WW (Wiener Werkstätte):
Iterations of a Monogram, 1905–1931

Designer unknown
Envelope: Wiener Werkstätte, after 1905
Lithograph; 4 2/8 x 6 6/8” (11 x 16.8 cm)

First published in a brochure of 1905 entitled Die Schutzmarke und die Monogramme der Wiener Werkstätte (The Trade Mark and Monograms of the Wiener Werkstätte), the striking motif of two interlocking “W”s presented in a square would serve to identify this influential Viennese applied arts manufacturer and its products until its dissolution in 1932.

Presented here are iterations of this motif as it appeared on examples of the firm’s printed materials promoting its activities in Vienna, as well as in Paris, Zurich, and Leipzig; as adapted by a number of its designers hailing from across the Austro-Hungarian empire. Several of these designers were women. For more information on the contributions of women to the firm, see Women Artists of the Wiener Werkstätte, an online presentation drawn from the revelatory exhibition and accompanying catalogue presented by the Museum für angewandte Kunst (MAK; Museum of Applied Arts) in 2021.

The cataloguing of our own objects depends heavily on the authoritative online database of the Archiv der Wiener Werkstätte at MAK and we are grateful to the collection’s curator Anne-Katrin Rossberg for generously sharing her knowledge with us. 

Koloman Moser (born Vienna, Austria. 1868–1918)
Booklet: Work Program of the Wiener Werkstätte
(Neustiftgasse 32, Wien 7), 1905
Letterpress; 5 3/4 x 3 3/4” (14.6 x 9.5 cm)

Koloman Moser (born Vienna, Austria. 1868–1918)
Letterhead: Wiener Werkstätte (Nevstiftgasse 32, Wien 7), after 1903 (design)
Lithograph; 10 1/8 x 6 3/4” (27 x 17.5 cm)
Note: This letter, addressed to Josef Ehrig, is dated August 10, 1912.

Designer unknown
Invitation (recto and verso): Exhibition of Model Costumes of the Wiener Werkstätte, Hotel Westminster, Paris (August 10–22, 1914), 1914
Letterpress; 4 15/16 x 4 13/16” (12.5 x 12.2 cm), closed
Note: Coinciding with the outbreak of the First World War,
this collection was seized by the French government at the border
and the exhibition never took place.

Dagobert Peche (born Sankt Michael im Lungau, Austria. 1887–1923)
Postcard: Wiener Werkstätte (Tegetthoffstraße 7-9, Wien 1), 1915 (design)
Lithograph; 5 1/2 x 3 1/2” (14 x 8.8 cm)
Note: Variations of Peche’s postcard were used through 1930.
Each postcard was printed on the verso with information concerning sales venues, events, and exhibitions. This card invites potential venues to carry Wiener Werkstätte products.

Designer unknown
Wrapping paper: Wiener Werkstätte, 1917 (design)
Lithograph; 11 5/8 x 8 1/4” (4.6 x 3.2 cm)

Designer unknown
Bookmark: Wiener Werkstätte A.G. Zürich, c. 1917
Card: letterpress, 2 1/2 x 1 7/8” (6.3 x 4.7 cm)
Ribbon: fabric, 9 3/4 x 1” (24.8 x 2.5 cm), extended

Hilda (Hilde) Jesser (Marburg an der Drau, now Slovenia. 1894–1985)
Poster: Wiener Werkstätte Kunstgewerbe, 1921–1922 (design)
Lithograph; 12 3/4 x 11 1/8” (32.3 x 28.2 cm)

Maria Weißenberg (birthplace unknown. 1900–1967) and
Dagobert Peche (born Sankt Michael im Lungau, Austria. 1887–1923)
Catalogue: Wiener Werkstätte
(Graben 15 and Kärntnerstrasse 32, Wien 1), 1923
Lithograph; 8 x 7 7/8” (22.5 x 20 cm)

Mathilde Flögl (born Brno, now Czech Republic. 1893–1958)
Paper Bags: Wiener Werkstatte, 1924
Both: lithograph
Left: 14 1/4 x 13 5/16” (36.2 x 33.8 cm)
Right: 11 5/16 x 9 1/2” (28.7 x 24.2 cm)

Maximilian Snischek (born Dürnkrut, Austria. 1891–1968)
Brochure: “Modern is What Pleases”
Fashion is a Mirror of Contemporary Taste, c. 1925–1930
Lithograph; 3 7/8 x 6 1/8” (9.8 x 15.5 cm)

Designer unknown
Card: Applied Arts, Fabric, and Fashion of The Wiener Werkstätte,
Now Available in the Reading Room of the Städischen Kaufhaus
(entrance Universitätsstrasse), Leipzig, c. 1925–1930
Lithograph; 3 5/16 x 4 3/8” (8.4 x 11.1 cm)

Maria Likarz (born Przemyśl, now Poland. 1893–1971)
Card: Artists’ Celebration Celebrating the Twenty-Fifth Anniversary
of the Wiener Werkstätte: 1903–1928 (May 31, 1928), 1928
Lithograph; 4 7/8 x 6 7/8” (12.3 x 17.5 cm)

Maria Likarz (born Przemyśl, now Poland. 1893–1971)
Proof: Gift Voucher for purchases at the Wiener Werkstätte
(Kärntnerstrasse 41 u. 32, Wien 1), 1930–1931 (design); in use until 1932
Lithograph; 8 1/4 x 5 3/4” (20.9 x 14.6 cm), full sheet (this image cropped)

January 18, 2023