Stange & Wagner Bromsilberdruck GmbH, Berlin
New real photo card printer & publisher
Long company name – but short business history.
The real photo card printing and publishing company was set up early January 1904. Found at same address Neanderstr. 4 as (parent company) Stange & Wagner, a major postcard (collotype) printer.
See: Stange & Wagner, Berlin
Business capital was 100,000 Marks. Managing directors/investors were Ferdinand Stange, Carl Wagner, Max Heimann, Wilhelm Josephthal and Paul Ashelm, all from Berlin. F. Stange and C. Wagner brought in the patent no. 133,489, class 57c, (registered mid-1902/patent holder Carl Wagner) for an improved copying/exposure machine for real photo printing process. Stange/Wagner received 25,000 Marks in business shares in return.
According a decision by shareholders dated 19 February 1906 the company was disbanded. Liquidators were Ferdinand Stange, Berlin, and Max Heimann, Charlottenburg.
I believe Stange & Wagner Bromsilberdruck-Gesellschaft m.b.H. had stopped production by late 1905 already. Had wondered what happened with their photo printing facilities. Then I noticed that E.A. Schwerdtfeger & Co., Berlin, invested into bromide real photo printing early in 1906. There is a good chance that there was a connection somehow.
Max Heimann & Co.?
An interesting find recently was a word mark registration for "Oreophot" that was entered on 16 May 1905, registered on 25 September 1905 for a limited company named Max Heimann & Co., found at Neanderstr. 4, Berlin. M. Heimann was managing director and later one of the liquidators of Stange & Wagner Bromsilberdruck GmbH. The Heimann & Co. company described to be an exporting business and specialised in picture postcards. I haven‘t spotted the name "Oreophot" on any cards yet. No information at hand how long the Heimann & Co. business was active. By 1906 it read Max Heimann & Co. GmbH, formerly Maas Gebr. & Co. Export. Business also at Neanderstr. 4 address.
The S&W company published the usual types of real photo cards popular with customers then. Various greeting cards, children, humourous animal views, posing women, singers, actors etc. For instance popular then Saharet (series 263, 8 cards), Geraldine Farrrar (series 258) etc and even some German Royalty issues.
A S&W advertising postcard illustrated on an online postcard archives mentions 1000 different designs available. This claim might cover not only real photo cards, but also other photos, posters, advertising/cigarette cards and so on.
Why are S&W cards hard to find?
The hundreds of different S&W photo card designs appear to be not easy to find anymore. Perhaps they were printed in lower quantities back then compared with the production of other publishers/printers. Information on any S&W photo card finds always welcome"
Below I illustrate several adverts by Stange & Wagner Bromsilberdruck-Gesellschaft mbH found in "Papier-Zeitung" during the year 1905. This was one of the biggest paper/printing trade periodicals then (11,000 printed copies) published twice weekly.
Listed are S&W series titles/number and often also how many different cards to be found in series. Good information for any research, although I doubt that any collector of real photo cards has concentrated on these not easy to find S&W photo cards yet.
