Beissbarth

1910 - 1920

	A drawing showing the interior of the Beissbarth car workshop. The gigantic car showroom had 170 parking spaces.
Hermann Beissbarth had a talent for shapes, lines and design and created ever more distinctive Beissbarth car bodies. A sales catalogue from 1910 offers 15 different luxury car bodies that can be combined with different engines, wheelbases, track widths and chassis. The Beissbarth customer list of August 1912 contains the names of the high and mighty, first and foremost among them Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria, his Majesty the German Crown Prince, the Archdukes of Austria and many of the Bavarian Royal Family. The Beissbarth brothers were appointed to supply the Bavarian Royal Household and sold their luxury cars as far afield as Austria and Italy. During this period, the number of motor vehicles in Munich was increasing rapidly. In 1910, there were 1,303 private cars and these were involved in a total of 182 accidents resulting in 11 deaths. Munich’s population was 596,467..
		HisRoyal Highness Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria in his favourite car with a Beissbarth body. Photograph from around 1910.

On December 12th, 1912, Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria died at the ripe old age of 91. With the prudence characteristic
of his 26-year reign, he had prepared the way in good time for his eldest son, Ludwig III, who took the Bavarian Throne in 1913.

The Beissbarth brothers’ factory on Tegernseer Land-strasse.
4 storeys, each measuring 2000 m² , a shed measuring 2,500 m²and an open area measuring 347,000 square feet. Constructed in 1913.

Ludwig Hohlwein Poster from 1913

In his time, Ludwig Hohlwein (1874 – 1949) was known as the “Munich Poster King”. His posters, with their famous trademark signature, “Ludwig ohlwein München“, were distributed as far afield as America. His works accurately reflect the changing times, his style ranging from Art Nouveau to Nazi propaganda.