The Schwarzenbach Enterprises
...With Particular Reference to Schwarzenbach, Huber & Co. and The Schwarzenbach Huber Co.
New York: Privately printed for Robert J.F Schwarzenbach, 1917.
Quarto, 12 x 9.25 inches, bound in half Morocco with striped silk; 167, (3)pp. Top edge gilt, bottom edge untrimmed. Privately printed, “Presented to Co-Workers and Friends.” This copy has a gift inscription in German dated 1920, though the name is unclear (Der Veylasser?). In Very Good condition with rubbing to extremities and shallow fraying to the fabric, less severe than seen with other examples. Two color plates printed on semigloss stock have some discoloration noted in other examples, but the copy is overall bright and clean.
The monograph was initially issued to mark the U.S. operation's 25th anniversary in 1912, when they moved to a massive 12-story headquarters in New York (where the iconic “Silk Clock” was installed in 1926). Although the book made it to press in 1913, the foreword indicates, “The first compilation was hurried, however, and lacking in many essentials," especially "data and illustrations from abroad” (11). This edition has been embellished with all the visual bells and whistles Robert Schwarzenbach desired, incorporating an uncommonly broad range of printing techniques from photogravure to offset lithography. Copious in-text portraits, vignettes, and ornaments are peppered with 35 total leaves of plates—many printed both sides and on varying paper stocks: 2 photogravure plates, 3 full color plates, 25 leaves with 39 pages of halftone photographs (many two-tone), one folding plate, and 4 leaves with 7 pages with striking color charts reminiscent of DuBois' data graphics.
The book details the company's history and global operations, with a hefty portion devoted to its American facilities and operations. While largely celebrating its present state, the text notably goes into detail about the political and economic conditions: "The year 1896 was, in other respects disappointing. The free silver campaign of William Jennings Bryan demoralized business... It was during this period—which followed the enactment of the Dingley Tariff—that imports steadily fell off and the silk industry of the United States experienced almost monumental growth" (89). It also addresses advances in machinery, the management of workers (where those beautiful data graphics come in), and the company's civic responsibilities.
A lavish and thoughtful production that humbles modern luxury brand monographs. OCLC shows no copies in North American institutions (2 copies in Europe).