The Czechoslovak Review/Volume 3/Bohemian Glass Industry

by Josef Soukup

Bohemian Glass Industry

By JOSEF SOUKUP.

The glass industry of the Czechoslovak Republic is thoroughly organized and is affiliated with the Central Association of Czechoslovak Industry (Mikulandská ul. 6, Prague II.). It is divided into three sections for tube and poured glass, for sheet glass and for refined glass. In the first division are found plants which make bottles of all kinds, table glass, fancy glass, glass used for lighting purposes, and tube and rod glass for further manufacture, The second section consists of those factories which produce sheet and crown glass, and the last section includes all those establishments which convert glass into armlets, pearls, artificial jewelry, buttons and novelties, or which take partly manufactured glass and increase its value by polishing, cutting, engraving, painting, etching and enameling.

Some of the big glass manufacturers have their own shops for the refining of their products, but a majority of the glass refineries are independent establishments which get their raw material from ordinary glass works.

There are in Czechoslovakia factories equipped with all the latest aids of modern chemistry and engineering, large plants located near coal mines and in centres of railroad transportation, but there are also old works scattered through the forested regions and dating back to times, when wood was used as fuel. Most of the modern glass factories are found in northern and northeastern Bohemia, and this district is also the headquarters of the well-known Gablonz (Jablonec) ware, made by the workers in their homes.

The quality of Bohemian glass is famous all over the world, and this reputation has been won by hard competition in the course of centuries. It is due to the incomparable quality of the product and to conscientious and skillful finishing by thoroughly trained workmen.

During the war all export of Bohemian glass stopped, and in the meantime the world market was supplied by our competitors. And yet as soon as war was over, the demand for Bohemian glass became at once insistent; it was plain that the buyers were not satisfied with the quality and finish of the products which were supplied to the market while our industry was out of it. It appears now that not only will Bohemian glass be exported as before, but that foreign markets will take much larger quantities of it.

The war has not affected the producing capacity of the Bohemian glass industry. The country was never the scene of war operations, the plants were not damaged, and in fact many manufacturers made use of the compulsory suspension of production to enlarge and refit their equipment. Several modern plants have been built and there is willingness to invest further in this promising industry.

The world knew all glass exported from the former Dual Monarchy as Bohemian glass. This name was correctly applied, because practically all the glass works of the disrupted empire were located in Bohemian lands and belong today under the jurisdiction of the Czechoslovak Republic. The financial control of the factories is divided between Czech and German capital, and for some time past much French and English money has been invested in this field. All the glass works, some of which are combined under the control of large stock companies, are strong financially and in good shape. The headquarters of the great glass concerns, some of which were formerly located in Vienna, are now all centred in Prague.

The glass workers are both Czechs and Germans, but naturally the Czechs are in a great majority. There are German plants employing Czech workingmen, and vice versa, so that there are really no purely German concerns. Most of the works are organized under the Central Association of Czechoslovak Industry and its sections; in all questions of organization, economy, commerce and finance they act together and work in harmony for the growth of the glass industry.

The foreign trade policy of the Czechoslovak Republic justly emphasizes the value of glass products for the proper balance of foreign trade, and in order to increase export created export syndicates, supervised by governmental authorities.

Of these syndicates the most important one is the Czechoslovak syndicate for tube glass. It has an office in Prague (Mariánská ul. 24) and its head is Dr. Václav Horák. This institution controls the disposition of the finished products of this branch of the industry and determines the general policy under which export shall take place, so as to benefit not merely the glass industry, but the economic and financial interests of the whole republic. All export of glass of this kind is under the control of this syndicate, and foreign dealers interested in Bohemian glass will get from its office trustworthy information about quality, quantity and prices, as well as terms of delivery. The syndicate keeps in touch with representatives of foreign governments in Prague and with Czechoslovak diplomatic and consular representatives abroad; it arranges for sample exhibits and has on hand photographs of all the glass products of the factories of the Republic.

A similar institution is the Czechoslovak syndicate for export of sheet glass, Prague II., Revoluční tř. 2; its chairman is Dr. Karel Musil. It controls foreign commerce in this branch of the glass industry. There is also an office for the control of export in refined glass.

As to glass specialties, there are several subsidiary organs, each in control of the trade in its line. There is the Glass Ring Section of the Czechoslovak Export and Import Commission, directed by František Lejsek in Frýdštejn near Malá Skála; export of Gablonz ware is controlled by a commission, the chairman of which is Dr. J. Mohal in Semily, glass pearl trade is in charge of Jachym Kostlan in Zásada, and glass buttons Ludvik Lubas in Žel. Brod.

The home industry of Turnov and its district, engaged in the cutting of precious stones (except diamonds), semi-precious stones and glass imitations, is organized in the Turnov and District Stone-Cutters Association, and it exports its wares into all parts of the world. Among the principal exporting firms in this line should be named Antonín Pařízek who specializes in Bohemian garnets, František Hermann, Antonín Jahn, Josef May and František Šlechta whose specialty is the Strasschaton diamonds. All of these are in Turnov, Bohemia.

Bohemian glass industry is highly developed and can supply any demand that may be put upon it. The syndicates and individuals named are officially accredited by the authorities of the Czechoslovak Republic and will answer any inquiries that may be addressed to them in English.