The main Loetz glass factory was originally located in Klostermüle, Austria in 1851 which is now part of the Czech Republic. While Loetz produced Victorian, Historicism and Art Deco art glass, the glory years for Loetz art glass production was during the Art Nouveau period. The Loetz factory officially ceased operation in 1939 so the newest piece of Loetz art glass would be over 75 years old! Several events helped to put the Loetz glassworks on the map. The first event occurred in 1879, when Susanne Gerstner, the widow ('Witwe' in German) of Johann Loetz, a glassmaker about whom we know very little, transferred the company-now called 'Johann Loetz Witwe'-to her grandson, Maximilian von Spaun. One year later, von Spaun hired Eduard Prochaska and the two of them modernized the factory and introduced new, patented techniques and processes. The Historicist Period

The first fruits of this collaboration were exciting innovations in Historicism glass (artistic styles that draw their inspiration from recreating historic styles), including Intarsia, the patented Octopus glass and the very popular marbled ('marmorisierte') glass which imitated semi-precious stones like red chalcedony, onyx and malachite. Success at exhibitions in Brussels, Munich and Vienna were crowned by awards at the Paris World's

Loetz Astraa Vase

Exposition in 1889. The next eight years were to be the most artistically significant and profitable period in the entire history of the company.

The Art Nouveau Period-the Glory Years The Paris Exposition Universelle in 1889 was located around the newly completed Eiffel Tower. Over 38 million visitors attended the Paris Exposition that summer and it was here that Loetz received world recognition for being one of the most innovative glassworks in the world when von Spaun was bestowed a Grand Prix Award.

Prior to the Paris Exposition, Loetz had begun creating its Phänomen glass consisting of iridescent surface decorated glass with

designs of trailings and colored spots applied in various combinations. To help elevate the firm's current productions, von Spaun commissioned Franz Hofstötter to create new designs and forms for the international exhibition in Paris. However, the decisions about how to carry out Hofstötter's designs were made by Eduard Prochaska, the director of the glassworks.

The company's success during this period had two prime drivers-the technical expertise of Prochaska and the business acumen of von Spaun. Loetz Witwe created many of its own designs, and also supplied glass commissioned by major customers like E. Bakalowits (Vienna) and Max Emanuel (London).

At the factory's peak Loetz had between 150 and 200 employees. During the years of 1898 to 1902, over 1.7 million pieces of Loetz art glass was produced in 3,500 different shapes and over 200 different decors in 30 different colors! The sheer volume of unique combinations of art glass created by this company during this period is staggering. But it is also why I enjoy collecting Loetz because I can fill a glass case with Loetz examples and each piece will stand out as being different and unique.