R. Heinisch

Scissors of R. Heinisch

Rochus  Heinisch, is the American story of an immigrant who, in 1825,  left his home in Leutmeritz, Bohemia (Austria) and immigrated to Brooklyn, New York.  There he started a business of making surgical instruments.  Soon after he moved to Elizabeth, New Jersey and in 1835 to Newark.  He enlarged his cutlery business making scissors and even knives.  He had three sons who worked with him in the business.  A fourth son joined them after serving in the New Jersey volunteer regiment during the Civil War.  After that the company was known as Heinisch’s Sons Company.  For a short time Jacop Wiss, of later Wiss scissors, worked for the Heinisch Company.  The Heinisch’s Sons Company ceased production in 1914.  Wiss purchased the manufacturing plant and became the largest scissor company at the time. 1

 

My personal collection includes the above four scissors.  The one that first caught my attention was the older large tailor shears with the unique thumb rest.  This pair is one of the most comfortable working shears.  They are made of a combination of iron and steel.  Even today they work well.  The brass pivot is stamped with the R. Heinisch as the inventor.  

 

The sense of pride of workmanship is seen in Mr. Heinisch’s willingness to put his own name on the shear and note himself as the inventor.  This act also speaks to a time when individuals saw their work as a contribution to the welfare of others.  As I worked with this pair of shears and felt their smooth movement I could almost feel the pride of its inventor.  The power that the handle’s design facilitated sends confidence the operator.  The quality of this kind of tool enables the craftsman’s skill. 

  The following pair of Heinisch scissors measures more than twelve inches.  It was to the early tailor what the cutting wheel is today.  The length of the blades enables a longer straight cut so the workman can accomplish more in a shorter time.    The look is almost knife like and a little intimidating.

 

 In the picture below you can see how the scissor designs changed over time.  The earlier tools appear to have been made for the professional tailor whereas the later scissors appear to be designed for more domestic use.  The R. Heinisch Company was versatile and developed cutlery during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.  Their cutlery products have stood the test of time and even today some are still in use.  They are desirable to collectors of early American cutlery for both their unique designs and their place in the American story. 

1.        A great source for collectors of American scissors of this time frame is a recently published book by Phillip R. Pankiewiez, American Scissors and Shears, published by Universal-Publishers, Boca Raton.  Also, Goins cutlery book has extensive information about knives, many of whom made scissors as well.   In addition there are additional sources on the web, if you are willing to work for them.