Hertwig Co or better “Hertwig & Co” was founded in 1864 in the area of Katzhütte, Germany famouse for having the first porcelain factory in Germany when Gotthelf and Greiner first recognized the usefulness of kaolin. The factory of Gotthelf and Greiner moved to Wallendorf but porcelain manufacturing in Katzhütte continued on. Many antique German china head dolls were produced by Hertwig & Co.
1870s Hertwig Porcelain Listings
In the German Address Book of all Countries in the World of Merchants, Manufacturers, Traders, Landowners, etc. an 1870-1874 listing for Hertwig read, “Porcelain factory: Hertwig & Co., factory of luxury and fantasy items, bathing children, doll heads and stuff dolls.”
See a full page ad for Hertwig & Co published in 1873 here.
An 1878 Katzhütte listing for Hertwig similarly reads, “Porcelain Factory: Hertwig & Co., Luxury, Fantasy items, bathing children, doll heads 2c.” Then reading very much the same ten years later.
The listing reads in the same fashion changing very little nearly 20 years later in the 1893-1896 edition, “Porcelain manufacturer: Hertwig & Co.,Luxury and fantasy items, figures, dolls and doll heads etc.”
1895 Patent
A patent listing in 1895 read, “No. 35 701. Painted or relief-decorated covers made of porcelain for albums etc. Hertwig & Co., Katzhutte i/Th. January 19, 1895. – H. 3564.”
1896
In his book Thuringia A Geographical Handbook Fritz Regel wrote in 1895 that Christoph Hertwig built the porcelain factory on the Hüttenwert in 1864 which grew into a large business of knick-knacks and decorative items, smaller everyday objects, “holy items” and dolls, especially for overseas export, especially Nanting dolls; (Nankeen-dolls); dolls with stuffed bodies made of cotton fabric with heads and limbs made of porcelain. He wrote that the factory employed 300 workers in the factory and around 600 families outside.
1897 Hertwig & Co. Listing
The 1897 listing in the German Universal Address Book for the Russian Import Trade reads “Hertwig & Co., Katzhütte i/Thür. (Luxusartikel). Gebr. Heubach, Lichte b/Wallendorf i/Thür. (Luxusartik).”
The 1897 address book for the Leipzig Trade Fair says, “Katzhütte (Thüringen), Porzellan- und Puppenfabrikation. O.-V. Grimmmaische Str. 4” (porcelain and doll factory).
Carl and Thilo Hertwig
In 1901 the German publication Sprechsaal specifically mentions Carl Hertwig as representing the company in Katzhutte.
An article in the same issue explained that Thilo Hertwig, a ceramic chemist, developed the color palette for the company over years of study.
1903 Adding Factories
In 1903 Hertwig purchased the porcelain factory Marienfeld in Oelze from Herrn Kurt Voigt for an estimated 81,000 marks.
1906 Adressbuch der Keramischen Industrie Listing
The 1906 listing for Hertwig read, (translated) “Porcelain factory in Katzhütte (P. T. and E.), Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. – Telegr. address: Hertwig;. – Telephone: Grossbreitenbach No. 3rd owner: Fritz Hertwig. Producing Figures, knick-knacks, garden ornaments, saint figures, crucifixes, Nankin groups, bathing children. about 500 workers. – Sample warehouse and representative in Hamburg, Gr. Burstah 1011, M. Steglitz; Amsterdam, Singel 316, A. a. van der Kolk. – To the trade fair in Leipzig: Grimmaische str. 4, first floor. – Exists since 1864.”
1909 Association
The Association of Ceramic Trades in Germany listed Hertwig & Co among its members in 1909 with Fritz Hertwig named as the owner.
1911-1913 Hertwig & Co Patents or Doll Head Numbers
1911 Patents
The 1911 Sprechsaal announces Hertwig & Co. patents for porcelain heads 582/2, 214/3, 213/3, 384/6, 385/6, and 386/6.
1912 Patents
Hertwig & Co. registered patents in 1912 for numbers 9155-9157, 9160, 9168 to 9170, 9181 the protection period was extended by an additional 3 years. Decor items for Hertwig registered that year listed as 214, 216, and plastic objects 3412, 3413, 3270, 3390, 3392, 3395, 3398, 3418, 3419, 3421, 9525 to 9536, 1071-1080.
1913 Doll Head Numbers
The company registered numbers for #433-435, 600, 601, 603 bisque jointed dolls in October of 1912 which published in 1913 in Sprechsaal for a three year term. They also registered doll number 209 6/0 the same year for a three year certificate.
In the same year the magazine listed their registration for figure 1283 with decor 26 describing it as “brilliant dust in combination with porcelain and porcelain enamel colors.”
1914 Sprechsaal für Keramik
The porcelain factory in Katzhutte celebrated its 50th anniversary on July 1, 1914.
They also were one of the few German porcelain manufacturers that produced some of Rose O’Neill’s Kewpie dolls before WWI.
See other antique German doll manufacturer marks here.
See some antique French doll marks here.