Lobmeyr). In 1848 the firm was commissioned by Emperor Francis Joseph for the banqueting service for his coronation, which was designed by Josef Lobmeyr’s son, Ludwig Lobmeyr (b Vienna, 1829; d Vienna, 1917). In 1851 the firm established a studio in Polevsko for cutting, painting and engraving blanks. In 1855 Josef Lobmeyr’s son, Josef Lobmeyr jr (b Vienna, 1828; d Vienna, 1864), became director and began exporting chandeliers to countries such as India, Egypt, Turkey and America. After Josef’s death Ludwig Lobmeyr became director. He was a great patron of the arts in Vienna and did much to foster working relations with Bohemian glass factories. Architects who designed for the company included Theophilus Hansen, Josef von Storck and Friedrich von Schmidt. Such new techniques as lustering and painting with platinum were developed in conjunction with the LÖTZ WITWE glassworks in Klostermühle, and wares were produced in the Jugendstil style. In 1902 Stefan Rath (b Vienna, 1876; d Vienna, 1960), a nephew of Ludwig, who had studied under Josef Hoffmann at the Kunstgewerbeschule in Vienna, began designing work for the firm. Hoffmann later designed for the firm and was responsible for a style of decoration known as ‘Bronzit’, in which geometrical designs were painted in matt-black on frosted glass (see fig.). After World War I a branch factory was founded in Kamenicky Senov in northern Bohemia. Such designers as Rath’s daughter Marianne Rath (b Vienna, 1904; d Vienna, 1985), Lotte Fink, Adolf Loos and Jaroslav Horejc (1886–1971) were then designing for the company. The firm was particularly successful at the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes of 1925 in Paris. In 1938 Hans Harald Rath (b Vienna, 1904; d Vienna, 1968) became director, and Stefan Rath moved to Kamenicky Senov where he was director until 1951. Many works with Hochschnitt decoration were produced during this period for the Third Reich, Czechoslovakia and finally for the communist nationalized industries. Crystal chandeliers were produced for castles in Kraków and Poznan; after World War II chandeliers were also produced for the Vienna State Opera House (1955) and the Metropolitan Opera House (1966), New York. After Hans Harald Rath’s death in 1968 his three sons Harald Rath (b Limpsfield, 1938), Peter Rath (b Vienna, 1939) and Stefan Rath jr (b Vienna, 1943) took over the firm, and further chandeliers were made for the J. F. Kennedy Center of the Performing Arts (1970), Washington, DC, and for the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet (1971) in the Kremlin, Moscow. In 1973 the firm started a studio glass furnace in Stoob with Zdenek Stahlavsky (b 1926) and Jindra Beranek (b 1927).
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