The accidental birth of the snow globe more than 120 years ago

As one of the most beloved souvenirs in the world, few people know about the completely accidental birth of the snow globe more than 120 years ago in Vienna, Austria.

In the early 1900s, surgical instrument manufacturer Erwin Perzy (Vienna, Austria) received a request to create a bright surgical light bulb, but instead he invented a snow globe.

An incident full of joy

Mr. Erwin Perzy I and Erwin Perzy III. (Photo: Mein-leben).

Erwin Perzy III, CEO of Original Viennese Snowglobe, shares the fascinating story of how his grandfather accidentally created a snow globe.

"The snow globe is an invention of my grandfather. He accidentally invented the snow globe in 1900. My grandfather was a surgical instrument maker and he wanted to improve the Edison light bulb for lighting in the operating room." He did experiments and one of these experiments created a snowball ," said Mr. Perzy III.

Back in 1900, Erwin Perzy I, a medical instrument manufacturer wanted to improve the performance of light bulbs used in operating rooms. He filled a glass sphere with water to focus the light at a more precise point.

And while he was passionately researching, he put a few grains of semolina inside the glass ball. When he looked at it, the floating powder particles reminded him of falling snow.

The first snow globe sketch in 1900, inspired by the Mariazell basilica. (Photo: Facebook).

And the snow globe that we often buy every Christmas was born by chance.

Inspired by this accidental discovery, he built the first snow globe which was a miniature model of the Mariazell basilica.

Due to the overwhelming demand for these snow globes, Perzy and his brother Ludwig established a snow globe shop based in Vienna.

Continuing the family legacy

Erwin Perzy III's family workshop. (Photo: Vaillancourt Folk Art).

The small family workshop of Perzy III, the grandson of the man who invented the snow globe more than 100 years ago, still operates today.

Many of this family's glass globes are sold at Christmas markets in Vienna (Austria), with motifs of landmarks such as St Stephen's Cathedral or the Riesenrad Ferris wheel.

This year, every employee in the factory had to double their efforts after a paint factory fire caused production to stall.

Mr. Perzy III said: "In February this year, our company had a fire and the area where we plated gold products also burned, so from February to August, we could not do the gold-plated part." gold plating. So now we need to work a lot to meet customer orders."

The factory has 50 employees who are busy delivering year-end orders. Mr. Erwin shared that the factory will provide about 200,000 to 300,000 snow globes each year, 80% of which are exported to the US and Japan. In addition to bulk orders, the factory's retail customers also include former US presidents such as Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.

Snow globes bring a festive atmosphere. (Photo: Austria).

Mr. Perzy III said: "In addition to the three snow globes we made for three former US presidents, we also make other snow globes for Hollywood movies and sometimes for very special guests. One of My special guests are the characters Snow White ".