Der Kupferstecher von Wien | Der Letzte seines Standes

The Engraver was produced in 1997 for the series "The Last of His Class" in collaboration with Bayerischer Rundfunk. Eberhard Schön works in the center of Vienna. He has his "Kunstanstalt für Kupferdruck" (Art Institute for Copperplate Printing) on ​​the so-called mezzanine, a mezzanine floor. One almost feels like being in another century, when the clatter of hooves of the cab horses interrupts the gentle scratching of the stylus on the metal. Master Schön is the last person in Europe who still engraves business cards and letterheads himself in copper plates and then prints the small editions by hand. Franz Lehar, Karajan, and Bruno Kreisky have been his clients. The latter recommended to Parliament that all members of parliament have their cards printed in copperplate, the master proudly explains. Then he shows old cards with a crease in the bottom left corner: 'A challenge to a duel, but they all came back, apparently survived.' On his own card, we also read: 'Copperplate engraving of the finest quality for the culturally conscious.' The film shows, in comprehensible images, the engraving of a business card and the subsequent printing on the hand press.