In 1927 a book was published celebrating the esteemed 40 year history of the Döllken Factory founded by Kurt’s grandfather, Leopold Simon. This book showed how innovative and transformative the Simon family had been, and the impact they had made on their howe town of Werden. We have gotten a hold of a copy of this book (now 90 years old), and wanted to showcase it here for you to learn about this brilliant man and the lasting impact of his family’s legacy.
Here are the first few passages in the book. If you click on the image of the book cover below you can continue to read it.
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The firm of W. Dollken & Co, was established 40 years ago. Some might believe that this would not justify the publication of this book, but the 25th anniversary of the firm was not commemorated especially. Furthermore, Mr. Otto Simon, one of the partners and managing directors, started with the firm in 1902, and consequently has now completed 25 years with Messrs. W. Dollken & Co. Hence his 25 years’ jubilee is in the same year as the 40th birthday of the firm. And last, but not least, there must still be mentioned another point of view which is of a general commercial importance. The war, the German revolution, and the time of the occupation of the Ruhr-district (with its isolation and crippling of the Ruhr industry) are behind us, the inflation and the very heavy time after, where one industrial and commercial crisis followed upon another have been passed. And at last, after all this, we may believe that the situation now will be definitely stable again, and that we may look forward to a period when the development will go on steadily and systematically. We believe these reasons justify the use of this opportunity of looking behind us, and to show, by this publication, all friends of the firm its history and its present standing.
On April 1st 1887, Mr. William Dollken and Mr. Leopold Simon, the father of the two present Directors (Messrs. Ernst and Otto Simon), founded the firm of W. Dollken & Co. The intention was to manufacture Wooden Ornaments for furniture and building purposes. This manufacture had not been carried on in the western part of Germany before that time, and such goods as sashes, overdoors, cabinet tops, and console…. (TO READ MORE CLICK HERE or on the book cover below)
