"So that our young industry does not die!" Josef Binko and his support of the Prague Art Workshops during the First World War
Abstract
The article presents a completely unknown chapter in the history of the Pražské umělecké dílny (Prague Art Workshops), which was founded in 1912 by architects Josef Gočár and Pavel Janák with the financial support of JUDr. Odolen Grégr.
In the first years of its existence, the company prospered greatly, gained customers in the general public and its activities in favor of quality furniture and house culture could even be compared to its foreign predecessors such as Deutscher Werkbund or Wiener Werkstätte. Cubist furniture, which had no comparison in European production, soon became synonymous with the production of Prague art workshops.
However, the situation changed dramatically with the First World War, when the art industry began to gradually decline. The main representative of the Prague Art Workshops, Josef Gočár, was also called to South Tyrol as a military engineer.
During his absence, however, he commissioned his brother-in-law and one of the first clients (he built the Red Villa in Krucemburk for him in 1907-1909), a factory owner and amateur photographer Josef Binko, to take over the administration of the Prague Art Workshops and carry them out through difficult war years. The article is based on a detailed study of previously unpublished archival materials from private family collections, especially the correspondence between Josef Gočár and Josef Binko from 1916-1918, supplemented by correspondence between Josef Binko and employees of Prague Art Workshops (František Zavadil, Petr Kropáček).
He points to Binkos selfless help, business spirit and excellent ability to find a valid solution even in times of war hardship. For example, during the war, Prague art workshops produced emergency wooden shoes or worked for one of the most important entrepreneurs, patrons and art collectors of their time, Jindřich Waldes.