{{short description|Austrian architect, inventor and entrepreneur}} {{Expand German|topic=bio|Joseph Hardtmuth|date=December 2009}} [[File:Josef Hardtmuth (1758-1816) a.jpg|thumb|Josef Hardtmuth]]
'''Joseph Hardtmuth''' (13 February 1758 – 23 May 1816) was an Austrian [[architect]], [[inventor]] and [[entrepreneur]].
==Inventions== Hardtmuth was born on 13 February 1758 in [[Asparn an der Zaya]]. In 1789, he invented a new kind of [[earthenware]] with a lead-free [[Ceramic glaze|glaze]] for tableware production, the so-called Vienna ware. In 1810, he invented an artificial [[pumice]] and years later, a version of [[stoneware]] which was used to make mortars, funnels, and other utensils. A flexible, unbreakable [[Chalkboard|blackboard]] was also produced.
In 1792, Hardtmuth established a [[pencil]] factory in [[Vienna]] after he succeeded in creating an artificial [[graphite]] pencil by mixing powdered graphite with clay. Until that time, whole pieces, cut from graphite, were glued in between wood and were imported from [[England]]. With the new method, graphite of inferior quality could be used in pencil manufacturing, lowering the price and making the product more accessible for the masses. His company [[Koh-i-Noor Hardtmuth]] still exists.
The extensive Liechtenstein possessions led him to Bohemia, Moravia and again to Lower Austria as building director. He was commissioned with the conversion of farm buildings and castles, the construction of schools and patron churches and other construction measures such as the creation and design of landscape gardens.<ref>{{Citation |title=Das etwas andere Verkaufsgespräch |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-8349-9301-4_6 |work=Rechentraining für Finanzdienstleister |year=2007 |pages=209–237 |place=Wiesbaden |publisher=Gabler |doi=10.1007/978-3-8349-9301-4_6 |isbn=978-3-8349-0400-3 |access-date=2022-12-27|url-access=subscription }}</ref> He built i.a. Obelisks, triumphal arches, exotic buildings and artificial ruins. In 1811 there was a construction accident when a lookout tower collapsed on the Kleiner Anninger during construction. This incident led to the end of his work as princely building director in 1812.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Architekturzentrum Wien |url=http://www.architektenlexikon.at/de/1095.htm |access-date=2022-12-27 |website=www.architektenlexikon.at}}</ref>
Hardtmuth died on 23 May 1816 in Vienna.
==References== {{reflist}} *{{cite book|last = Petroski|first = Henry|authorlink = Henry Petroski|title = The Pencil: a history of design and circumstance|publisher = [[Random House]]|year = 1990|pages = [https://archive.org/details/pencilhistoryofd00petr_0/page/385 385–407]|isbn = 0-394-57422-2|url-access = registration|url = https://archive.org/details/pencilhistoryofd00petr_0/page/385}}
==External links== *[http://www.koh-i-noor.cz/ The Koh-i-noor company website] *[https://web.archive.org/web/20071029185529/http://www.chartpak.com/news/prof_history.html THE KOH-I-NOOR HARDTMUTH story, a tradition of innovation] - ChartPak's write up
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardtmuth, Joseph}} [[Category:1758 births]] [[Category:1816 deaths]] [[Category:People from Mistelbach District]] [[Category:18th-century Austrian architects]] [[Category:18th-century Austrian businesspeople]] [[Category:19th-century Austrian businesspeople]] [[Category:Austrian industrialists]] [[Category:Austrian inventors]] [[Category:Inventors from the Austrian Empire]] [[Category:Architects from the Austrian Empire]] [[Category:Industrialists from the Austrian Empire]]
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