This year, Ettinger proudly celebrates its 90th anniversary. Join us as we take a nostalgic journey through nine decades of our rich history.
Ettinger was founded in London by Gerry Ettinger and his father in 1934 but before establishing the business, our founder Gerry had already lived a very eclectic life and ventured into an array of industries.
Gerry Ettinger was born in Prussia in 1909 and grew up in a family where business and craft were innate. His father owned a military tailoring shop in Posen, but when the city was handed back to Poland after WWI, Gerry moved to Berlin.
Young Gerry Ettinger in the army.
Once in the German capital, Gerry worked for a locomotive company before journeying to Rome, where he found himself in need of work. Never short of ideas, he set off around the best hotels in the city, introducing himself to the concierge and offering his services as a guide who could show their best guests and tourists around the historical sights of the city. Little did he know that this would lead to the next chapter in his career... He loved films and the cinema, and expressed his interest and knowledge to a party of hotel guests he was escorting, they happened to be in the film business, and he found himself being offered a job behind the scenes as a runner. Showing passion and talent, he quickly stepped up and started becoming more involved in producing movies, featuring Marlene Dietrich amongst others.
Gerry then moved to Paris to continue working in the film industry despite the beginnings of the war. By this time, he was already fluent in two foreign languages, but his passion for linguistics drove him to take English lessons with actor Hubert Gregg. Thanks to his natural aptitude for languages, Gerry quickly mastered English, adding yet another language to his repertoire.
Keen to make use of his newly mastered language and armed with a cut glass English accent, he moved to London in 1933 and was offered the role as a UK representative for several German factories producing leather goods. Quickly after that, Herion of Pforzheim, a German leather goods company offered him the exclusive agency for the UK and he was set up with an office in Regent Street in the heart of London. Gerry started supplying the best British department stores like Harrods, Asprey and Fortnum & Mason with unique luxury gifts and leather goods, and in 1934 the business became 'G Ettinger Ltd'. To this day, Ettinger still supplies both Harrods and Fortnum & Mason.
First Ettinger logo designed in 1934.
In 1939, the WWII inevitably broke out and Gerry had to leave London for Devon where he served as a despatch rider. During the war, he was even offered a job with MI6 which, although he declined, shows his impressive linguistic capabilities.
In a very austere post-war period, Gerry remained vivacious and driven, travelling to Germany to help rebuild the country's film industry before heading back to London where he was commissioned by Asprey to source quality leather goods from the continent which were then in very short supply. Using his many connections in Europe and with the growth in international trade, the business was very successful and G. Ettinger Ltd was re-born.