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Heinrichsen Tin Figures Foundry
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What the doo kitchens did for the girls, the tin soldier did for the boys, since, one could say, these tin figures brought the big wide world into the parlor.
There still a company in Nuremberg, with a 150-year tradition, whose name is respected in the world of tin soldiers: the Heinrichsen Company.
The magistrate of the royal Bavarian city of Nuremberg hereby grants a license to the engraver Ernst Karl Peter Heinrichsen, in answer to his repeatedly submitted petition, for the casting of miniature children’s toys with Rose’s quick-flowing metals.
Ernst Heinrichsen was a Silesian who got stranded in Nuremberg during his wandering years and decided to try his luck at making tin soldiers. The foundry he established is now owned by the sixth generation of his family. They are the keepers of a unique treasure, 16,000 molds for tin figures, most of them engraved in slate. Today, it’s a lost art form.
Every year, Brigitte Grobe re-issues a limited series of historical figures from this archive. The manufacturing process has remained unchanged for 150 years.
When the figures come out of the mold, first they have to be carefully cleaned, the casting pins have to be broken off, and the figures have to be washed and then painted.
By the time their cheeks and noses are shiny red, and the last feather in their hats gets that last daub of the paint, some figures have gone through thirty stages. This work once had to be done at home for poor pay.
Like many other toys, tin figureswere invented in Nuremberg, appearing sometime in the mid 16th century.
Ernst Heinrichsen was himself a brilliant engraver and quickly achieved success with his delicate creations. As Nuremberg was a publishing and art town, there was never a shortage of talent able to engrave shapes into slate masterfully.
In a time before television, tin figure often served to recreate far-off events and exotic lands. The tinsmiths got their models from illustrations in broadsheets and books. They would use the figures to represent current events. On the one hand, there were civilian motifs, such as markets or zoos, and on the other, military things.
Actually, business really started booming for the Heinrichsen Company only after the Crimean War broke out, and there was a very big demand for the battles of the war. We did quite a lot of casting then. Then when they were painted, the figures were packed into wickerboxes. They used to be sold by weight, for example, one pound was about 240 infantrymen.
Heinrichsen even cast the Czar’s bodyguard regiment in tin. It was an artistic, and moreover, a business triumph.
Wilhelm Heinrichsen was very much the business type of person. He didn’t have his father’s easy touch for graving. He had to learn engraving the hard way, but for that he was very good at dealing with financial matters. And, commercially, he got the company into top shape.
After the Second World War, Heinrichsen sisters took over the business. The irreplaceable molds and all the documents had come through the storm of war unscathed. Brigitte Grobe, the present owner, would like to pass the business on to the next generation.
I think, and at least I hope, that the seventh generation will still be interested in the tradition and will carry it on. I can’t imagine that the demand among collectors’ circles will be dropping offf at any time soon.
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百年亨利森攝像廠
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紐倫堡至今仍有一家生産錫人士兵的公司，已有150年的歷史。它的名字在業內享有盛譽，它就是亨利森公司。
皇家巴伐利亞紐倫堡市行政長官，曾專門對歐內斯特 卡爾 彼特 亨利森多次呈交的請願書予以答覆，同意他用錫來鑄造各種小型兒童玩具。歐內斯特 亨利森是西裏西亞人，他四處漂泊，最後來到紐倫堡，想靠製造錫人來碰碰運氣。現在，他的鑄造廠歸他的第6代子孫所有。他們擁有著獨特的財富，即16000隻錫人模子，其中多數是用石板刻製的。這在今天已經是失傳的手藝了。
每年，布裏吉特都要用這些“古董”限量製作一些具有紀念意義的錫人。其生産流程和150年前完全一致。把錫人從模子裏取出來之後，要對它進行仔細的清理，表面上的小顆粒都要刮乾淨，然後再進行清洗、上漆。從面頰和鼻子都涂成粉紅色到帽子上最後一根羽毛也著上色，這期間共經過30道工序。這些工作以前都是在家裏完成的，而且報酬低廉。
和許多別的玩具一樣，錫人在紐倫堡被首次製造出來，並在16世紀中葉流行一時。亨利森自己就是一名出色的雕刻師，他的精緻創意很快取得了成功。紐倫堡是一個出版和藝術之城，所以創作石板雕刻決不會缺乏靈感。在電視出現之前，錫人常被用來再現別處發生的事件，展現異域風情。製作者常從印刷品和書籍的插圖中尋找模型。用這些形象來反映當時人們的生活。一方面，它們反映了平民的生活，如市場、動物園等；另一方面則是軍事主題。
事實上，亨利森公司真正發達起來，是在克裏米亞戰爭爆發之後。由於戰爭爆發，錫人的需求量也增加了。公司進行了大批量生産。給錫人上完漆以後，就把它們裝進柳條箱裏。那時是按重量賣的，比如，一英鎊大約能買240個錫人步兵。亨利森公司甚至還用錫製造過沙皇的衛兵團。它不僅是藝術上的成功，更是商業上的成功。威爾赫姆 亨利森是個很有商業頭腦的人。他不像他的父親那樣善於雕刻，雕刻對他來講太難了。但他卻非常擅長處理商業事務。正是他把公司帶入了鼎盛時期。
二戰後，亨利森姐妹倆接管了公司。那些獨一無二的模具歷經戰亂卻依然完好無損。公司現在的主人布裏吉特正打算把業務移交給下一代。我想，至少我希望，第七代傳人會對這份祖傳的生意感興趣，並且把它發揚光大。我認為，收藏者的需求量在短時間內是不會下降的。
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