Joseph Heinrichs – A Man of Mystery

I have a chafing dish marked “Jos. Heinrichs, Paris – New York, Pure Bronze, Sterling Silver”.  It is beautifully styled, well made and extremely heavy.  Those of you who are familiar with this blog understand that I have a need to know.  And I needed to know who this Joseph Heinrichs was.  Below are tidbits of information that I found on Mr. Heinrichs.  I also learned that Joseph Heinrichs manufactured items for Tiffany’s, was associated with Gorham, and designed many gorgeous works of art in sterling, copper and bronze which are highly prized and in private collections. So why is there so little information on the man?  Oh, I know where and when he was born and when he arrived in the United States.  But I don’t know if he ever married and had children.  Or when he died and where he was buried.  Or what clubs he belonged to.  And even his business operations are somewhat of a mystery.  All I can do is provide what information I did find and present it in chronological order, hoping that this might be of help to those researching Joseph Heinrichs, metalsmith.

Heinrichs Chafing Dish

Some Background

LINK: www.spencermarks.com/items/f354.html

from smpub.com

LINK:  www.smpub.com/ubb/forum21/htmlIn Rainwater & Redfield’s “Encyclopedia of American Silver Manufacturers” they note that “Joseph Heinrich worked as a molder and finisher of copperware in the late 1880’s. About 1897 he established his own business ….”  I could not find any listings for Mr. Heinrichs before 1900. I’ve gathered some advertisements, directory listings etc. and tried to organize them in a chronological fashion: -1900- First listing indicates he was making or selling urns. Coffee urns?

Some Listings From 1900

And the following 1900 ad is a little bizarre…doctors and nurses are the target market!

Cornell & Shober’s Directory of Trained Nurses 1900

-1901 & 1902-

Listings for 1901 & 1902

In the above note the change of address from 1146 Broadway in 1901 to 948 Broadway in 1902. -1903-

1903 Fire

And the first patent I found for him was for a coffee pot (apparently he didn’t like the one for the doctors and nurses):

Patent No. 747705 Heinrichs 1903

-1904-

From 1904

Note that he mentions in the above ad that his coffee pots are stamped on the bottom “Jos. Heinrichs, Paris and New York”.  This is in 1904.  I mention this because a good part of my research involved the dating of some Jos. Heinrichs items that I have showing only the “New York” mark and not “Paris – New York”.  For example, these  candle holders only have the “New York” mark:

Jos. Heinricks Hammered Copper Candle Holders Marked “New York”

And a 1904 patent for a burner:

Patent No. 766618 Heinrichs 1904

Earlier burners had an adjustable wick, therefore, this patent could possibly act as a means of dating one or the other. The patent date found on these burners is seen much later on coffee pots, teapots, etc. but is for the burner only. -1905-

New York City Directory v.119 1905

It’s interesting to see in the above ad, that he has begun selling coffee, too.  Diversification! -1906-

From 1906

-1907-

Patent No. 851417 Heinrichs 1907

1907 Scribner’s Magazine Vol.42

-1909 & 1910-

1909 1910 Directories

Note the 227 W29th address shown above is listed below as a factory.

Patent No. 950288 Heinrichs 1910

He has branched out to include cocktail shakers in 1910.

I have  this Heinrichs’ cocktail set available for sale at my Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/listing/688313796/joseph-heinrichs-copper-cocktail-set

Listings for 1911 1913 1914 & 1915

Note the addition of the 461 5th Ave address; he has two retail stores in Manhattan at this point.

Annual Industrial Directory of New York State, Vol.1 1913

“Metal Work” Factory at 227 W29th – note 25 employees and 1 in the office. -1917-

The National Corporation Reporter V.53 1916-17 pg.1024

In the January 24, 1917 issue of The National Corporation Reporter, we see that Joseph Heinrichs & Co., Inc. had been formed.  I’ve seen “Jos. Heinrichs Corp. New York” backstamps without “Paris”.  Did World War I play a part in dissolving the French Steam Coffee Pot relationship?  The ad below is the last evidence I have of the Paris connection (was he selling old stock?)  So, if we go from a “Paris – New York” mark to a “Corp.” mark, the “New York” alone backstamp might be his earliest.  Just conjecture on my part.

Hotel Red Book & Directory 1917

-1918-

White-Orr’s Reference Register 1918

Note the two entries under House Furnishings above. -1919-

R. L. Polk & Co.’s … Trow New York Copartnership … 1919

Who is Herman Bassemir? I need to do further research on him.  -1920-

Patent No. 1357051 Heinrichs 1920

-1921-

From 1921

Angelo Scavullo has his own story….

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle Nov. 17 1921

-1922-

The Trow Alcom Blue Book 1922

And the snippet below shows he was making hammered silver items for soda fountains too.

The Soda Fountain Vol.21 April 1922

-1925 & 1926-

From 1925 & 1926

Was he making a move out of town? -1927-

1927 Scavullo Patent No. 72498

The patent above was assigned to Joseph Heinrichs Corp.  Note Angelo states he is residing at 948 Broadway, which is the address of the retail shop. -1929-

Patent No. 1717974 Heinrichs 1929

-1935-

The New Yorker 1935

Not sure what to make of the 1935 piece above, was this his new address?  However 1937 brought bankruptcy to Heinrichs.

Angelo Scavullo takes over

Legion is still in business today.

Hammered Copper Match Holder with “New York” Mark

Match holder above, ashtray below.

Cigar Ashtray with Match Holder

From the above advertisements and listings, it appears the “Paris – New York” mark was used from around 1904 to about 1918, and seeing Heinrichs was incorporated in 1917, it doesn’t seem to leave much room for the New York only mark.  Could the match holder above be an early example of his work? The match holder and ashtray shown above and the candle holders shown earlier are all available for purchase at my Etsy shop. https://www.etsy.com/shop/queenofsienna/search?search_query=heinrichs&order=date_desc&view_type=list&ref=shop_search

NOTE:  Scott Bowen has a beautiful Heinrichs’ bear smoking / drinking set for sale.  Photos follow.  Please see Scott’s comment below and contact him if your are interesting in purchasing. SORRY, THIS SET HAS SOLD!

Scott Bowen’s Set 1

Scott Bowen’s Set 2

Scott Bowen’s Set 3

Following is the backstamp; note there is no maker’s mark:

Backstamp

Thank you!

Update January 11, 2018:  The following pictures came from Gary who made a comment below regarding a Jos. Heinrichs bar cart:

I have not seen another cart / wet bar similar to this. If anyone has any info regarding this type of Heinrichs cart, I’d appreciate your comments. Thank you.

Update, June 4, 2019:  please see the June 2, 2019 comment from Nicola regarding the following oil lamp filler:

If anyone has any info they could share about this oil lamp filler, please respond to Nicola’s comment. She’s appreciate it!

Note 4/14/24: I have observed that there are many items identified as “attributable to Jos. Heinrichs” but without the Heinrichs’ mark. Many are marked “Copper and Silver”, sometimes with a number.  Having never seen this “Copper and Silver” mark referenced in a Heinrichs’ ad or anywhere else, I was suspicious. However, I have found rabbit motif chafing dishes marked with the “Jos. Heinrichs, Paris + New York” mark and other same rabbit motif chafing dishes marked simply “Copper and Silver” ( although most of these have a wooden base with nailheads). I have also seen mugs with this rabbit handle marked “Copper and Silver”.  I believe this “Copper and Silver” mark to be a Heinrichs’ mark. This belief is based solely on my observations stated above as I have no other evidence.