Gebrüder Wichmann (fl. 1873-2021+), Berlin.

     The company was founded by Emil Wichmann in 1873 at Karlstrasse 14 in Berlin. He is soon joined by his brother Gustav to become Gebrüder Wichmann. The company's vision to trade in everything that concerned technical drawing and surveying in the broadest sense was bound to lead to success.

     Gebr. Wichmann owed a good part of its early growth to the decision to go into production and manufacture themselves. For example, the drawing instruments fabricated by Wichmann are marked with a superscript W in some of their early catalogues. Next to retailing slide rules made by various manufacturers, Wichmann introduced their own in-house made cardboard slide rules, covered by the 1903 DRGM 196001 patent. 

    In 1916 the control of the company was passed on to Emil's sons Herbert and Erhard (1887-1962).

    In 1920 R. Reiss (Bad Liebenwerda) manufacturing company was incorporated into the previously pure trading company. Founded by Robert Reiss in 1882, had been manufacturing broad range of drawing and surveying instruments. The publishing house "Allgemeine Vermessungs-Nachrichten", owned by R. Reiss, was later converted into an independent publishing company, Herbert Wichmann-Verlag, and separated from R. Reiss. In 1926 Gebr. Wichmann secured the majority in Max Hildebrand (Freiberg, Saxony), one of the oldest factories for the production of geodetic instruments. Thus two not insignificant manufacturing plants were under the coordinating influence of Gebr. Wichmann. 

Fig. 1 and 2: In order to compete with the ever popular round system instruments made by Riefler, Wichmann started manufacturing their own version of the round system in 1895 [4]. These were made available in basically 2 versions - compasses having a traditional 'clamp' pivot joint and the Kugelkopf patented in 1895 [5].

Fig. 3 and 4: Gebr. Wichmann round system drawing instruments for students. 

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[1] 100 Jahre Gebr. Wichmann in Vermessungswesen und Raumordnung: VR 1973.

[2] Adressbuch Berlin [Digitale Landesbibliothek Berlin ZLB]

[3] RST 29 – Jena, 23. April 2016 Hans Kordetzky WICHMANN_ZungenEinstellgetriebe.pdf .

[4] Wichmann, Zirkel in Rundform, Zentralblatt der Bauverwaltung XV. Jahrgang, 1895, p.244. [Digitale Landesbibliothek Berlin ZLB]

[5] Gebrauchsmuster 36233 [Patentblatt 1895]. Zirkel mit am Kopfende im Kreisschnitt aneinanderschließenden, ohne Gabelung durch Dorn zusammengehaltenen Schenkeln. Gebr Wichmann, Berlin N., Karlstr. 13.  22/1 95. – W. 2549.

[6] Farben-Zeitung 1917, p. 713 [GoogleBooks]. Gebr. Wichmann, Malutensilien, jetzt offene Handelsgesellschaft, welche am 7. Oktober 1916 begonnen hat. Gesellschafter sind die Kaufleute zu Berlin, die Herbert Wichmann und Erhard Wichmann. Gesamtprokuristen, deren je zwei gemeinschaftlich zu Vertraten ermächtigt, die Herren Otto Müller, Pankow, Ernst Leo, Berlin, und Georg Neumann Berlin. Die Prokuristen Herbert Wichmann und Erhard Wichmann sind erloschen.

[7] Papier Zeitung 1920 p. 1277 [GoogleBooks]. Die Firma R. Reiß in Liebenwerda wurde in eine Ges. m. b. H. gewandelt. Zum Geschäftsführer ist Herr Herbert Wichmann, zu Prokuristen die Herren A. Ley, H. Tschirner, A. Brembach bestellt worden.

[8] Jahoda & Bergmann, Die Messtechnik 1941, p. 15 [GoogleBooks]

[9] Founded 1887 by Josef Jahoda and Heinrich Bergmann. Die Presse 4. März 1887, p.7. [ANNO]

[10] „Liefere nur das Beste“ Geschichte der Firma REISS 

[11] Gebr. Wichmann 1904/05 catalogue [Internet Archive]

[12] Gebr. Wichmann Vermessungsinstrumente und Messgeräte Nr. 30/L (1933), [Internet Archive]

[13] Other pocket-watch slide rules (not exhaustive): Tera-Rotor Rechenscheibe (1935), Emil Himmelsbach Kreisrechenschieber (1905), Boucher Calculigraphe, Calculimetre Charpentier, Halden Calculex, Arithmographe de Gattey (1810), Cercle a Calcul Sonne, regle a calcul de Weiss, Prof. Herrmann Rechenknecht, Arithmographe Renaud-Tachet, Meyrat & Perdrizet, Eigenmann's Rechenuhr (not a true pocket-watch slide rule) with ill. on p.109. See further: Peter M. Hopp; Pocket-watch Slide Rules, 2011.