Antique Porcelain & Ormolu Zell Hammersbach Vase 19th C

The origins of the factory in Zell can be traced back to October 22nd 1794, when Josef Anton Burger established an earthenware factory in that location. His products were an instant success and in 1802, the businessman Jakob Ferdinand Lenz from Lahr joined Burger as partner. Lenz was quite wealthy and had lived in England for a few years where he had gathered ideas for high-quality stoneware and fajence products. In 1805, he also convinced two other wealthy businessmen from Lahr to invest in the company. So Georg Schnitzler and David Knoderer joined as partners and the financial boost allowed the factory to expand and try out new ideas, mainly based on ideas from Burger.

By the middle of the 19th century, the demand for stoneware in Germany stagnated and shifted to porcelain more and more. When Burger retired, the other partners of the Zell factory had already adapted to the new situation and half of the capacity had been switched to porcelain production as early as 1842, using kaolin that was transported by horse and cart from the famous Limoges area in France. On short notice and not far apart from each other at first Knoderer and then Schnitzler retired, leaving the factory to Lenz.
After belonging to Lenz for some time the factory was taken over by the aging businessman Carl Schaaff who started business in 1807 and was by now leaving the company in the hands of a board of directors who continued leading the company. In 1899, both this factory was slightly damaged by a massive fire that broke out in the middle of the town. Just as the townsfolk had managed to repair most damage another blaze in 1904 damaged both factories yet again, this time nearly forcing the directors to quit and file for bankruptcy. They managed to continue until 1907 and then finally accepted when Georg Schmider offered to take over the factory.