Artists Christmas Cards sent to Warren Schmitz of Schmitz-Horning Co.

By Janet Dodrill

Who doesn’t have an appreciation for an artist’s handmade Christmas card, or one displaying their artwork?

My grandfather, Warren R. Schmitz, who ran the Schmitz-Horning Company (1905-1964) from 1938-1964 received Christmas cards from artists who were either associated with the company or family friends, including Harvey Stief, Walter Sinz, and Charles Reiffel. Here are a few examples of the wonderful artwork on cards he received from them in the 1930s and 1940s.

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Charles Reiffel

Walter Sinz

Walter Sinz

Walter Sinz

Walter Sinz

Harvey Stief

Harvey Stief

Harvey Stief

Harvey Stief

Schmitz-Horning Company Wall Frieze Patent

By Janet Dodrill

Schmitz-Horning Company, a well-established Cleveland wall covering printing firm, 1905-1964, had a patent granted in 1906, from the United States Patent Office, for the printed frieze for walls. It was signed by co-owners Hugo M. Schmitz I (my great-grandfather, 1867-1938), president, artist and lithographer, and William Horning, artist and lithographer, along with Warren R. Cox, head salesman.

Printed frieze for walls patent granted to the Schmitz-Horning Co., 1906, sheet 1. Photo: Google Patents

Printed frieze for walls patent granted to the Schmitz-Horning Co., 1906, sheet 2. Photo: Google Patents

The patent information:
http://www.google.com/patents/US830931

Copyright article and images. All rights reserved. Not to be used without permission.

Global Online Life Drawing Groups Fulfill While #StayAtHome

By Janet Dodrill

Because of Covid-19, it has been safer to stay at home. As an artist, the art life drawing groups that I once attended have not met since early March, 2020. A couple of the groups have moved to Zoom or Facebook Live. I have found dozens of additional art groups online, both out of state and out of the country. I have been fortunate enough to stay busy with these drawing sessions, while meeting people, and fulfilling the sense of community that I seek in addition to improving my drawing skills. The life models have their own remote cameras and setups at their homes or studios, and these sessions have brought people together from all over the world.

I am especially impressed with the talent, professionalism, athleticism, and creativity of the models. Additionally, the organizations have been offering theme-inspired live drawing sessions on Zoom. In the past couple weeks I participated in a Picasso’s Vollard Suite inspired session featuring models Andrew Crayford @andrewcrayford1 and Annie Mae @amlifemodel both of London, a two-day live performance by Juliano Hollivard @julianohollivard of Brazil with constant movement by the model with lighting, music, poetry, video, props and masks, and most recently a session in the style of Matisse, the Odalisques, with model Valentina Rock @valentinarocklondon. Another group simply draws each other’s portraits. Most of them I discovered on Instagram, and there are many more yet to be discovered.

Some of my favorite (online) life drawing groups during the pandemic, on Instagram:

Adrian Dutton Life Drawing, London @adriandutton_life_drawing (Zoom)
https://www.adriandutton.com

The Renaissance Workshop, London @therenaissanceworkshop (Zoom)
https://therenaissanceworkshop.com/product-category/life-drawing

2 B Or Not 2 B Collective @2bornot2bcollective, London (Zoom)
https://linktr.ee/2bornot2bcollective

London Drawing, London @londondrawing (Zoom)
https://londondrawing.com

Life Drawing Barcelona, Spain @lifedrawingbarcelona (Zoom)
https://linktr.ee/lifedrawingbarcelona

Amanda Achen @theartache, California (Zoom)
https://linktr.ee/amandaachen

On Facebook:

Murray Hill Life Drawing, Cleveland, Ohio (Zoom)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/65156305856

The Pretentious Cleveland Portrait Artists, Cleveland, Ohio (Facebook Livestream)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/347696515301192

Website:

Shoal of Art Meetup, London (Zoom)
https://www.meetup.com/London-Shoal-of-Art-Meetup

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Matisse, the Odalisques, theme with model Valentina Rock, by the collaboration of Adrian Dutton Life Drawing and Madhouse Studios, watercolor and ink by Janet Dodrill.

An ink drawing by Janet Dodrill of Juliano Hollivard’s Day Two, The Sacred, performance life drawing session through The Renaissance Workshop.

Schmitz-Horning Co. Wallpaper Featured at Cooper Hewitt Design Museum

By Janet Dodrill

The Cooper Hewitt Design Museum of the Smithsonian Institution features a collection of Schmitz-Horning Company wallpaper.

Schmitz-Horning Co., a Cleveland wallpaper and mural manufacturing firm, was in business from 1905 to 1964. Cooper Hewitt was gifted 111 wallpaper rolls in a variety of patterns by the Wallpaper Council, Inc. of New York City in 1960, and they spotlight specific papers in different areas of their site.

Here are some of Cooper Hewitt’s links that feature Schmitz-Horning wallpaper.

THE OUTSIDE COMES INSIDE, 2017
https://www.cooperhewitt.org/2017/12/17/the-outside-comes-inside/
Learn about the 1913-1914 Schmitz-Horning Co. catalog in the Cooper Hewitt Design Library and features and qualities of the friezes, and about Smithsonian libraries’ Adopt-a-Book-Program, for books that need support for preservation treatment.

Schmitz-Horning Company catalog, 1913-1914

THE SCENIC HUDSON IN YOUR HOME, 2015
https://www.cooperhewitt.org/2015/08/27/the-scenic-hudson-in-your-home/
Featuring Scenic Hudson scenic wallpaper by Schmitz-Horning Co., 1930-1940.

Schmitz-Horning Company, Scenic Hudson wallpaper pattern, 1930-1940

DECORATIVE WALL MAP, 2015
https://www.cooperhewitt.org/2015/07/05/decorative-wall-map/
Featuring a beautifully-illustration map section by artist Glenn M. Shaw for Schmitz-Horning Co.

Schmitz-Horning Company, Smuggler’s Cove wall map, 1950

WALL STORIES: CHILDREN’S WALLPAPERS AND BOOKS, 2007
https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/exhibitions/35350907/
A past museum exhibition that is now partially displayed online.

Schmitz-Horning Company, Kindergarten Cut-Outs wall mural, 1906

THE SCHMITZ-HORNING CO.
https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/people/18046573/objects/
Explore Cooper Hewitt’s collection of Schmitz-Horning items.

Schmitz-Horning Company, Chinese Embroidery wallpaper pattern, 1930-1940

It is wonderful to have this resource offered by the museum, preserving these fine papers to be appreciated and enjoyed by all.

Images from Cooperhewitt.org used under the Fair Use copyright act.

Frieze by Schmitz-Horning Co. Based on Henry G. Keller Painting

By Janet Dodrill

The Garden of the Gods, No. 362, wall frieze, Schmitz-Horning Co. 1912 catalog, from the painting by Henry G. Keller

American artist Henry G. Keller (1869-1949) designed works for Cleveland’s Schmitz-Horning Company, a wallpaper manufacturer. A frieze, which appeared in a 1912 catalog (from our Schmitz family archive), The Garden of the Gods (the gateway, with Pike’s Peak in the distance), No. 362, was from the painting by Henry Keller. The pattern was made-up of a sequence of six sections, 36 inches wide by 15 feet repeat. These wall decorations had unlimited uses, as the catalog states, in both residences and public places such as hotels, restaurants, theaters and club rooms.

Henry Keller, ca. 1920 (source: Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution)

I am in the process of researching the painting, and will update this post with anything I discover.

Henry Keller was born the same year as my great-grandfather, Hugo Max Schmitz, co-founder and president of Schmitz-Horning, which was founded in 1905. Based on that, Mr. Keller must have been in between the ages of 36 and 45 when the wall frieze was manufactured.

Copyright article and images. All rights reserved. Not to be used without permission.

Resources:

Photo, Henry Keller, ca. 1920 / unidentified photographer. Henry G. Keller papers, Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution
http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/images/detail/henry-keller-6384

Schmitz Family Archives

Detail, The Garden of the Gods, frieze, Schmitz-Horning Co., chromolithograph

The Rhyme of a Run, Schmitz-Horning Co.

By Janet Dodrill

A 1907 nursery rhyme book, named The Rhyme of a Run (Published by Blackie & Sons Ltd., London), featured lovely illustrations by Florence S. Harrison of England. She was a prominent art nouveau-style children’s book illustrator of the times.

Schmitz-Horning Company (1905-1964) of Cleveland, Ohio offered the illustrations (copyrighted 1911), along with other well-know, nursery rhymes of the time, in high quality color lithographic wall murals in an early catalog of wallpaper and friezes.

These are beautifully-rendered and printed lithographs and they were published with agreement with the H.M. Caldwell Co. (1896-1914), a publishing company in New York and Boston. I do not know if which skilled Schmitz-Horning artist reproduced the illustrations onto lithographic plates.

Luckily, we had this shown below set in the family. They were used by a cousin who used them when she taught in the classroom. She had them laminated which helped to preserve them. It is the only know set in our (Schmitz) family.

The catalog description reads:
The Rhyme of a Run (Copyrighted 1911)

A series of six panels from The Rhyme of a Run. A fascinating decoration for the nursery, showing the downfall of the little boy that stole the plums.

Published by special arrangement with the H.M. Caldwell Co.

Six panels to the set, each eleven by twenty-eight inches. Sold only by the set.

The book, The Rhyme of a Run, which contains the complete set of these rhymes illustrated in colors, can be obtained from your local bookseller or from the publishers, the H.M. Caldwell Co., New York and Boston.

Schmitz-Horning Co. Panoramic Friezes Wall Decorations catalog, page 34. Published by special arrangement with the H.M. Caldwell Co., 1911, New York and Boston

Schmitz-Horning Co. color lithograph wall mural, catalog no. 45

Schmitz-Horning Co. color lithograph wall mural, catalog no. 46

Schmitz-Horning Co. color lithograph wall mural, catalog no. 47

Schmitz-Horning Co. color lithograph wall mural, catalog no. 48

Schmitz-Horning Co. color lithograph wall mural, catalog no. 49

Schmitz-Horning Co. color lithograph wall mural, catalog no. 50

Above photos: Schmitz family archives

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The Rhyme of a Run, book cover, Published by Blackie & Sons Ltd., London, 1907

The Rhyme of a Run, book illustration, 1907

The Rhyme of a Run, book illustration, 1907

The Rhyme of a Run, book illustration, 1907

Above photo credits: Jonkers.com (cover) and Etsy/enmauricebooks

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Copyright article and images. All rights reserved. Not to be used without permission.

Resources:

Schmitz-Horning Co. Panoramic Friezes Wall Decorations catalog, page 34

The English Catalogue of Books, Page 125, Google Books

Jonkers Rare Books

Wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Harrison

Etsy/enmauricebooks

Schmitz-Horning Wallpaper Discovered in Family Photos

Chinese Floral wallpaper pattern blue color in a Schmitz-Horning Company catalog.

By Janet Dodrill

Growing up in the Schmitz family, our house was lined with Schmitz-Horning Company wallpaper! The company was co-founded by my great grandfather, Hugo M. Schmitz I, in 1905, who served as president. After his death in 1938 the company was run by his son and my grandfather, Warren R. Schmitz, until it closed about 1964.

My parents bought the family house from my grandparents, and it had Schmitz-Horning wallpaper in almost every room. Additionally, many family friends and extended family also displayed the company’s wallpaper in their homes. It was high quality and the patterns were beautiful.

After we purchased the house from my grandparents, we remodeled. It was the 1960s and we wanted a more modern look. Luckily my dad took a few interior photographs before all the wallpaper was stripped and removed.

Recently, I was going through one of my grandmother’s photo albums and found a few more shots of the wallpaper she had captured in the homes of friends and family, mostly in the 1940s. Here are a few photos from the albums with their corresponding catalog page.

Copyright article and images. All rights reserved. Not to be used without permission.

 

Chinese Floral, Schmitz-Horning Company wallpaper pattern, from a Schmitz family photo album.

Chinese Floral wallpaper pattern in a Schmitz-Horning Company catalog.

Westchester Hunt, Schmitz-Horning Company wallpaper pattern, from a Schmitz family photo album.

Schmitz-Horning Company catalog cover showing the Westchester Hunt scenic pattern.

Westchester Hunt wallpaper pattern in a Schmitz-Horning Company catalog.

Westchester Hunt Kro-Mura(TM) wallpaper schematic from a Schmitz-Horning Company catalog.

Old Dominion, Schmitz-Horning Company wall mural, from a family photo, with Warren R. Schmitz pictured on the left.

Old Dominion, scenic wall paper manufactured by Schmitz-Horning Company.

Old Dominion scenic wallpaper detail by Schmitz-Horning Company.

Schmitz-Horning Company scenic wallpaper similar to the Elysia pattern, from a Schmitz family photo album.

Elysia scenic wallpaper pattern in a Schmitz-Horning Company catalog.

World Map, Schmitz-Horning Company scenic wallpaper pattern, from a family photo.

World Map, one sheet wallpaper pattern in a Schmitz-Horning Company catalog.

Ming Floral, Schmitz-Horning Company scenic wall covering, from a Schmitz family photo.

Ming Floral scenic wall paper panel detail from a Schmitz-Horning Company catalog.

Schmitz-Horning’s Wells Fargo Scenic Wallpaper

By Janet Dodrill

Wells Fargo was a scenic wallpaper pattern manufactured by the Schmitz-Horning Company of Cleveland, Ohio. The pattern can be seen in the late 1950s company line and catalog, Murals of America. It was available in two ink color options and two paper colors choices, pattern numbers 77411, 77412, 77421, and 77422.

The Cleveland History Center of Western Reserve Historical Society has a complete set of this pattern in their collection. Another pattern in the same style and color schemes and by the same artist, was called Anchor Inn. It was considered a companion to Wells Fargo and could be used in the same room if ordered in the same run.

Recently, someone in Pennsylvania contacted me who purchased the Wells Fargo wall mural set from an auction in New Jersey, still in the original box.

Paul A. Meunier, an artist at Schmitz-Horning in the 1930s, who became president of Cleveland’s R.E. May, Inc. (lithographic plate company), had a personal collection of lithographs, and in a 1960s company catalog photo taken in the office, a framed version of the Wells Fargo mural can be seen hanging on the wall.

Specifications (Murals of America catalog):
A washable scenic paper in four sections each 40″ wide by 80″ high. It is a self-finishing “vignette” style mural. The wings L & R are printed on one section which must be cut apart. Lowest point of design starts 6″ from bottom of the paper and extends 45″ high, leaving 29″ of background above highest clouds. Background sections are available to file in at ends, top, and bottom of the mural.

Copyright article and images. All rights reserved. Not to be used without permission.

Murals of America by Schmitz-Horning.

Schmitz-Horning Company’s Wells Fargo scenic wall mural pattern, no. 77411.

Schmitz-Horning Company’s Wells Fargo scenic wall mural pattern, no. 77411, detail.

Schmitz-Horning Company’s Wells Fargo scenic wall mural pattern, no. 77411, detail.

Schmitz-Horning Company’s Wells Fargo scenic wall mural pattern, no. 77412.

Schmitz-Horning Company’s Wells Fargo scenic wall mural pattern, no. 77421.

Schmitz-Horning Company’s Wells Fargo scenic wall mural pattern, no. 77422.

Schmitz-Horning Company’s Anchor Inn scenic wall mural pattern, no. 77311, a companion paper by the same artist and using the same color schemes.

A photograph of the Wells Fargo pattern in Schmitz-Horning Company’s Murals of America catalog.
Catalog description: Wells Fargo is a self-finishing vignette 12′ 8″ in length. It will cut down for shorter walls or will center nicely on much longer walls. There is excellent detail in this mural of a frontier town.

Wells Fargo mural hanging in the offices of R.E. May, Inc. litho plate company as shown in this photo from a 1960s catalog. (Source: remay.com)

Original Wall Mural Designs from Schmitz-Horning Company

By Janet Dodrill

Beautiful original scenic wall covering designs, in a variety of mediums, such as watercolor, guoache, and oil, on paper or illustration board, from the Schmitz-Horning Company (1905-1964), discovered in the Hugo M. and Warren R. Schmitz family archives.

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Wall Mural Design Panels for Schmitz-Horning-Company, Floral Garden by Hugo Max Schmitz, early 1900s.

Original Scenic Wall Covering Design by Artist, Havenstein.

Color Palette.

Original Scenic Wall Mural design, Artist Unknown, Schmitz-Horning Company.

Color Palette.

Early Postcard of Schmitz-Horning Co. Wallpaper Pattern

By Janet Dodrill

On an eBay search for Schmitz-Horning Company items, I found this postcard portraying one of their bathroom wallpapers, a windmill pattern, from an early catalog (1909-1910).

Until this discovery, I was not aware of the postcard or the company’s attempts at the marketing of their wallpaper.

The postcard reads:
The Windmill
No. 605
A practical bath room decoration, made in Delft blue. Two sections, each 20 inches wide and 60 inches high. Must be alternated to match. Sold by the section
The Schmitz-Horning Co.
Panoramic Friezes
Cleveland, Ohio

It is postmarked Rochester, NY, 1909, with a one cent stamp. The eBay seller shipped it from Pennsylvania.

The Schmitz-Horning Company, a Cleveland-based wall covering manufacturer, was in business from 1905 to 1964. Co-founded by my great-grandfather, Hugo M. Schmitz, it was later run by my grandfather, Warren R. Schmitz.

Copyright article and images. All rights reserved. Not to be used without permission.

 

The Windmill, Schmitz-Horning Co. wallpaper pattern no. 605, postcard, front, 1909.

 

The Windmill, Schmitz-Horning Co. wallpaper pattern no. 605, postcard, back, 1909.

 

Schmitz-Horning Co. 1909-1910 catalog page, with wallpaper pattern The Windmill, no. 605.