As one would expect of one of the largest and most famous potteries in Europe, Sarreguemines has had a long history.
Founded 1790 in an old oil mill by a river, by brothers Nicolas-Henri and Paul Augustin Jacobi and investor Joseph Fabry the company began modestly, employing about twenty workers making coarse surfaced utilitarian earthenware for everyday use. Unable to turn a profit, the brothers Jacobi sold their share of the pottery in 1799 to partner Fabry and his Bavarian friend Paul Utzschneider.
Utzschneider was an ambitious man with a working knowledge of the pottery industry. Under his management the company expanded the company’s product line adding new decorating techniques and refining its output utilizing English techniques he had studied abroad.
With the company’s successful exposure at international exhibitions—aided by the British blockade of goods during the Napoleonic Wars—the factory’s products attracted the patronage of Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1810 he placed orders from the company for ceramics to decorate the imperial palaces. Pleased with the results Napoleon bestowed on Utzschneider the Legion of Honor, assuring the company's future success.
The company’s business grew, facilitating the need for additional potteries nearby. By the time of Utzschneider’s 1836 retirement the pottery had already grown to be a formidable force in the industry. Management of the factory, was left to his daughter Pauline's husband, Alexandre Godfroi Fréderéic Maximilien de Geiger who brought in capital from both Boch de Mettlach and Villeroy de Vaudrevange to expand the business which he did by building three factories between 1853 and 1869. The new company, now named Utzschneider et Cie, produced earthenware, faïence and tiles and by 1850, porcelain. It later began the production of majolica.
In 1870 Napoleon III declared war on Prussia. His subsequent loss led to the 1871 annexation of the Mosselle—a northeastern section of France surrounding the Mosselle river where the pottery was located—by Germany. Alexandre de Geiger then left Sarreguemines fleeing to Paris. Many of the company’s workers also left, emigrating to the Trenton potteries in the United States. His son, Paul de Geiger, took over management.
He expanded the business by building two additional facilities in France in order to retain the company’s French identity while evading prohibitive (15%) taxes between the two countries. He chose Digoin, which was managed by Félix Sthème de Jubécourt, as well as in Vitry-le-François.
Both facilities expanded Sarreguemines' faience and majolica production, with de Geiger overseeing production of tiles for the original Paris Metro.* This became the golden age of majolica production at Sarreguemines.
The majolica from Sarreguemines is among the most well known produced on the European continent. Probably the best known of all is the Sarreguemines fruit series which has been in continuous production by both Sarreguemines and later by other companies for close to 150 years.
The company is also well known for their face or character pitchers, both human and animal.
As a result of their long production life Sarreguemines produced majolica in every conceivable shape and use, always with the finest craftsmanship.
Pitchers of all kinds…
Wall pieces…
Jardinieres and vases…
Specialty serving pieces, terrines and compotes…
Dessert and oyster plates…
Figural pieces...
and banks…
At Paul de Geiger’s death in 1913 and the onset of WWI, the company was split in two with the German half at the Moselle under different management from the French half at Digoin and Vitry-le-François. After the war and the area’s reunification with France, the two factories combined again under the name Sarreguemines-Digoin-Vitry-le-François managed by the Cazal family, relatives of the Villeroy family. With the occupation of France by Germany during WWII the factory was managed by Luitwin von Boch. After the end of the war the Cazal family resumed management of Sarreguemines through the 1970s.
In 1978, Lunéville-Badonviller-Saint-Clément bought majority stake in the factory. The production of pottery for the home ended in 1979 and the factory concentrated on the production of architectural floor and wall tiles. The factory in Vitry-le-François produced sanitary wares, Digoin produced dining ceramics while the Lunévile-Saint-Clément factory produced decorative pieces. Many of the older majolica animal pitchers continued in production using non toxic glazes.
Marks and Dating
The creation of Sarreguemines majolica designs can be roughly dated by the catalog number on the base.
- N° 300 c. 1875
- N° 500 c. 1880
- N° 1000 c. 1885
- N° 1500 c. 1890
- N° 3100 c. 1900
- N° 3500 c. 1905
- N° 4000 c. 1910
- N° 4500 c. 1913
- N° 5000 c. 1920
Towards the final years of the 19th century and the first years the 20th century manufacturing dates were also impressed on pieces.
In the U.K. the Merchandise Marks Act of 1887 required that goods imported into the United Kingdom required place of origin placed on the item. The McKinley Tariff Act in the United States required the same thing. As a result this country designation was added between 1890-1909 on Sarreguemines goods while the phrase MADE IN was added after 1910 Goods not intended for export did not need this.
While the company’s large range of non majolica wares had a complex series of ink marks, majolica was more simply marked by either impressed and/or ink marks. These also allow for dating. The most common marks found on early majolica are impressed.
These marks are sometimes combined with ink marks.
Later pieces used simple ink marks of various types, often indicating factory or origin.
In 2002 a group of employees as stockholders tried to resurrect the company’s production. This attempt did not last long however. In 2007 production stopped and the company was liquidated. After a history of 217 years the factory st Sarreguemines was gone.
Today you can visit the Sarreguemines museum, created in buildings erected by Paul de Geiger, along the Saar river on the border between Germany and France.
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