Richard Rohac

Richard Rohac (1906–1956) was an Austrian designer and metalworker. He was virtually unknown outside of Austria during his lifetime. His work was sold internationally with only his logo (and "Made in Austria") to identify the source, as was common practice at the time. Rohac apprenticed at the Werkstätte Hagenauer Wien in Vienna as a teenager and remained with the workshop for nine more years before opening his own metalworking business in 1932. Rohac's career was interrupted by military service and a period of internment in Greece. Upon his return to Vienna, he reopened his workshop and began producing household items lost or destroyed in wartime bombing. When a market for decorative objects re-emerged, Rohac turned his talents to designing and producing busts and sculptures, and everything from desk and smoking accessories to corkscrews, bookends, pretzel holders, and candlesticks.