Julius Kayser was the German (and perhaps the senior)
partner in the twin firms of Julius Kayser & Co in London
and Traben-Trarbach, and he therefore played an important part in the
family story - see the entry for Max Seiflow for the history of the
two firms.
He was a not infrequent visitor to our family, certainly during my lifetime, and presumably just as often before the first World War. He was "Uncle Julius", always pleasant, obviously wealthy.
He was born on 20 February 1869 in Traben-Trarbach, and died in about 1930. His first wife was Helene Haussmann whom he married on 25 September 1894. They had four children, Julius, known as "Uli", (1895-), Oskar (1896-), Lenchen (1900-),.and Kurt (1903-) . Helene died giving birth to Kurt, and I understand that this turned Julius against him, and in fact the four children were apparently looked after by Frau Haussmann, Helene's mother. Then in 1923, Julius married our aunt, Mulla Voigt (1894-1964).
There are some personal descriptions of Julius Kayser and his family in the autobiography ("The Time has Come") of Dennis Wheatley, later to make his name and fortune as a writer. He stayed in Traben-Trarbach for a time in 1913, ostensibly to leam about wine, but he found JK rather distant and autocratic, unlike Frau Haussmann who made him very welcome. He liked Uli and Oskar, but found Lenchen less attractive..
The handsome offices and cellars of Julius Kayser & Co GmbH are on the right bank of the Moselle, the Trarbach side, although the firm itself, taken over by the Canadian company Seagram after the second World War, seems to have disappeared., and the building is now apparently some sort of social centre.
The Kayser family house, on the left bank facing the cellars, consists (or consisted) of three smaller houses run together, and in its heyday was singularly elegant. A particular feature was the very attractive wall paintings by a cousin of JK's, Fritz Weinzheimer. Sadly, the house was much decayed and uninhabitable when my sisters and I saw it in 1985.
Julius Kayser 1935
Julius Kayser & Co GmbH Letterhead
showing the cellars
He was a not infrequent visitor to our family, certainly during my lifetime, and presumably just as often before the first World War. He was "Uncle Julius", always pleasant, obviously wealthy.
He was born on 20 February 1869 in Traben-Trarbach, and died in about 1930. His first wife was Helene Haussmann whom he married on 25 September 1894. They had four children, Julius, known as "Uli", (1895-), Oskar (1896-), Lenchen (1900-),.and Kurt (1903-) . Helene died giving birth to Kurt, and I understand that this turned Julius against him, and in fact the four children were apparently looked after by Frau Haussmann, Helene's mother. Then in 1923, Julius married our aunt, Mulla Voigt (1894-1964).
There are some personal descriptions of Julius Kayser and his family in the autobiography ("The Time has Come") of Dennis Wheatley, later to make his name and fortune as a writer. He stayed in Traben-Trarbach for a time in 1913, ostensibly to leam about wine, but he found JK rather distant and autocratic, unlike Frau Haussmann who made him very welcome. He liked Uli and Oskar, but found Lenchen less attractive..
The handsome offices and cellars of Julius Kayser & Co GmbH are on the right bank of the Moselle, the Trarbach side, although the firm itself, taken over by the Canadian company Seagram after the second World War, seems to have disappeared., and the building is now apparently some sort of social centre.
The Kayser family house, on the left bank facing the cellars, consists (or consisted) of three smaller houses run together, and in its heyday was singularly elegant. A particular feature was the very attractive wall paintings by a cousin of JK's, Fritz Weinzheimer. Sadly, the house was much decayed and uninhabitable when my sisters and I saw it in 1985.
Julius Kayser 1935
Julius Kayser & Co GmbH Letterhead
showing the cellars