Robert Mullen
Catalog Number: 1985.130.47
Mid-century modern is a decorative style of household furnishings from the post-World War II era, a time well remembered by today’s baby boom generation.
It is characterized by its clean, modernistic lines and little or no ornamentation.
With a flat base, rounded sides and rolled edge, this small stainless-steel bowl is about as simple as a design can be. The bowl was made in La Crosse in the 1950s by Wittcrosse Engineering.
The firm started in 1950 at 3235 George St., beginning as the La Crosse Tool and Die Company. It soon became Wittcrosse Engineering, the new moniker being a combination of owner Edward “Butch” Wittenberg’s surname and the city where the company was located.
Wittenberg was born in La Crosse in 1897 and early in his career worked for the National Gauge Company, where he became a talented tool and die maker.
He moved to Eau Claire in the 1930s to serve as the vice president of the National Presto Company for several years before returning to his hometown after World War II.
Wittcrosse fabricated jigs, gauges, fixtures, tools and dies and did metal stamping. It also had a lucrative contract to manufacture modern home accessories for the noted New York design firm of Ernest Sohn Creations.
For two decades, Wittcrosse maintained its association with Ernst Sohn Creations and would make tens of thousands of chafing dishes, food warmers and other metal tableware that lent an “important touch of ‘formal informality’ to hospitality.” Ernest Sohn’s Wittcrosse products sold nationwide and remained popular into the 1970s.
This article was originally published in the La Crosse Tribune on May 9, 2020.
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