Proebster

The city of Nuremberg is Germany's oldest centre for drawing instrument production. The Zirkelschmiedmeister (literally master compass makers) are first mentioned in the Bürger- und Meisterbüchern of Nuremberg in 1442. At the end of the 18th century there were no less than 85 master mathematical instrument makers (Zirkel-schmiedmeister) in Nuremberg. Some early Nuremberg drawing instrument makers and their workshops are finely illustrated in the Nürnberger Zwölfbrüderbücher. Nuremberg remained Germany's leading center for drawing instrument production throughout the 19th century. Starck [6] mentions the following major Nuremberg drawing instrument makers extant in 1925; J. Starck (est. 1762), Carl Eckert Sohn & Co. (est. 1833), L. Heisinger & Sohn (est. 1840), Georg Schoenner (est. 1851), J. B. Soellner Nachfolger (est. 1850s), Bayerische Reisszeugfabrik (est. 1893), and C. Proebster jr. Nachfolger (est 1868).

Andreas Pröbster (*1776;†1848)

The history of the Pröbster family of drawing instrument makers begins in 1810 when Andreas Pröbster establishes a workshop for drawing instruments in Nuremberg [1]. Andreas was Zirkelschmiedgeselle in 1798 [2], and is registered Zirkelschmiedmeister in 1804. He lived in a house he rented with address S.1499 (Hintere Beckschlagergasse 25) in 1829, that he purchased before 1850 [3].

Jacob Sigmund Heinrich Pröbster (*1808;†1873)

Andreas' eldest son Jacob Sigmund Heinrich Pröbster served apprenticeship under his father until 1825. As Zirkelschmiedgeselle he worked for Zirkelschmiedmeister Johann Georg Rupprecht (*1802;†1883) [5] who in the mid 1820s, at the suggestion of Professor Kuppler of the Nuremberg Polytechnic, began to produce Swiss pattern drawing instruments [6]. He is registered Zirkelschmiedmeister in 1836. He married Anna Friederike Henrietta Körnlein (*1817;†1877) in 1841 [7].  

On the drawing set below, the lefthand corner on the case is marked "verf: S. Pröbster. Nbg". The inside leg of each of the dividers is stamped with a 'P'. 

1841: S.1499 (Hintere Beckschlagergasse 25)

1852: S.1544 (Hintere Beckschlagergasse 28)

1863-1873: S.1611 (Schmaussengasse 22).  

Johann Leonhard Pröbster (*1811;†1867) 

Andreas' second son Johann Leonhard Pröbster was apprentice under his father until 1827, is registered Zirkelschmiedmeister in 1839, and succeeded his father in 1841. In the same year he married Christina Katharina Huß (*1818;†1853). He married his second wife Anna Schwarm in 1854. He was a participant at the Local-Industrie-Ausstellung Nürnberg 1845, at the Gewerbe-Ausstellung in Leipzig 1850, and at the Paris Exposition universelle d'art et d'industrie 1867. After his death in 1867, the company was run by his widow Anna [8] until 1880 when the eldest son Friedrich (*1855;†1920) took charge [9]. Friedrich was a student at the Handelsschule in Nuremberg in 1862/63. He married Friederike Botz in 1880. In 1874 the company name changed to J. L. Pröbster's Sohn [1]. The J. L. Proebster Company (fig. 3 below) was established sometime during the 1880s and was the sole importer of J. L. Pröbster's Sohn drawing instruments to the U.S. The company had 40 to 50 employees in 1899 [1]. Friedrich opened a Reisszeugfabrik at Bartholomäusstrasse 26 in 1912 [11]. The company deregistered in 1920 [13], and is last listed in the Nürnberg Adressbuch of 1920 [12]. The date of course correlates with Friedrich's death in that year.

1850-1870: S.1499 (Hintere Beckschlagergasse 25).

1873-1896: Innere Cramer-Klettstraße 1

1897-1908: Kirchhoffstrasse 26

1909-1920: Bartholomäusstrasse 26 

Conrad Pröbster sr. (*1819;†1878)

Andreas' third and youngest son Conrad Pröbster sr., about whom little is known, is registered Zirkelschmied-meister in 1846. In the same year he married Margaretha Justine Wagner. The 1880 Adressbuch Nürnberg finds his widow residing at Rosenthal 22.

He is succeeded by his son Johann Jakob Pröbster (*1856;†1927) who registered as a Reisszeugverfertiger in 1879 [15]. In the same year Johann Jakob married Marie Babette Schreyer (*1854;†1936) [14]. Johann Jakob had a Reisszeugfabrik at Rosenthal 22 from 1878 until 1927. 

Conrad Pröbster jr. (*1844;†1898)

After having gained years of valuable practical experience in his father's workshop, Conrad Pröbster jr. established his own company in 1868 for the manufacture of drawing instruments at Douglashöhle 1 [16]. He married Katharina Barbara Macher in 1869 [14]. His son Christoph, a lithographer, resided at Hinterer Laudauergasse 16 from 1885 to at least 1906. After Conrad's death in 1898 the company is renamed C. Proebster jr. Nachfolger. The company is initially run by Conrad's nephew Georg Huss (*1859), and in 1920 by his son Bernhard Huss and son-in-law Hans Münch [6]. Proebster had 40 employees in 1900. In 1947 Joseph Eschenbach acquired C. Pröbster jr. Nachfolger [16]. The company deregistered in 1967 [16] but seems to have continued under the banner of Ecobra, that registered this hallmark in 1976 formerly used by Eschenbach, fig. 4 below.

1869-1870: Douglashöhle 1 and Rosenthal 22

1873-1898: Hintere Landauergasse 16

1900-1903: Neugrossreuth 96

1904-1940: Hegelstrasse 18

1948-1958: Hainstrasse 22

1962-1977: Hegelstrasse 18-22

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[1] Festschrift zur 40. Hauptversammlung des VDI in Nürnberg, 1899, p.476-477. 

[2] Stadtarchiv Nürnberg B 13 Nr. 2738

[3] Nürnberger Künstlerlexikon

[4] Stadtarchiv Nürnberg C 7/II Nr. 7496

[5] Fränkischer Kurier Nr. 511 Nürnberg 05.10.1876, Google Books; Stadtarchiv Nürnberg, Niederlassungsakten:

#4000, film #008268618, image 1285. [Stadtarchiv Nürnberg] .

[6] STARCK, Georg; Die Entwicklung der Deutschen Reißzeugindustrie, 1925. 

[7] Germany, Bavaria, Nuremberg Civil Registration, 1803-1886; Fränkischer Kurier Nr. 602, 24.11.1873, Google Books. 

[8] Fränkischer Kurier, Nummer 74, 15.03.1867, p.3. [Bavarikon]

[9] Stadtarchiv Nürnberg C 22/II Nr. 12/1060 An

[10] Ohio Architect and Builder, Volume 11, 1908, HathiTrust.

[11] Stadtarchiv Nürnberg C 22/II Nr. 46/3442 a An

[12] Adressbuch von Nürnberg 1920 [Stadtarchiv Nürnberg]

[13] Stadtarchiv Nürnberg C 22/II Nr. 1022/949 Ab

[14] Marie Babette Schreyer: 17 November 1854 – 25 August 1936, GSJS-32Z. [Family Search]

[15] Signatur: Stadtarchiv Nürnberg C 22/II Nr. 11/1529 An; Stadtarchiv Nürnberg, Niederlassungsakten:

#17460, film #008277137, image 212. [Stadtarchiv Nürnberg] 

[16] Stadtlexikon Nürnberg  

[17] Nürnberger Künstlerlexikon 

[18] Proebster trademark, application date: Aug 17, 1976; Proprietor: ECOBRA Schreib- und Zeichengeräte GmbH,

90489 Nürnberg, DE [DPMA Register] 

[19] Proebster drawing instruments in 1953 [Internet Archive]