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Paulus, Johann Eder
Johann Eder’s Brothers at Glassworks in the Duchy of Württemberg
As we have seen above, there were relationships between the Swedish glassworks of Sandö
and glassworks in the Duchy of Württemberg through the Eder and Greiner families who
were manifold related by marriage. The glassmaker Heinrich Balthasar Greiner, working at
Sandö and supposed to have worked at Neulautern glassworks, before, was married to a
Susanna Catharina Eder (see above).
At the glassworks in the Swabian-Franconian Forest in Württemberg two elder brothers of
Johann Eder are to be found. The biographies of the Eder brothers are examples of the well-
known fact that sons of glassmakers usually took up the profession of their fathers. The
brothers Johann (
1673) und Lorenz Eder (
1686)
71
, both born at Rothenbügl worked at the
glassworks of Jux, Spiegelberg and Joachimstal in the Swabian-Franconian Forest. In 1701,
the eldest brother is already documented at Jux as
„Hannß Eder, gebürtig von Bainten bey
Kehlheimb, 26 Jahr alt, hat Weib ohne Kind, Cathol[ischer] Religion, will sich hier bürgerlich
einlaßen u
nd bawen.“
72
The other brother, Lorenz Eder, is found at the neighbouring
Joachimstal, in 1721, where he is mentioned as
„Glaser von Baindten, kurpfälzische Glas
-
hütte“
.
73
A further source of 1746 from Joachimstal mentions his widow and his three daugh-
ters:
„Lorenz Eders Wittib, 3 Kinder, die Mutter und 2
Töchter katholisch, die 3. evangelisch.
Bewerb: Betteln.
Ort vorigen Aufenthalts: aus dem Jux“;
74
This Lorenz is almost certainly
Johann Eder’s brother, born at Rothenbügl in 1686, who worked at Jux prior to
1721. In
1754, his daughter Katharina Margaretha married the glassmaker Johann Peter Greiner,
probably a relative of Heinrich Balthasar Greiner, found in Sweden (see above).
75
Thus, the
families Eder and Greiner were the tie between glassworks sites in the Duchy of Württem-
berg, in Sweden and in the forests north of the Bavarian town of Kelheim (Rothenbügl and
Irlbrunn).
71
In Bavaria, it was not unusual that children of the same parents were given the same first names,
even if the elder child of the same name was still alive (Cf: Georg P
AULUS
,
“3 Söhnlein namens
Johannes”.
Zum Phänomen der Namensgleichheit
von Geschwistern, in: Blätter des Bayerischen
Landesvereins für Familienkunde, BBLF 68, Munich 2005, p.1-10).
72
Translation:
“Hans (= Johann) Eder, born at Painten near Kelheim, 26 years old, has wife and child,
Cathol[ic] religion...”
; Specification deren beraits bey der Glaß-Hütten im Jux befindlichen Laboran-
ten und Holtzhewer. Actum auf der Glaßhütten im Jux d. 16. Juny 1701 (Friendly advice by Mr. An-
dreas K
OZLIK
, Backnang).
73
Translation:
„Glassmaker from Painten, glassworks of the Electoral Palatinate“;
Marianne
H
ASENMAYER
,
Eine Glashütte im Klosterwald, in: Ulrike M
ARSKI
, Das Forsthaus Joachimstal. Ord-
nung und Freiheit, Natur und Ökonomie. Schwäbisch Hall 2006, p. 22; (Friendly advice by Mr. An-
dreas K
OZLIK
, Backnang).
74
Translation:
„Lorenz Eder’s widow, 3 children, the mother an
d 2 daughters Catholic, the 3rd
Protestant...
“;
Ibid., p. 34.
75
Friendly advice by Mr. Andreas K
OZLIK
, Backnang.
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Paulus, Johann Eder
Economic and Cultural-Historical Background
The career of the Bavarian glassmaker Johann Eder, which took him to Portugal, Sweden,
Norway and finally to Spain, in the period between 1739 and 1750, inevitably raises the
question why, particularly in that period, production of glass was promoted apparently in the
most different regions of Europe. If we take a closer look into the historical circumstances,
several factors can be detected, the interaction of which resulted in an intensification of glass
production. The causes are mainly of economic-political and cultural-historical nature.
Cultural Changes
One of the reasons is to be found in cultural changes taking place, at that time, in Europe.
One of them is an increasing demand for consumer goods. Glass was no longer considered
a luxury good, only available to a small upper class. Since the late 17
th
century, even in mod-
est households cutlery, glasses, bowls and cups were to be found. The economic historian
Paolo Malanima writes: „The growing use of those things is a slow process, varying from
region to region, related to new habits and table manners. Cutlery, bowls and glasses in-
creased in numbers, because they were used personally and no longer collectively, as be-
fore.“
76
Also, window glass became more and more common. This improvement of living
conditions accelerated during the 18th century in the course of a “consumer revolution” as it
is called by some historians.
77
Economic-Political Causes
The intensification of glass production in many parts of Europe and the foundation of royal or
royally privileged glassworks in the first half of the 18
th
century happen against the back-
ground of an economic policy dominated by mercantilism. One of its goals was to encourage
industrial development by direct governmental intervention. In the 18
th
century, most Euro-
pean states went forward with a long mercantilist tradition of governmental support and pro-
motion of certain manufacturing sectors. Their example was France, where, since the late
17
th
century, manufactures royales and manufactures privilégiées of the metallurgical indus-
try and industries producing arms or luxury goods were privileged with monopolies, tax ad-
vantages, subventions and similar benefits.
78
One of those establishments was la manufac-
ture royale des glaces, founded by Louis XIV, where the mirrors for the castle of Versailles
had been produced.
76
Cf. Paolo M
ALANIMA
, Europäische Wirtschaftsgeschichte. 10.
19. Jahrhundert, Vienna 2010, p. 364-
365.
77
Ibid., p. 366.
78
Cf. Barry S
UPPLE
, Der Staat und die industrielle Revolution 1700
1914, in: Carlo Maria C
IPOLLA
,
Kurt B
ORCHARDT
, (Ed.), Europäische Wirtschaftsgeschichte, Vol. 3, Stuttgart 1985, p. 201-202.