Felix Rosenstiels Widow and Son

of 14-16 Cowcross Street, London, EC1.

Established London 1880

Felix Rosenstiel was a well-known figure in the German art world during the 19th century. He often travelled to London on behalf of a picture framing company and developed a sound knowledge of the London framing and art world.

1880 He moved to London with his Romanian wife Josephine and established an art and framing business in the City. The struggle to create his own business took a toll on Felix's health. Realising he had a serious heart condition and not wishing his small but sound business to close in the event of his death, he requested Josephine to carry on after his demise.

1895 Shortly afterwards, Felix suffered a fatal heart attack. By this time, the Rosenstiel's reputation had grown and business flourished, keeping pace with the expanding market for intaglio and other impressions of great works of art. Josephine honoured her promise to continue Felix's work, and the company name expanded to Felix Rosenstiel's Widow - a title as unusual then as now. With three children to raise, Josephine's struggle was an uphill one. When her eldest son Percy reached 15, she brought him into the company on the advice of the accountants. Both Percy and his brother Edgar, who joined a few years later, had inherited their father's business sense. The trading name was altered to Felix Rosenstiel's Widow and Son and Josephine retired from active business life.

World War I. As the First World War ended, Rosenstiel's treated the austere years that followed as a challenge rather than an obstacle. Victoriana had ceased to be fashionable, demand for pictures had fallen dramatically, and the depression had arrived. It was a case of diversify or die. Rosenstiel's spent the next decade exploring fields that would astonish anyone who knows the company today; Barbola** ware, painted mirrors, coasters, calendars and table mats were just some of the opportunities the Roe brothers (the family name was changed from the Germanic Rosenstiel to the English Roe during the First World War) exploited in their fight to preserve their father's company. Their determination was rewarded.

1922 Listed Exhibitor - British Industries Fair. Publishers of Pictures of all descriptions and of all sizes for Framing, Box Tops, Calendars and Premium Gift purposes. (Stand No. K.133)

1942 Edgar died and Percy found himself running the business alone.

1945 Much of Rosenstiel's property had been obliterated or damaged by enemy action, and materials and paper were almost impossible to obtain. Percy threw himself into a wholehearted effort to restore the prosperity of the pre-war years, aided by his two eldest sons, Jervis and Peter who had returned after their war service.

1947 Listed Exhibitor - British Industries Fair. Manufacturers of Frames for Mirrors with Barbola and Hand-Painted Decoration and kindred Fancy Articles. Pictures Framed, also Publishers of Picture Prints of all descriptions for Framing, Calendars, Box-tops, etc.

1950s By the early fifties, Percy had ensured Rosenstiel's destiny. He died in 1953. An acceleration followed his death as his plans were fulfilled. Peter and Jervis continued as partners until 1957, when Rosenstiel's became a limited company.

The 1960s marked the beginning of a long period of growing public interest in reproduction prints, and Rosenstiel's gave people the opportunity to own good reproductions of paintings by old masters and introduced many talented young artists.

1965 saw the next generation join the business when the company's current Managing Director, David Roe, Jervis's son and great-grandson of Felix, decided to make fine art publishing his career. David's part was to establish firmer links with existing export customers and discover new fields abroad. His drive has taken Rosenstiel's to over 100 countries and culminated in the grant of the prestigious Queen's Award For Export Achievement in 1993. David's son, Nicolas, works in the business representing the fifth generation.

Over the years Rosenstiel's has taken over a number of publishing companies, including John Harrap and Son in 1938 and Richard Wyman and Son in 1949. In 1992, Venture Prints was acquired. Venture Prints was the publishing division of Frost and Reed, founded in 1808, whose portfolio of fine art prints and unique and historically important collection of intaglio printing plates is admired throughout the world.

In 1995, Rosenstiel's acquired many of the print publishing assets of the world-renowned company of Stehli Freres of Switzerland. Stehli was founded in Geneva in 1902 and enjoyed a reputation for quality and service throughout the world. The owners felt that Rosenstiel's had a sufficiently similar ethos to ensure the continuation of the same high levels of quality.

2007 Rosenstiel's were awarded their second Queen's Award for Enterprise under the International Trade Section.

2012 David Roe became Executive Chairman of the Company and Nicolas Roe took over as Managing Director, placing the fifth generation of the family firmly in control of the Company.

Note: **

• Barbola (work) - ornamentation with small flowers, fruits, etc., made of plastic paste coloured. [Origin: proprietary term from Fr. barbotine, a fine clay].
  • Barbola was used to create the decorative three-dimensional floral edgings for mirrors and bowls. It was purchased as a thick paste ready-mixed in tins. Once the articles dried they were painted and then varnished.

See Also

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• [2] Rosenstiel's Website