heritage
Textile Company Reichart GmbH Up-rise & Down-fall
"My textile roots and ancestor's heritage dated back to 1875"....
Chapter one
Born in 1827 Johann Remigius had to wander as apprentice over German land as it was custom in those days before he took over the dyeing firm of his father. Ancient ‘wandering’ books tell us that he learned at this time also about the cotton printing. He was entering the same path as already his grand father Raimund Reichart, born in 1754 and running a textile dye and mayor of the village Dietmannsried next to the town Kempten. In 1853 the firm was officially registered as a firm. Johann Remigius Reichaion married Wilhelmine Blank, had 13 children. His wife became an important part of the firm – it is recorded that she wipped with one hand the cot and with the other she did the printing.
Their indigo dyed and block printed cloth became very popular. In 1865 they moved to Kempten to give their children a better education and settle the flourishing business in the centre of the region. Not long and Johann Remigius opened several fabric shops for his sons.
The so called ‘Reichart-Blaudrucke’ became a well known label and they Exposed at the worl exhibition in Vienna anno 1873.
The fullfilling of his work came when Joann Remigius purchased n 1878 the Swiss silk company Schwerzenbach in Lindau / Bodensee. The hand block printing grew and it became very fashionable for nearly each housewife to wear an indigo blue double sided printed apron.