For decades, these books were believed lost. Thanks to the wonderful help of Ms. Kluttig, we were able to look through these books at the Leipzig State Archive in September 2017. More than 20 extensive books document the production of the important Julius Feurich piano factory in Leipzig very precisely.
They are the sales books, the production books and the register books, so that searches can be made chronologically, by customer and by serial number. In addition to fantastic details on every single Feurich instrument, they also contain valuable information on deliveries to M. Welte & Söhne in Freiburg and J. D. Philipps in Frankfurt, and much more.
Since Feurich was Welte’s most important and first supplier for the Welte-Mignon, concrete facts about the instruments supplied can now be researched for the first time. Deliveries for Luna (orchestrions) and Artist (=Mignon), which were made for Popper & Co, are also documented. This may also provide important clues about the recording grand pianos for the Welte-Mignon.
The production books contain all the work steps involved in manufacturing an instrument, explicitly recording the names of the 11 different workers.
Overall, the books are well preserved – but have evidently been exposed to fire and are therefore very fragile and brittle. Some books first have to be restored before they can be read. The books have not yet been digitized – we are in close contact with the State Archive and will push ahead with digitization as quickly as possible, so that these wonderful contents become accessible to everyone interested.