Porcelain, earthenware, ceramics

Porzellanfabrik E. & A. Müller (1890 until 1927) There are two different claims regarding the origin of this company: one asserts that the factory was founded by descendants of Johann Nicoll Müller from Schönwald (Bavaria) - the founder of the company that later became known as "Porzellanfabrik Schönwald AG" - while others claim that E. & A. Müller in Schwarza has nothing to do with E. & A. Müller from Schönwald, and that the similarity in names is mere coincidence. Looking at the second claim shows that the individuals involved were Karl Louis Christian Eduard Müller (born on May 31, 1855 in Laucha, † ~ 1912), a breeder, Kommerzienrat (an honorary title bestowed upon business magnates), and later a politician of the "Nationalliberalen Partei (NLP). Eduard Müller was born the son of a glass manufacturer and between 1869 and 1873, he attended middle school in Zalzfeld, and then received education in entrepreneurship, graduating in 1874. He joined the army for a year, and then began working as an accountant (1877 to 1882) before becoming the director of a factory owned by the American company "New York und Rudolstadt Keramik A.S.", Porzellanfabrik Rudolstadt Straus & Söhne AG in Rudolstadt. In 1890, Müller then claimed to have founded his own factory in Schwarza. At the time, he also began working with children and for the local chamber of commerce, later becoming a member of the city council. He died around 1912. There is no additional information available at the moment other than that they produced luxurious porcelain and had around 200 employees in 1913. It is known that they were taken over by "Porzellanfabrik Schönwald AG" in 1927, shortly before the company itself merged with "Porzellanfabrik Kahla." The Schwarza-Saalbahn factory was briefly used as a subsidiary of "Schönwald AG," and there are reports that the factory was still employing 75 workers in 1930. It finally closed around 1938.