One Tycoon's Unusual Hobby

Today, the name of Julius Geis, a subject of Württemberg, means little to most people.
However, at the beginning of the last century, the name of one of the greatest confectionery magnates was on everyone’s lips throughout the empire.

The trading houses “Aprikosov & Sons,” “S. Siou & Co.,” “Georges Bormann,” and “Eynem” spared no effort in their battle for the hearts and wallets of shoppers. The battle among the “chocolate kings” was in full swing.

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Julius Geis, the owner of “Eynem Partnership” and one of the main competitors of George Borman—a figure well known to us—can rightly be considered a marketing genius.

He came up with all sorts of things. Airships floated in the sky, urging people to buy “Eynema” chocolate. In the program for a performance of “Romeo and Juliet,” you might unexpectedly come across an advertisement for “Eynem” cough drops.

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Composer Karl Feldman wrote “chocolate melodies” specifically commissioned by the “Eynem Partnership.” And just look at the names of the products—to which Geis attached great importance. A cake might be called, for example, “Love Me.” Of course, the jokers of that era never missed an opportunity to walk into the “Eynem” pastry shop and say to the young salesgirl:

Please, “Love Me” for three rubles

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Special attention was also paid to creating stylish, unique, and high-quality packaging. For his time, Julius Geis had, incidentally, a rather unusual hobby: artistic photography. This passion for photography was fully reflected in the unique and unparalleled “Eynem” confectionery catalogs.

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After all, thanks to them, we are transported back in time and get to see, as if in person, some of the products created by the empire’s legendary confectionery magnates.

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Anton Bondarev