The Höchst porcelain factory was founded in 1746, making it the third in the German Reich following on from Meissen in 1710 and Vienna in 1718. It was established by a successful merchant Johann Christoph Göltz and his son-in-law Felician Clarus with the help of a talented porcelain painter Adam Friedrich von Löwenfinck.
Von Löwenfinck had been trained at Meissen and escaped (we are told on a stolen horse) from the city with difficulty as the workers were closely guarded in order to prevent industrial espionage. Porcelain was so fashionable and desirable at the time that the Meissen factory was fiercely protective of the secrets of porcelain manufacture which had proved so prestigious and lucrative for its owner, the King of Saxony.
It was only when the chemist Johann Jacob Ringler (another escapee from Meissen) arrived at the factory in 1750 however, that porcelain started to be made at Höchst. Prior to that date only faience was produced
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