The cunning man who pretended to be a simpleton and created an empire (12 photos)

This artist turned out to be a truly restless person. One experiment with colored glass melt followed another. Some things came out well, some not so much. But in the end, Friedrich Egermann managed to break the old foundations and created multi-colored glass, proving that it can be not only the usual transparent.





A boy named Bedrich was born in 1777 in the Czech town of Sluknov. The boy was sent to be raised by the family of his uncle Anton Kittel, his mother’s brother. Who was a fairly famous glassmaker and began to slowly teach his nephew the basics.



Friedrich Egermann

The boy turned out to be promising and in a few years mastered all the intricacies of the profession. After which he was accepted into the guild of glass cutters, gilders and glass artists.

But this was not enough for an inquisitive mind. Bedřich did not want to be just a craftsman, he wanted to become a master. And the teenager went to Germany, where he got a job at a porcelain factory in Meissen. Here we had to act with cunning, since the work was carried out in strict secrecy.

But the courteous boy, who happily took on any work, even the dirtiest, did not arouse suspicion among the masters. And in vain: pretending to be a fool and a simpleton, over the course of several years he learned all the secrets of the industry. Who would suspect an apprentice of industrial espionage who, after bringing sausages and beer to his senior comrades and taking away the garbage, casually asks an “innocent” question?

So they didn’t suspect. And Egermann emerged from Meissen, burdened with a solid store of knowledge about mixing paints, firing methods and more.



Successful marriage and failed experiments



Having found out everything, the guy returned home and took Elisabeth Schurer as his wife. The girl was over 20, and she did not shine with beauty. But thanks to the dowry, he provided for himself financially - he bought a house and equipped a glass-blowing workshop with a shop attached to it.

At first he worked with transparent glass using classical technology. Then he began to use the painting technique and the author’s agate technique. At the same time, the master worked on unique techniques and set out to learn how to give products a red color using gold.



I invested almost everything I earned into experiments, because gold is not a cheap pleasure at all times. The experiment ended in failure... But Egermann did not give up and decided to try copper instead of gold.

It took more than 15 years of work and 5 thousand experiences to achieve success. But the master was able to install the main components and establish the correct preparation, including the labor-intensive triple firing method.



In 1832, he began industrial production of red stain. The products were very expensive, because Frederick did not reveal the whole truth to the general public and claimed that he used gold. After 10 years of golden rivers, competitors hired crafty thieves. They broke into the laboratory and stole the diary with all the recipes and notes.



The technology spread throughout Europe, and product prices fell. However, Friedrich no longer cared much about this: he had earned so much money that it was problematic to spend. He handed over the production to his sons and retired. And after his death, he remained a man who made a significant contribution to the glass art of Bohemia, and one of the key people in the glass industry of the first half of the 19th century.



The Egermann brand has withstood many tests. And although not on the same global scale, it continues production and remains a symbol of glass art.