Moser a.s. (Firm)

Dates

• Existence: 1857 (date of establishment)
• Usage: 1991 (date of establishment)
• Usage: 1893 (date of establishment) - 1921 (date of public sale of shares) - 1921
• Usage: 1921 (date of establishment) - 1922 (date of acquisition of Meyr's Neffe Adolf glass factory) - 1922
• Usage: 1922 (date of establishment) - 1933 (date of Moser family divestment in the company) - 1933
• Usage: 1933 (date of establishment) - 1941 (date of state appropriation by the Nazi regime) - 1941
• Usage: 1941 (date of establishment) - 1945 (date of dissolution) - 1945
• Usage: 1945 (date of establishment and name change)
• Usage: 1946 (date of establishment) - 1988 (date of name change) - 1988
• Usage: 1988 (date of establishment) - 1991 (date of dissolution) - 1991

Biography

Moser a.s. is the present incarnation of the glass factory founded by Ludwig Moser in 1857 in Karlsbad, Bohemia, Austria-Hungary (Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic). Begun as a glass engraving studio, Moser a.s. grew into a prominent Bohemian glass manufacturer. Important events in the history of the firm are as follows:

1857: Ludwig Moser (1833-1916) opens an engraving shop in Karlsbad. Moser was of German Jewish ancestry and found success not only in glass working, but also in selling fine glass. One of the earliest names of his commercial endeavor appears as "Ludwig Moser, Glasfabrikant."

1893: Having achieved success in glass engraving, polishing, and enameling, the company opens a glass factory in Meierhöfen, near Karlsbad. The company name becomes Karlsbader Glasindustrie-Gesellschaft, Ludwig Moser & Söhne, Glasfabrik Meierhöfen.

1908: Ludwig Moser's son, Leo Moser (1879-1974), takes over technical direction of the company. In 1916, he becomes the artistic director.

1921: The company sells shares to the public for the first time, renaming itself Karlsbader Glasindustrie-Gesellschaft, Ludwig Moser & Söhne A.G.

1922: The company acquires the Myer's Neffe Adolf glass factory and changes its name to reflect the merger: Karlsbader Kristallglasfabrik A.G. Ludwig Moser & Söhne und Meyr's Neffe.

1933: Worldwide financial crisis takes its toll on the company, and the Moser family sells all of its shares in the company. The company renames itself Karlsbader Kristallglas-Fabriken A.G. Ludwig Moser und Söhne.

1941: After the Sudentenland Crisis and subsequent Nazi occupation, the company is taken over by the German government, renamed Staatliche Glasmanufaktur Karlsbad A.G., and managed similarly to the Staatliche Porzellangewerbe in Berlin.

1945: After World War II ends, the company is briefly renamed Státní průmysl skla, dřive L. Moser a synové. In 1946, it receives the name Ĉeské sklo, dřive Moser. Although a state-owned entity, it enjoys a degree of freedom because of the reputation of Moser glass.

1988: The company is renamed again to Sklárna Moser, státní podnik.

1991: The company is returned to private shareholder ownership, and its name reverts back to that of its founder: Moser.

Sources:

Baldwin, Gary and Lee Carno. _Moser - Artistry in Glass, 1857-1938_. Marietta, Ohio: Antique Publications, 1988.

Mergl, Jan and Lenka Pankova. _Moser, 1857-1997_. Karlovy Vary: Moser, 1997.

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