Halloween Postcards : PFB

Paul Finkenrath, Ltd. (PFB)

1901-1911

Barmen, Germany

Founded as Aug. Finkenrath & Son in 1875. They were lithographers specializing in packaging and posters, though they latter called themselves fine art printers. Around 1896 they began producing Gruss Aus postcards along with art reproductions and advertising cards. The following year, with Paul Finkenrath now running the business, they opened a branch in Berlin. In 1898 he took on a new partner, Paul Grasnick, and the firm became Finkelrath & Grasnick that largely produced view-cards. This partnership lasted less than a year when Grasnick left to set up his own shop in Berlin. In 1901 Finkenrath became a Limited company and took on two new partners, Sigmund Oettinger and Paul Schimpf, though the firm kept the Paul Finkenrath name. They began publishing comic and illustrated cards for the American market with a substantial increase in quality after 1904. Many of these cards incorporated embossing and bronzing which he termed Radiol. The firm also produced many high quality chromolithographic view-cards and greetings over the years. Most of their artwork was produced by artists that remain unknown to us, but they also used notables such as Catharina Klein. In 1910 this partnership broke up with Schimpf taking over the printing operations. Finkenrath turned his interests to designing washing machines. With a very large exposure in the American market, they were badly hurt by increasing tariffs and were out of business by 1911.

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