Treasures of pre-cinema history
The magic lantern
Fleischmann & Bloedel Nachf., J. Berlin, Fürth in Bayern
"F&B" Salomon Fleischmann & Jean Bloedel, Fürth i. B. & Sonneberg. "J.B" Joseph Berlin. Active 1873-1926 (magic lanterns c. 1905 - 1926).
In 1873, Salomon Fleischmann and Jean Bloedel (F&B) founded their company in Fürth/Bavaria. From the very beginning, the business partners must have been very successful in producing dolls in Fürth and Sonneberg for the French market. In 1899, Fleischmann & Bloedel were among the founding members of the French Société Française de Fabrication de Bébés et Jouets (S. F. B. J.).
With the death of the company founders in 1905, the Fürth merchant Joseph Berlin (J. B.) took over the business. Berlin expanded the doll range, adding other items such as construction kits and magic lanterns. While the dolls were still made in his own factory, the construction kits or magic lanterns were probably purchased from manufacturers in Fürth or Nuremberg. Only one magic lantern-model seems to have been distributed, exclusively for the French market, as the labels on the boxes marked with "Lanterne Magique" indicate.
After an expansion of the factory buildings, the company fell into economic difficulties. In 1926, bankruptcy was declared and the company closed.