Fredrick von Engelhardt
Self proclaimed
"ceramist", Fredrick von Engelhardt's life was full of
art and war. Growing up in Czarist Russia, his father was a farmer who
specialized in forestry while attending university in Germany and Russia.
As the state was closing in before the defeat of the Russian government,
the family's land was expropriated, leaving his father to drive a taxi to
make ends meet. As soon as the family realized the Russian state was going
to further dissipate, they fled, seeking refuge in Germany. They were
lucky, some did not get the opportunity to leave.
In Germany, Fredrick attended a school that focused particularly upon art,
and once his talent was exposed, his teachers suggested he pursue a career
in sculpting. However, as Fredricks parents did not feel sculpting to be
a secure vocation in such an instable time, he instead chose to become
educated as a librarian.
As the Second World War loomed over Germany, Fredrick was forced into
joining the army. In his early thirties by the time the war was over,
Fredrick fled East Germany for West Germany where he opened Salamander
Ceramics, his first studio and ceramic business. Here he developed "chinastone",
a high quality, handmade ceramic that combined the hardness of china with
the beauty of the stone-like appearance of stoneware.
In 1952, Fredrick and his family immigrated to Alberta where he
re-established his ceramic business. To begin with, however, he was able
to work with ceramics only part time, working other jobs to support his
family. But, slowly, with increased success, he was able to devote more to
his artful passion.
Apparently the von Engelhardt home in Edmonton was a sight to behold. Fredrick
converted the upstairs of their house, garage and basement to production
facilities and a showroom for his business, which he called Alberta
Chinastone.
Fifteen years after Fredrick moved to Alberta, he was working full time at
his ceramic company. He was happily concentrating on developing improved
glazes for his chinaware products when he was approached by a businessman
wondering if he could make brick out industrial waste products. Determined
to find the missing ingredients in a new type of brick composition,
Fredrick took on the challenge.
What resulted was the utilization of mining byproducts in the composition
of bricks. The invention was exceptionally useful in the production of bricks as it
alleviated the problem of finding clay, the inherent cost of the material
as well as its non-renewable nature. Instead of clay, von Engelhardt made use
of what would otherwise be an industrial byproduct.
Though the invention was extremely efficient as well as environmentally
conscious, it never went into production. There were meetings between von Engelhardt and potential investors to build production a plant, but
apparently the initial financial outlay, estimated at $1 million
proved to be too much for anyone to take such a risk on.
Throughout
negotiations, Fredrick
von Engelhardt insisted that any manufacturing of his bricks would be in
Alberta. Coupled with the environmental importance of his invention, he
can be considered an innovative and proud Albertan, satisfying many of
today's federal and provincial environmental and entrepreneurial goals.
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