Caroline Märklin (née Carolina Friederika Hettich; 13 March 1826 – 2 December 1893) was a woman of affairs and manager of the German company Märklin.
Caroline Märklin | |
---|---|
Born | Carolina Friederika Hettich 13 March 1826 |
Died | 2 December 1893 | (aged 67)
Other names | Caroline Eitel |
Occupation | Travelling salesman |
Years active | 1859–1888 |
Organization | Märklin |
Known for | Businesswoman of the 19th century |
Notable work | doll house accessories |
Spouse(s) | Theodor Friedrich Wilhelm Märklin (1859–1866), Julius Eitel (1868–1886) |
Children | Eugen Märklin and Karl Märklin |
Parents |
|
Notes | |
She was born in Ludwigsburg, Germany. When her husband Theodor Märklin founded the company Märklin, she became involved in it as a travelling salesman. Following the accidental death of her first husband in 1866, she took over the management of the toy company, which she managed until her sons took over the company in 1888. Women in Germany would become fully legally able to do business only a century later.[a]
Biography
editCarolina Hettich grew up in Ludwigsburg, Germany, where she was born in 1826. Little is known about her early life.[b] In 1859 she married recently widowed Theodor Friedrich Wilhelm Märklin , a learned tinsmith living in Göppingen. Her husband founded Märklin in the same year, a venture she joined in.[6]
The company manufactured painted sheet metal miniatures and accessories for doll houses. Caroline took care of the distribution of the goods travelling to southern Germany and Switzerland.[7] In that way, she became one of the first "female travelling salesmen".[6]
In the midst of the company's development, Theodor Friedrich Wilhelm Märklin died suddenly at the age of 49 following an accident on December 20, 1866. From then on, Caroline Märklin remained the owner and sole manager of the company.
In 1868, Caroline Märklin remarried Julius Eitel, one of her employees. The company went through a difficult phase economically, and their marriage being very fragile, Julius Eitel committed suicide in 1886. Two years later, her sons, Eugen Märklin and Karl Märklin , took over the company and launched it into the manufacture of model trains – with which it has become almost synonymous today.[8]
Caroline Märklin died on December 2, 1893 at the age of 67.[9]
Further reading
edit- de Ville, Eric; ven den Abeele, Alain (2001). marklin - miroir de son temps [Märklin Im Spiegel seiner Zeit] (in French). Chronosports. ISBN 2884680152.
- von Feyerabend, Charlotte (2022). Caroline Märklin - Sie brachte Kinderaugen zum lighten, doch kämpfte um ihr eigenes Glück (in German). Droemer. ISBN 3426283913.[c]
- Eckert, Klaus (2009). Die Legende Lebt – 150 Jahre Märklin (in German). Essen: Klartext. ISBN 978-3-8375-0129-2.
- Haas, Margit (2018). "Porträt: Tüchtig und mit starkem Willen". Südwest Presse (in German). Göppingen. Archived from the original on 18 February 2024.
Notes
edit- ^ In Germany, women gained the right to vote in 1919; legal equality in 1958; ability to open own bank account without husband in 1962; able to do business without husband's approval 1977.[3]
- ^ Multiple sources say that she is related to Friedrich List,[4][5] one even claiming her to have studied under him.[5] Reliable sources for her mother's last name being List exit (and were found).[2]
- ^ This book has been described as well-researched, but is a novelisation.
References
edit- ^ "Märklin, Caroline". Deutsche Nationalbibliothek.
Result of search for 'nid=1012794016'.
- ^ a b "Caroline Friederike HETTICH at GEDBAS". Verein für Computergenealogie e. V.
- ^ "Diese Rechte haben Frauen in den letzten 100 Jahren errungen". humanresourcesmanager.de. 5 March 2019.
- ^ "Die Geschichte der Firma Märklin". tischbahn.de.
- ^ a b "Money and transport exhibition – Märklin". facm.pt.
- ^ a b "Mit Volldampf voraus: Tradition im Hause Märklin". Prisma. 15 November 2021.
- ^ "Caroline Märklin". Landesfrauenrat Baden-Württemberg.
- ^ Margaret Towner (1993). Dollhouse Furniture. Running Press. p. 31. ISBN 9781561383252..
- ^ "Märklin, Caroline". Deutsche Biographie (in French).