Hugo Erfurt

Heinrich Wilhelm Hugo Erfurt ( born February 13, 1834 in Schwelm, † March 4, 1922 in Hausen bei Dahl Beyenburg ) was a German entrepreneur and inventor of woodchip wallpaper.

Life

He was the son of the paper maker Heinrich Erfurt (1803-1856) and his wife Auguste Braselmann ( 1801-1871 ). Father Henry had worked himself up with grandfather Friedrich Erfurt (1768-1837) from the paper maker apprentice to owner of a powerful paper mill and get a license to plant the paper mill Friedrich Erfurt & Sohn in 1827. In 1844, his father had erected one of the world's first paper machine, so that the production could be increased considerably. After his father's death (1856 ) his mother Auguste took over the lead for the next 13 years until it transferred the succession to the third generation company, their two sons, Henry and Hugo. During this time, the production shifted to the production of base paper for wallpaper manufacturing. As of 1859, the Cologne Tapetenfabrik Flamersheim & Steinmann was a major customer for almost 20 years.

In 1864 presented the experimental Hugo Erfurt, actually a trained pharmacist, a paper on window dressing and as a basis for print wallpaper forth. This product, called 1885 Ingrain or wood fiber wallpaper, is considered the precursor of woodchip and became known in 1918 under that name. The real boom of paintable wallcovering is finally launched in the Bauhaus era of the 1920s. Today's brand name " Erfurt woodchip " is derived from the name of Hugo Erfurt.

On December 15, 1861 Erfurt married in his hometown Schwelm his relative ( cousin? ) Catharina Maria Auguste Hager, the daughter of Edward Hager and Amalie Braselmann. Her sons Hugo (1863-1937) and Heinrich Erfurt (1868-1945) took over in 1893, the paper mill in the fourth generation and expanded the business from as far as North America. Interrupted by the First World War, production started in 1918 again. Short term paper also for emergency money was made.

In Wuppertal, the Hugo -Erfurt- street was named after Erfurt.