Tuesday, 5 August 2025

Historic Print Order: Angerer & Göschl to Bucher AG

Date of use : 1925 Austria

Historic Print Order: Angerer & Göschl to Bucher AG

This postcard documents an order confirmation correspondence between C. Angerer & Göschl, a company based in Vienna, Austria, and C.J. Bucher AG, located in Lucerne, Switzerland. Both firms were prominent and highly regarded in their respective fields during the periods in which they operated. After providing brief background information on each company, we will turn our attention to the correspondence featured on the card.
C. Angerer & Göschl was founded in 1870 by Viennese printer and book designer Carl Angerer (1838–1916). Three years later, Alexander Göschl (1848–1900) joined the firm as a partner, and the company name was changed to C. Angerer & Göschl. The company specialized in photochemical printing, art cards, fine art prints, and likely also postcards or advertising graphics.
Following the death of both founders, Carl Angerer's son, Alexander C. Angerer (1869–1950), took over the management of the business and continued its operations. However, after many decades of activity, the company declared bankruptcy in 1983.
On the other hand, C.J. Bucher AG was founded in 1922 by Carl Josef (C.J.) Bucher. That same year, together with Adolf Herz, he began publishing the photography magazine Camera. The magazine was initially published in German until 1952, after which it was also issued in English and French editions. Having become an important publication in the international world of photography, Camera ceased publication in 1981.
The message written on the reverse of the postcard is a direct record of the commercial relationship between the two companies. In this June 10, 1925 letter, C. Angerer & Göschl confirms receipt of an order from C.J. Bucher AG and acknowledges that the order has been put into production. The correspondence reads as follows:
Vienna, June 10th, 1925
To C.J. Bucher A.G., Lucerne
We gratefully confirm receipt of the order you placed with your letter dated the 7th of this month.
The order concerns the production of:
5 raster plates, line engravings, transfer prints, three-color prints, copper four-color etchings, and bold (fat) prints.
We have scheduled this for prompt delivery.
Sincerely yours,
C. Angerer & Göschl
In summary, the firm confirms that it has received the order submitted with the letter dated June 7 and has initiated the production process. The ordered items include: raster plates, line engravings, transfer prints (Umdruck), three-color and four-color copper etching plates, as well as bold (fat) prints (Fettdruck). Such an order serves as concrete evidence of the professional collaboration between artistic publishing and the technical printing industry of the period.
This item is documented as part of the Photography in Postal History research project.
For research context, see the Research Methodology.
For academic reference, please refer to How to Cite This Archive.

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