by Hillman, Goldschmitt & Szynkiewicz
Collector Books U.S., October 1997
ISBN 1-5743-2023-8
Throughout the book, the state of Thuringia is referred to incorrectly as "Thuringer". It may not seem like a big deal, but how much would you trust a tourist guide who keeps telling you that the town you are visiting is called Newjorg instead of New York ?
It is also claimed that Thuringia was "Germany/Austria" and that the "area of Thuringer changed from Austria to Germany during the period of operation of the factory", which is of course total nonsense, as Thuringia has always been German and is so far away from Austria that not even the border corrections after the wars can account for the statement in this book.
Most of the conclusions in this book can be proven wrong by simply looking at a map. The authors claim that Hermann Ohme's workshop was responsible for some pieces that show Austria as the country of origin. Hermann Ohme's factory was in Niedersalzbrunn, while the decoration studio was in Waldenburg. Both towns are located in the former Upper Silesia, which was of course German (Prussian Empire, later Third Reich) until the end of the Second World War. Every history book and map clearly shows that it was Bohemia that belonged to Austria (Austro-Hungarian Empire) and not the area of Upper Silesia.
They should at least have mentioned that the frequently quoted J.H.R. & Co. was the company of John H. Roth Co., a major US importer which was located in South Bend (Indiana). The company, sometimes better known simply as Jonroth, was founded in 1909 (Mr. Roth had previously worked as a clerk for Wheelock).
Taking all this into account, the book by Hillman, Goldschmitt & Szynkiewicz is the worst example of a collector's book I have come across. Most of the content is based on sloppy research, and the conclusions they reach are easily undermined by anyone using their own common sense and a map. They later republished their work, obviously revised, but not without complaining about how I had treated them and their work.
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