Mayer and Company of Munich and LondonThe firm was founded in Munich in 1863 by Josef Gabriel Mayer (1808-93), a respected teacher of arts and crafts, under royal patronage – the Bavarian monarchy from the 1840s had taken a direct interest in the subject and supported a Munich state glass manufactory.
Thus favourably situated, Mayer’s Company was able to establish its first foreign representation in London within two years, in 1865. This indicated the significance of the British market, and though the company initially supplied much of its glass to Roman Catholic churches, many Anglican churches followed, including St Edmund's.
The firm's London address was initially in the West End at Holles Street, Cavendish Square, but by 1874 it had prospered sufficiently to move to Grosvenor Street. During this period the firm employed British artists, including W Dixon, and at its peak the company employed over 500 workers. Although its chief business remained glass, it also produced other fittings, mostly carved work.
Mayer and Co's British presence ended abruptly with the outbreak of war in 1914. However, between 1930 and 1934 an address is shown for the firm at 238 Belsize Road, Kilburn – quite a come down from its West End heyday. The only window from this inter-war period identified thus far is at Cusop, Herefordshire, but is dated 1938, so the firm may have survived until the outbreak of World War II started in 1939.
Meanwhile, in Munich during the 1920s the parent concern had added mosaics to its repertoire, and it remains in business under the fifth generation of the Mayer family with the name of Mayer’sche Hofkunstanstalt. The firm is particularly known for its restoration work both of glass and mosaics, but appears to restrict its activities to Germany.