Fotoeins Fotografie

Above/featured:“Greetings from Vienna.” Vienna-themed snow globes, 25- and 45mm sizes.

The five-year old boy sat transfixed, flipping the paperweight then back the other way, watching the “snow” slowly float and settle. My fascination with snow globes didn’t wane, long decades after that very first memory.

In the Austrian capital city of Vienna, I’m visiting a small shop and accompanying museum to learn about the production of the “original snow globe” whose story begins with Erwin Perzy in 1900.

Perzy who produced surgical instruments was tasked to improve the output from the recently invented electric light bulb and further brighten hospital surgery rooms. He realized that a water-filled glass sphere containing loose reflective bits could provide a solution, except that the materials kept sinking. Flakes of white semolina tended to stay afloat longer; this experiment reminded him of light snowfall. After registering an official patent for the “Schneekugel” (snow globe), Erwin and his brother Ludwig created a shop to produce and sell small snow globes whose early designs included churches. Today, the 3rd generation of the Perzy continues to produce snow globes of various sizes; what material the “snow” is and how it continues to “float” remain secret.

Snow globes in the 17.

In the city’s 17th district, that yellow building looks promising.

175-year old building at Schumanngasse 87; note the row of snowglobes at top.

Puzzle.

Shop on the 1st floor: so many snow globes, so little time.

Assortment of small snowglobes, including the “Silent Night” chapel in Oberndorf bei Salzburg.

Vienna-themed snowglobes with the greetings: “Gruß aus Wien”.

The snowglobe museum is on the ground floor.

Rosebud! “Citizen Kane” (1941).

Snowglobe inspiration, from “Citizen Kane” (1941).

Left: Edwin Perzy I. Lower-centre: their oldest snow globe from 1920.

Their oldest snowglobe from 1920: basilica in Mariazell in the Austrian state of Styria.

Miniature cast or model for Secession building, likely for an 80mm globe.

Secession snowglobe, diameter (⌀) 25mm.

Secession snowglobe, with “snowfall.”

Covid 2020 edition: rolls of toilet paper.

Covid 2020 edition: face-masks.

Von Hernals in die ganze Welt (From Hernals to the entire world.) The snowglobe shop and museum are located in the city district of Hernals.

Miniature models of Riesenrad (giant ferris wheel) & Stephansdom (St. Stephen’s Cathedral); examples of 25mm-, 45mm-, 80mm-snowglobes. A 1€ coin (diameter 23mm) and 2€ coin (⌀ 26mm) are shown for size comparison.

Three 45mm snowglobes: purchased, packed, and shipped 8500 km to the other side of the planet (iPT6).

Genau 12. Uhr (high noon).

More segments

•   BBC News 2013, 3m50s video in English.
•   DW Euromaxx 2021, 4m10s video in English.

One of the very first and surviving water globes appeared as a souvenir at the 1889 World’s Fair in Paris. The globe fitted with a tiny model of Paris’ Eiffel Tower is attributed to postcard editors Léon and Levy. This water globe is part of the collection of the Bergstrom-Mahler Museum of Glass in the United States.

Directions

Public transport with Wiener Linien: tram 9 to stop “Sommarugagasse”, or tram 42 to stop/terminus at “Antonigasse”. Admission is free to both shop and museum; check their website for hours.

( View map location at OpenStreetMap )

My visit to the Schneekugelmanufaktur was neither requested nor sponsored. Except for one image, I made all other images on 9 Jun 2022 with a Fujifilm X70 fixed-lens prime. This post appears on Fotoeins Fotografie at fotoeins DOT com as https://wp.me/p1BIdT-n25.