Schumann (Bavaria)

Christian Heinrich Schumann originally started his pottery business in the mid-1870s but was forced to relocate due to the expansion of the railways. With the backing of a businessman named Riess, a new factory was built in 1881 in the town of Arzberg in Bavaria, Germany, called Porzellanfabrik Schumann & Riess. This new factory focused on hard-paste porcelain.

Christian Heinrich Schumann died in 1884, and the company was run by his wife Christiana until his youngest son Carl was old enough to take over. On his 21st birthday, in 1892, the factory was renamed Porzellanfabrik Carl Schumann GmbH & Co. KG, although Christiana remained in charge until 1896.

In 1923 the company was incorporated and became Porzellanfabrik Carl Schumann AG. They had a successful export business, particularly with the USA. Unfortunately, this all but ceased at the end of the decade as the effects of the Wall Street Crash in 1929 started to take hold.

The company survived the Second World War but was met with increased competition from Japan with its cheaper exports to foreign markets. The company changed hands a few times over the next few decades and despite many attempts, they could not regain the success they had achieved years earlier.

They formed a partnership with Gebrüder Frank GmbH & Co. KG in 1990 but eventually, the company ran into financial difficulties and the partnership dissolved. Facing bankruptcy, the factory closed in 1994.