The portfolio factory Jacob Mönch & Compagnie
Just six months after the end of the rule of the Principality of Isenburg, on January 1, 1817, the Portefeuille-Fabrik Jacob Mönch & Compagnie was founded on a plot of land in the former princely garden on Neuer Markt. It grew at breakneck speed and from around 1835 at the latest covered the entire garden of the princely family.
Within a few decades, the initially very small manufactory became a manufacturer of top-quality portfolios and leather goods with a worldwide reputation and international customers. Jacob Mönch & Compagnie and its outstanding international reputation is therefore regarded today as the most important company in the development of the Offenbach leather industry.
The company produced, for example, wallets, purses and later wallets, cases, travel accessories, ladies' and sewing baskets, work tables, travel caskets with writing desks, as well as notebooks, tobacco pouches, cigar cases and tea chests. Until 1880, the large factory with its steam engines, workshops and large numbers of workers dominated the character of the square. No photographs of the factory have survived.
In 1847, Jacob Mönch bought the "Altfürstinnenhaus" next to his factory and turned it into his family home. He acquired the building from a family member: the owner, Prof. Gillé, the director of a renowned private boys' educational institution in Offenbach, was his brother-in-law. The photograph was taken around 1875.
Johann Jacob Mönch (25.9.1786 - 2.8.1874)
Johann Jacob Mönch (25.9.1786 - 2.8.1874) completed an apprenticeship as a bookbinder in Hanau and initially worked as a journeyman in two Offenbach portefeuille manufactories.
In 1809, he went to Vienna for a year to expand his knowledge in what was then the stronghold of the bookbinding and portefeuille trade. After his return, Mönch wanted to set up his own manufactory, but was not granted a license by the princely Isenburg administration. The officials feared too much competition for existing businesses.
After Offenbach became part of the Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1816, Jacob Mönch received permission to open his business within just a few days. Together with his friends, the bookbinder Ludwig Spengler and the merchant Philipp Petri, he founded the company Jacob Mönch & Compagnie. The three enjoyed huge success in a very short time: the manufactory on Neuer Marktlatz, later Paradeplatz, was the first in the industry in Germany to develop into a factory with industrial production. In 1835, 175 people were employed there, and the first steam engine was put into operation in 1849. By 1855, the factory already had 400 employees.
"In the important sector of portfolio goods, Germany currently occupies first place and among the German exhibitors the house of Jacob Mönch und Comp in Offenbach."
(Georg Viehbahn: Amtlicher Bericht über die Allgemeine Pariser Ausstellung von Erzeugnissen der Landwirthschaft, des Gewerbefleißes und der schönen Kunst im Jahre 1855, Verlag der Deutschen Geheimen Ober-Hofbuchdruckerei, Berlin 1856)
The high quality of his Portefeuille goods quickly opened the door for Jacob Mönch to export abroad. His products were in great demand in Paris, London, Vienna and many other countries. As Mönch had set up all the workshops necessary for the production of components, for example for processing wood, steel, brass and leather, on his premises and employed the necessary specialists, he was not dependent on suppliers. This made the development, design and manufacture of new products fast, flexible and independent of customs barriers and political hurdles. This passport to Austria, England and France from 1843 is proof of the international success of his products.