|
Company name: Gebr. Obpacher set up by brothers Johann and Joseph Obpacher on April 15, 1867. On 1 Dec. 1888 converted into a joint-stock company (AG), under the name of: Lith-Artist. Anstalt Muenchen, formerly Gebr. Obpacher AG, until 25 April 1929: then renamed into: Druckerei & Kartonnagen vorm. Gebr. Obpacher AG. On 1. Jan 1939 fusion with local company ‘Kunst im Druck Mueller & Co.’ = Kunst im Druck Obpacher AG. By 1970 listed as Obpacher GmbH.
Address: Munich, Karlstr. 41 (1898). Moved to Munich-Mittersendling, Zielstattstr. 37 (1905-07) and from post-WW1 years on always found at Hofmannstr. 7, Munich-Mittersendling.
In business from: 1867 to c. 1988
Printer: yes Publisher: yes
Means of production / workforce:
Big company! 46 litho flatbed, 50 hand litho, 5 flatbed and 10 platen letterpress, 2 collotype and some 200 other (mostly bookbinding etc) machines and some 600 workers in 1921. The litho flatbed presses later replaced by a number of modern offset presses. Employed some 950 people in 1942.
Trademark(s): 
Early ppc’s (undivided back) show their full name imprinted. Then the G.O.M. logo types (2 versions) came in use until c. WW2 years
Specialised in:
Prior to WW1 big in (children) books, deLuxe paper products incl. ppc’s. Very export-orientated company with branches in New York, London and Berlin. Specialised later in packaging printing especially for the tobacco industry as well as general commercial printing.
Notes: G.O.M. appears to be a little bit underrated when it comes to postcards. Although not a speciality of this rather big firm, they published quite a number of subject/greeting cards. Their artist signed series are of the same quality as the more popular Meissner & Buch cards. They continued to produce greeting cards up to WW2, although at a lower level and mostly the then common standard. Back on the market with postcards (new logo) in the 1950-70’s.
The Obpacher company was the printer of the US `Winsch back type’ postcards. See TPA 28 for article of latest research finds.
Illustrations (from top):
G.O.M. series 97, no. 21471. “Target practise” signed Willy Stoewer. Chromolitho. P/u. Nov. 1900.
G.O.M. no. 1808. Chromolitho, signed ‘Klein’. Stamp/postmark missing. Post-1905 date.
View of Riga in ‘Greetings from ...’ style. Design and lithography by Obpacher, Munich for local publisher ‘Emil Maurach’. P/u August 1899.
G.O.M. no. 1345. Lady with hat, chromolitho with glossy (gelatine) finish and embossed, for Russian market. P/u in Russia, postmark(s) illegible.
G.O.M. no. 1405. German New Years greeting, signed Klein. Not p/u, post-1905
G.O.M. no. 3383. German New Years greeting. multi-colour offset printed with steel-engraved caption. P/u Dec. 1943.
G.O.M. series 32 no. 18153. High quality chromolitho work similar to the early Meissner & Buch cards. P/u Dec. 31, 1899.
G.O.M. series 37 no. 18210. Chromolitho, messenger blowing horn? P/u Oct. 1899 within Berlin. With 2 Pfennig stamp of local private post ‘Berliner Paketfahrt AG’.
Below: Advertisement from ‘Papier-Zeitung’, no. 98 (7. December 1929: Gebr. Obpacher AG is looking for a buyer of their entire US publishing line including the complete sales network. They point out that had been successful on the US market for more than 40 years = since the late 1880s.
|
