Vonnegut Hardware Company
Encyclopedia
Clemens Vonnegut, Sr., a German former textile salesman in Amsterdam, arrived in Indianapolis in 1850 and entered into a partnership with fellow German Charles Vollmer shortly thereafter. Their merchandising store was called Vollmer & Vonnegut. Vollmer left to go out West in 1852 but was never heard from again.
In 1858, Vonnegut bought the merchandise store he and his business partner Charles Volmer had run for several years. In 1898 Vonnegut, Sr. moved the business to 120 and 124 East Washington Street
Washington Street (Indianapolis)
Washington Street is the primary east-west street in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. The street follows the route of the National Road for almost all of its length in the city of Indianapolis. For a time, its entire length was designated as U.S...

. Vonnegut, Sr. would remain president of the company until his death in 1906. In 1908 the store was incorporated as the Vonnegut Hardware Company. His business was located in downtown Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

and would remain a fixture for over 100 years.

Over time his sons had various interests in the company; some long-term and some only briefly.

History

  • In 1869 Clemens Vonnegut, Jr. (eldest son) began working at the hardware store then left in 1890. He returned in 1910 and became Vice President
    Vice president
    A vice president is an officer in government or business who is below a president in rank. The name comes from the Latin vice meaning 'in place of'. In some countries, the vice president is called the deputy president...

     of the company. (His brother, Bernard Vonnegut Sr.
    Bernard Vonnegut Sr.
    Bernard Vonnegut, Sr., WAA, FAIA, was an American lecturer and architect active in late-nineteenth and early-twentieth-century Indiana. He was a co-founder of the locally renowned Indianapolis architectural firm of Vonnegut and Bohn. He was active in a range of residential, religious,...

    , worked at the firm briefly)

  • Bernard Vonnegut (second son) would have no interest in his father's company and ultimately choose a different career path, as an architect. The author Kurt Vonnegut
    Kurt Vonnegut
    Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle , Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association.-Early...

    was Bernard's grandson.

  • In 1908 Franklin "Frank" Vonnegut (third son) took over as the company's president.

  • George Vonnegut (youngest son) would become the secretary and treasurer of the company.

  • Carl Prinzler
    Carl Prinzler
    Carl Prinzler was the Manager of the Builders Hardware Department at the Vonnegut Hardware Company in 1903. Prinzler, along with his neighbor Henry DuPont, developed the first "panic bar" device for doors which can be opened from the inside despite being locked on the outside. This idea and...

    , co-inventor of the Von Duprin
    Von Duprin
    Von Duprin is a brand of security products. It was the producer of the first "panic bar" style door mechanism that allows a door to a public building to be locked from the outside but still easy to exit from the inside....

    panic bar device, was manager of the Builder's Hardware Department in 1903.

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