Eduard Buettner & Co., Berlin
Early fancy paper factory
Set up as fancy paper factory at Oranienburgerstr. 59, Berlin N in 1880 by lithographer Eduard Buettner. The company found always at same address in own factory building. Business taken over by Max Loewenstein and Ferdinand Nagelschmidt in second half of 1884. The new owners turned the company into a leading fine arts and chromolitho printing company, fancy paper factory (export) and specialised in all types and qualities of greetings cards. Said to had been one of the first fancy paper factories in Berlin to have had the entire production machinery powered by electricity. Employed some 400 persons by early 1897.
In business until c. October 1906 (with postcards). Big stocks of cards and many other fancy paper articles were put on sale, incl. their latest postcard series, printing to be finished in Sept. 1906. Various equipment used for embossing, gilding etc., later also printing presses, were offered.
Company renamed into Berliner Spielkartenfabrik Eduard Buettner & Co. Sole owner by late 1907 was Ferd. Nagelschmidt. Still with 2 letterpress and 5 litho presses, other production facilities and 70 workers.
On 1 February, 1908 the entire Buettner & Co. playing card business was taken over by the competitor and leading playing card manufacturer "Vereinigte Stralsunder Spielkartenfabriken A.G.".
Identification in most cases easy. Company initials E.B. & C. i.B. (in Berlin) followed by card/series number found somewhere on picture side. However, there are a number of matching card designs of identical make and layout known NOT with their initials on.
Buettner & Co. were an early (quality) chromolithographic greeting card manufacturer of some size. Many designs show short poems, also promoting the postcard craze of the time. E.B. & C.i.B. had a number of own (postcard) novelties registered. Likely a quite underrated (especially by today’s collectors of chromolitho work) company.
Below I show a couple of Buettner card issues. There should be many more around.
