Valse Tabromik by Otto Heitzmann

‘Valse Tabromik’ by Otto Heitzmann, published by Gebethner & Wolff (Warsaw, 1921) and illustrated by Wilhelm Ludwik Rudy.

Alexandra Chava Seymann wrote us from Vienna about her grandfather, the composer of Valse Tabromik. Otto Heitzmann (1885-1955) was born in Linz, Austria. His parents continued the prestigious Viennese piano company founded by his grandfather Johann Heitzmann in 1839.

Otto M. Heitzmann (private collection of Ms Seymann).

But as Alexandra Seymann tells us “Otto M. Heitzmann turned out to be more interested in actually creating and making music than in manufacturing pianos. He became a composer, conductor and music director. He worked in Poland, Denmark, Iceland, Austria, Germany, and the Czech Republic. He was married three times, first in Poland, then in Denmark (where he left two children), finally in Austria (where my mother was born). Unfortunately, due to his vagrant life, two world wars, and also family conflicts (his third wife was not exactly happy with his artist’s life and cut ties with him), there is close to nothing left of his portfolio.

Otto Heitzmann composed the Tabromik walz while working in Poland in the early Twenties. The sheet music is used to promote Tabromik, a vodka and liquor factory in Poznán and Gniezno, Poland. The brand took its name from the first letters of the factory owner’s name, Tadeusz Bronislaw Mikołajczyk (1895-1933).

Tadeusz Bronislaw Mikołajczyk (source: ‘Mistrz interesu i przegrany w życiu‘ by Rafał Wichniewicz) .

Mikołajczyk was an ambitious businessman who had only completed elementary school. He taught himself marketing and advertising and founded Tabromik in 1920. It is not clear where he got the funds for the company’s development but after a year it is said he already employed 250 people. He also started other successful projects but got involved in speculative and shady business and ended up bankrupt. Shortly thereafter, he died young as the result of an accident.

The illustration of the sheet music was created by Wilhelm Ludwik Rudy (1888-1940). The same year Rudy also designed a set of air mail stamps. They were issued by Aerotarg, the first Polish airline, in agreement with the Polish Post. Attached to each stamp was an advertising label, inscribed T.A.B.R.O.M.I.K. These stamps had to be bought for airmail in addition to the normal postage rate.

The left stamp shows a Junkers F-13 plane dropping mail over Poznan. The right one shows Icarus against Poznan’s sky. Both designs by Wilhelm Rudy. (source: wikipedia)

The short-lived Aerotarg was founded in Poznań in 1921 in order to serve visitors of the first Poznań Industrial trade fair. The organizers of the fair financed the venture. Aerotarg leased six Junkers F 13 aircrafts and the first regular Poznań-Warsaw and  Poznan-Danzig flights were set up.

Junker F13 used by Aerotarg for the Poznań-Danzig connection, 1921.

Between May and June the newly created airline transported  around 100 passengers and 3 tons of parcels. The venture turned out to be unprofitable and ceased operation less than a month after its start-up. The fair committee lost its venture capital.

Wieczor‘ (Le Soir) by Jan Rozewicz, Published by Gebethner & Wolff (Warsaw, 1922) and illustrated by C.F.

In the copyright statement of Valse Tabromik Mikołajczyk proudly mentions Tabromik’s ‘Publishing and Advertising Department‘, giving it a prestigious cachet Compared to other Polish sheet music from the time though, it looks to us a rather clumsy publication. It is printed in black and white on thin, cheap paper with the notes shining through. The typography is uninspired. In an attempt to brighten up the cover Wilhelm Rudy drew a slightly bizarre couple: he grins idiotically at his waltzing partner while she —oblivious to her fraying hat— stiffly tries to ignore an upcoming nipple gate.

Valse Tabromik, detail.

Apart from the few air stamps above, I could find almost nothing about the life and work of this illustrator, although there is the horrendous fact that Wilhelm Rudy died in the Katyn massacre in April 1940.

To conclude, Alexandra Seymann explains how so few things have remained from her grandfather’s musical opus: “Otto Heitzman died in 1955 in Waidhofen an der Thaya (Lower Austria), Austria, at the age of 70; my mother was merely 11 at the time, and I never got to know my grandfather as I was only born more than two decades later; the children from his second marriage died before I could get in touch with them. The Heitzmann family is now dispersed all over the globe, but there is very little information and very few documents left of Otto. I try to piece together whatever I can find in archives, old newspapers, official records. Finding a complete composition is a beautiful and touching moment!

A Matter of Time

Cover illustration by Fabien Loris
‘How Many Times?’ by Irving Berlin (Francis-Day, Paris, 1926), illustrated by Fabien Loris.

After all the stories, we take a few moments to wish you all the best for the New Year. Serve yourself and select which time you’d like to spend in 2018.

A Good Time‘ by J. Aerts. Sheet music published by Louis Aerts, Paris, 1922. Unknown illustrator.
Summertime‘ by Harry Von Tilzer & Jack Mahoney (Von Tilzer, New York, 1908). Illustrated by Gene Buck.
Tulip Time‘ by Dave Stamper & Gene Buck, Editions Maillochon, Paris, 1919. Left illustrated by M. Labbé, right illustrated by H. Pidot.
Mister ragtime‘ by Maurice Yvain, Editions Francis Salabert (Paris, 1920) illustrated by Atelier Salabert. Right: ‘Gentleman Ragtime‘ by Adalbert Ernst Geyer, published by Musikverlag A.P. (Leipzig, s.d.), unknown illustrator.
Moonlight Saving Time‘ by Irving Kahal & Harry Richman (Francis, Day & Hunter, London, s.d.).  Unknown illustrator.
Moontime‘ by Walter R. Collins (Editions Francis Salabert, Paris, 1919). Cover by Roger de Valerio.
Nesting Time‘ by Mort Dixon & James V. Monaco (Publications Francis-Day, Paris, 1927). Cover illustrated by Fabien Loris.
LEFT: ‘Flirting Time‘ by Charles Ewart (Editions Francis Salabert, Paris, 1927), illustrated by de Valerio  —  RIGHT: ‘Ev’ry Time’ by Gordon Jenkins (ABC Music Corporation, New York, 1944), unknown illustrator.
Modern Times‘ by E. Bilbao, published by Manuel Villar (Valencia, 1916). Cover illustration by Arturo Ballester.
Killing Time‘ by Lionel Renieu, published by Edmond Possoz (Brussels, s.d.) illustrated by V. Valéry.
LEFT: ‘Piccaninnies Bed-Time Dance‘ by Theo Bonheur (W. Paxton, London, s.d.) , unknown illustrator — RIGHT: ‘Many’s the Time‘ by Fred Fisher (Harms Incorporated, New York, s.d.), illustrated by Gene Buck.
LEFT: ‘She’s Dixie all the Time‘ by Harry Tierney & Alfred Bryan (Jerome H. Remick, Detroit, 1916), signed N.E. — RIGHT: ‘May Time  Charming Fox Trot Song’ by Vincent Rose & B. G. De Sylva (Publications Francis-Day, Paris, 1924), illustrated by J V R.
Dancing Time‘ by Jerome Kern with French lyrics by Louis Lemarchand (Max Eschig & Cie, Paris, 1922). Illustration Robert Laroche.
LEFT: ‘In Vacation Time‘ by Harry Von Tilzer & Andrew B. Sterling (Von Tilzer, New York, 1905), ill. Jenkins — RIGHT: ‘Sometime‘ by Anatol Friedland &  A. Seymour Brown (Jerome H. Remick, Detroit, 1914). Illustration by Starmer.
Sometimes‘ by Fred Elizalde & Philip Seeley (Francis-Day, Paris, 1929). Illustration by Würth.

See you soon with a new sheet music story! Meanwhile, enliven your gray and cold winter days with Irving Berlin’s song How Many Times?