Johann Jiroschek
(1810 - 1891)
(Jirauschek)
Johann Jiroschek manufactured tools for joiners, turners and coopers in Vienna's Gumpendorf district.
The first address book entry of his company dates from 1846 with the address Gumpendorfer Hauptstrasse 398 as Johann Jirauschek (note: the spelling of his name changed over time).
The product range was expanded over the years to include tools for wainwrights, carpenters and bookbinders, and from the mid-1880s Jiroschek traded as a tool factory. However, the granting of a factory licence is not documented.
In the mid-1860s the address was changed to Gumpendorferstraße 68 due to a rearrangement of the house numbers.
In 1871, Jiroschek's son Johann died of tuberculosis at the age of 28. The obituary shows that he was also a Joiner.
In June 1886 Karl and Gustav Jiroschek bought a house at Dominikanergasse 9 (also in Gumpendorf), and the workshop is subsequently moved there. After that, all three, Johann, Gustav and Karl Jiroschek, can also be found as tool makers at the same address in Adolph Lehmann's address book of Vienna.
In 1888, Gustav Jiroschek is mentioned as a house owner in a list of alternate jurors published by the Vienna Regional Court for the month of November of the same year.
Up to this point I assumed that Karl and Gustav were Johann Jiroschek's sons.
But Gustav died of tuberculosis in January 1891 at the age of only 33. In the obituaries he is described once as the son of a house owner and once as a joiner's assistant, which initially led me to assume that it could be Gustav's son of the same name. However, the name Gustav is completely missing from the address book entries after 1891, so I conclude from this (and from Gustav's age) that there was only one person of this name, and that he was Karl Jiroschek's son.
Johann Jiroschek dies of age-related illness on 3 August 1891 at the age of 81.
Karl Jiroschek now runs the business alone, and from 1893 the spelling of his name changes back to "Jirauschek".
In 1910 he applies for a building permit for a rebuild in Dominikanergasse.
The last address book entry as a tool carpenter dates from 1914. I assume that Karl Jirauschek closed down the business either in 1914 or in the course of the World War.
After the war there are two more address book entries from the years 1917 and 1919, but only as a private person.
This jointer by Johann Jiroschek has two interesting details. First of all, the very elegant handle catches the eye, which is quite different from the handles of other makers. Even more unusual is Johann Jiroschek's own signature on the plane iron bed, which tells us something about the master's pride in craftsmanship. Unfortunately, a previous owner reworked the groove for the cap-iron screw of the double iron and thus partially destroyed the signature.
The age cannot be determined, there are simply too few Jiroschek planes left. The fine details show the high level of craftsmanship of Johann Jiroschek.
(aus der Sammlung Anton Vierthaler)
A Jiroschek shoulder plane from my own collection. The iron is from D. Flir. If it is still the original iron, it was made after 1884. This simple plane also shows fine craftsmanship in the details.
