Riefler (1841-2019+), Nesselwang & München.

After completing a two-year apprenticeship with Gebrüder Haff in Pfronten, Clemens Riefler founded his own workshop in 1841 in the village of Maria-Rain in Bavaria. Starting with a workforce of 3, he specialised in the production of drawing instruments and simple pendel clocks. Riefler's Vasenkopf (=pivot jointed head) was invented in 1843 and patented on 11 July 1850 [14]. Theodor Alteneder (*1822;†1899) who had been apprenticed to Riefler in the 1840s, immigrated to the US and in 1850 opened his own shop in Philadelphia. On 16 July 1850 Alteneder patented an identical version of the Vasenkopf [10]. Riefler's Vasenkopf patent expired in 1853. There were at least 2 German early fabricators of Riefler's Vasenkopf. One is Gebrüder Haff whose entries at the 1854 Allgemeine Deutsche Industrieausstellung in München included compasses with a Vasenkopf [15]. The other is Ertel & Sohn, whose Preis-Courant published in Zeitschrift für Geometer in 1861 included a Hand-Zirkel with a Vasenkopf. At the end of the 1850s Riefler began exporting to the United States [16]. Who their American agent was at the time is unknown. In 1851 Clemens Riefler was sent to participate at the Great Exhibition in London by the royal government of Swabia & Neuburg and given a travel grant of 250 florins [20]. 

In 1851 Riefler is reputed to have been exporting his drawing instruments to England for many years. In a short article in the Bayerisches Volksblatt 30.10.1851 Jg.3 p. 1116 the following is reported:

Wir hören aus guter Quelle, daß seit einer Reihe vieler Jahre Herr Riefler Sendungen solcher Reißzeuge, per Stück ungefähr 30 fl., nach Engeland besorgt, von wo dieselben als Englisches Fabrikat nach Ostindien und in die holländischen Besitzungen in Asien den Weg finden.

Indeed there's a 1853 newspaper article about an English drawing set, that as the story enfolds, turns out to have been made by Clemens Riefler [19]. 

When Riefler participated at the International Exhibition of Philadelphia in 1876, their US agent was listed as James W. Queen & Co., an optical and scientific instrument company in Philadelphia [17]. After his death in 1876, he was succeeded by his sons Sigmund, Adolf and Theodor. Sigmund patented his revolutionary round system of drawing instruments on 14 August 1877, patent DE2997. In 1879, the company began to relocate to Nesselwang, equiping the new factory with a water wheel to run the machinery and being able to expand their workforce. In 1888 Riefler's sole agent in the US was advertised as F. Weber & Co.[4], a manufacturer and supplier of artists' materials in Philadelphia, and who would remain Riefler's agent until well after WW2. By 1887 the company had completely relocated to Nesselwang.

In 1878 Sigmund settled in Munich, to be in contact with the local scientific community. When patent 2997 expired on 16 April 1892 imitations began to flood the market, prompting Riefler to stamp the compass head with the company name [11]. For a short period following the 1892 patent expiration date, Riefler cases were marked 'D. R. Pat. No. 2997 Abgel.'  

A full company history is given in [9]. The company is still active but no longer produces drawing instruments.

See also the article published in 1867, an account of the celebration when Riefler was awarded the Goldene Medaille des Verdienstordens der bayerischen Krone [20].

An early unmarked Riefler Vasenkopf set, dating from before 1877. The shanks of the inserts are pentagonal.

Fig. 1. Riefler dotting pen, patented in 1903, DRGM 202531, retailed by Robert Drosten (fl. 1885-1914) Bruxelles [Der Mechaniker 1903, p. 168, Internet Archive]. 

Fig. 2. Early Riefler drop-bow compass, dated around 1880. Signature on case: 'C. Riefler in Maria-Rain b. Kempten in Bayern u. in München'. 

Fig. 3. and Fig 4. Ellipsograph, patented 7 August 1894, DRP 80177. 

Fig. 5. Riefler E53 flat pattern drawing set, probably dating from the 1950s. Riefler's flat pattern was patented in the early 1930s.  

Fig. 6. All three compasses in this set are fitted with a straightening device. Unknown patent.

Fig. 7. An early version of Riefler's round system's straightening device was introduced in the mid 1920s. 'The large dividers and compasses have been improved with a straightening device in the head, acting at the same time as a steel bearing.' Industrial Arts and Vocational Education, Vol.15, 1926, p.340, Google Books. Illustration above from: Industrial Education Magazine, Vol.30, 1928, p. 603, Google Books. 

Fig. 8. During the patent term of Riefler's round pattern, competing companies started making compasses whose legs were octagonal instead of round [2]. This example made/sold by Carstens of Hamburg. 

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[1] STARCK, Georg; Die Entwicklung der Deutschen Reißzeugindustrie, Universitätsverlag von Robert Noske in Borna-Leipzig, 1925.

[2] Preis-Verzeichnis Reiss Liebenwerda 1886, p.20, 26. [Internet Archive].

[3] British Intelligence Objectives Sub-Committee report 1289 on the German Drawing Instrument Industry post WW2 (1946) 

[4] 1888 Catalogue F. Weber & Co., Philadelphia 1888, 167-175. [Internet Archive] 

[5] 1906 Bayerns Industrie und Handel, A. Gutmann, Nürnberg 1906. p.257-261, [Internet Archive].

[6] 1912 Riefler 1912 catalogue [Internet Archive] 

[7] 1923 Catalogue F. Weber & Co., Philadephia 1923, 196-214. [Internet Archive] 

[8] 1955 Riefler catalogues [Internet Archive] 

[9] 1991 150 Jahre Riefler [Internet Archive] 

[10] Theodore Alteneder. 1850, Patent US7501A: Improvements in Joints for Compasses for Measuring. [Google Patents]; Theodore Alteneder, Philadelphia Pa. 1871, Patent US111715A: Compass joint [Google Patents]

[11] It will be well to mention that poor imitations of these instruments are placed on the market; to prevent these from being confounded with the Riefler instruments each of the latter has the name Riefler stamped upon its head. The World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago 1893, German Exhibition. Group 21. Berlin 1893, p.61. [Internet Archive].

[12] Fabrik mathematischer Instrumente Clemens Riefler in Bayerns Industrie und Handel : zu Ehren der Jubiläums-Landes-Ausstellung Nürnberg und des 100jähr. Bestehens des Königreich Bayern, 1906, p.257-261. [Internet Archive]. 

[13] Kunst- und Gewerbeblatt des Polytechnischen Vereins für das Königreich Bayern, 1853, p.691, plate XVI, OPACplus Bayerisches Staatsbibliothek. 

[14] Regierungsblatt für das Königreich Bayern, 1850; Gewerbsprivilegien Verleihungen, p.704. Patent term 3 years [Bavarikon].

[15] Bericht der Beurtheilungs-Commission bei der Allgemeine Deutsche Industrieausstellung 1854, p.10. [Google Books] 

[16] Starck 1925, p.35; The World's Columbian Exhibition Chicago 1893, Special catalogue of the collective exhibition of scientific instruments and appliances exhibited by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Mechanik und Optik, Berlin, p.65: The commencement of export to the US dates 35 years back.

[17] Of the Queen catalogues online, 1859, 1868, 1871, 1877 and 1883, none of them make mention of Riefler drawing instruments.

[18] Homepage of Dieter Riefler https://riefler.wixsite.com/riefler

[19] So prahlt England mit Deutschen Arbeiten. Bayerisches Volksblatt (Regensburger Morgenblatt), 30.07.1853. [BSB Digipress].

[20] Dem Verdienste seine Krone. Tag- und Anzeigeblatt für Kempten und das Allgäu 25.12.1867 [BSB Digipress]

[21] Riefler's Reissfeder mit Präzisionsschraube Dingler's Polytechnisches Journal, Vol. 313, p.14, 1899. [SLUB]. The first of these scissor type pens appears to have been by Friedrich Lutterberg, Reisszeugfabrik in Mittweida. Dingler's Polytechnisches Journal, Vol. 311, p.19, 1899; and based on patent DE92219 (30.04.1896). See also Richter's 'Reissfeder mit einer um die Stellschraube drehbaren Spitze' DRGM 84595 patented 08.11.1897 [Der Mechaniker 1898, p.6.].

[22] Fleischhauer's 'Zirkel mit Maßstab' constructed by Paul Colla & Co, Halle an der Saale, Germany. [F. L. Haarmann's Zeitschrift für Bauhandwerker. Jahrgang 1866, p.148, GoogleBooks]

[23] Die Vedette 12. Mai 1886 [ANNO]. Friedrich Klintz (*1853;†1920), factory founded in 1881 in Vienna. in 1924 Klintz established a branch factory in Budapest. Klintz had a workforce of about 70 in 1925. Klintz was active until 1953 at least.