Kovács Ferenc et al.: Fardagály és kámvás rokolya. Divat és illem a 19. században (Budapest, 2010)

Magyar divatáru-kereskedők Pesten (1840 - 1900)

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Magyar divataqu-kede<skedők Pesten (1840-1900)

Csomagolópapír Mössmer József üzletéből Packaging paper from the shop of József Mössmer

merchant from the Kohlmarkt (Haymarket, now Deák Square), the so-called Two Turks house, whose financial difficulties gave him no choice but to enter into joint partnership. They open their first shop in pest in 1830, which was managed by János, Ferenc’s nephew. The manager sends his son József to be taught Hungarian, and tries as much as possible to become “naturalised” himself On August 28,1845 their company is entered into the register of the Hungarian Commerce Association ofPest under the name János JózsefKunz and Associate. Aside from the two young men, their brother-in-law, József Mössmer is also a partner, who seven years later splits from the company and establishes his own, similarly well-reputed business. The Company takes on the nameJózsefKunz and Associate in 1871, after the death ofJánosJózsefKunz. The Kunz family became the pioneers of the Hungarian undergarment industry, opening a factory that employed one hundred female workers. The increasingly successful and recognised company also opened a few sister stores, inNagyváradin 1863 and in Debrecen in 1876. By this time they had several shops in Pest, and the Kunz name was even present among the shops of Vienna. They could take pride in their titles of Purveyor to the Royal Court and Purveyor to the Royal Court of Serbia. They won a Great Gold Medal at the Millennium Exhibition of 1896 and a Bronze Medal at the World Exhibition held in Paris in 1900. They supplied the Hungária Hotel and the Royal Hotel with dining and bed linen, as well as the Erzsébet Sanatorium in Balatonfured, and even won the sole rights to supply table, bathing and bed linen to the Royal Palace. They stocked a wide range of products, their main items being linen and cotton table linen and bed linen, as well as their own wedding dowry sets (to fill what we would call a Hope Chest), washing textiles, curtains, draperies and carpets. Their catalogue for June 1888 contains the following items: Rumburg and sheet linen, medium linen, whitened Dutch linen, flax linen; handkerchiefs, towels, table linen, coffee-table linen, bathing items, summer duvets, self-produced pre-made gentlemen's, ladies’ and children’s undergarments and night-undergarments. Brides’ dowries - with separate budget list provided if the customer so requires; Carpets, fabric and lace curtains, furniture fabrics and blankets. There’s also a map of their various shops in Pest, printed on the back of the catalogue.

Their success lay in their way of doing business, which enabled the Company to enjoy over 125 years of operation: they never risked the trust of their customers in the interests of a quick profit. A good example is the incident when they not only refused to add their profit onto the price of an item which had been imported with a mistaken customs charge, but in fact passed it on to one of their faithful customers with a further discount, the gentleman of course being very pleased and no doubt remaining one of their loyal clients. They