Winterhalder & Hofmeier (clocks)

Winterhalder and Hofmeier (clocks) goes back to Winterhalder Uhrenfabrik in the Black Forest, a clock manufacturer from 1810. It was further manifested from 1850 under the new name Winterhalder & Hofmeier. In 1869 the company was renamed M. Winterhalder & Hofmeier, Friedenweiler und Schwaerzenbach, in Neustadt. From 1908 the new name was M. Winterhalder & Hofmeier GmbH. The company was part of the Black Forest clockmaker industry as its factory was located in Titisee-Neustadt and surroundings and as it subscribed to high quality standards. The company existed until 1933. It is regarded as one of the finest Victorian clockmakers of the time. The firm Winterhalder Uhrenfabrik was established in 1810 by Thomas Winterhalder. Even his grandfather Nikolaus Winterhalder (1710-1743) made quality Black Forest clocks with wooden cogs and weights from stones. Thomas moved in 1816 with his three sons Matthäus, Karl und Thomas to Friedenweiler where he lived in an old house ("Altes Haus") which he had bought from a monastery. Matthäus Winterhalder (1799–1863) took over the work rooms in 1830. In 1850 his relative Johannes Hofmeier (1802-1876) from Schwaerzenbach, which is nowadays a part of Titisee-Neustadt joined and they formed the company Winterhalder & Hofmeier. Clocks were marked from there on with the initials W & H Sch. The next generation, i. e. Anton, Karl, Thomas und Johannes, changed firm name and responsibility in 1869 ("oHG"). The third generation formed on December 19, 1908, a company of limited liability (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung). All partners of that company were brothers or cousins to each other. They delivered parts from their own separate firms to the common Winterhalder & Hofmeier company. At that time the firm had (including homeworkers) about 800 employees and a turnover of one million Mark. Orders from the United Kingdom declined just before World War I. War was anticipated by his customers, so Linus Winterhalder agreed in the UK in London with his customers to grant a delay of payments from one month to three months.