Beginning of biography for Paul H. Schramm can be found on Webpage 42

In the short amount of time he has been here he has produced a significant number of excellent pieces, including portraits, sculptures, bronze castings, designs on leather, goldware, etc. Examples of his art - portraits, sculpture, and other finery, are shown here and can be found at the Albright Art Gallery and Theo. Sevin's art dealership.

Paul H. Schramm was born on December 22, 1867 in Heidenheim in the Württemberg district of Bavaria. His parents were manfacturer Friedrich Schramm and his wife Sophie Wilhelmine, nee Müller. The lad attended the Latin and secondary schools in Esslingen. Then he went to the academic high school of his home district to study weaving, which after graduation enabled him to create the designs used in his father's business. He also introduced designs for silk goods. After this he became a painter and sculptor. He studied at the art school in Stuttgart under Prof. Grünenwald and Prof. Claudius von Schraudolph.

Caption under picture at left center reads Mrs. Carrie Peek, nee Auracher (as portrayed in oils by Paul H. Schramm)

Caption under picture at right center reads Miss Aline von Liebich (as portrayed in oils by Paul H. Schramm)

He worked with Professor Kräutle for three years in the field of portrait etching. Then he went to Munich and fulfilled his military obligation as a one-year volunteer in the First Royal Infantry Regiment. At the same time he zealously attended the gathering places of the Munich art scene and he studied its excellent artworks. He spent a great deal of his spare time at the National Art Fair and Exposition and the First International Art Exposition of 1887 - 88. He took many trips to the Bavarian and Tyrolean Alps, the Black Forest, Brussels and Antwerp in Belgium, and other art centers of the north and central Germany including Düsseldorf, Nuremberg, Berlin, and Dresden. The nineteen-year-old exhibited ladies portraits and original etchings at the International Art Expositions of Munich, Berlin, and Stuttgart. In 1896 Mr. Schramm came to America and settled in New York. Here he worked as a fashion illustrator at the Standard Fashion Company. Then he was a decorative painter and pattern maker for the art department. He also studied metalwork, steel engraving, and jewelry design at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. One of his art objects was sent to the World Exposition in St. Louis. Later he worked as an instructor of decorative design at the Cooper Institute. He was a self-employed jeweler in New York for 5 years. During this time many artistically perfect pieces of jewelry were produced. The superb craftsmanship of the artist is apparent in these works. Mr. Schramm's chief works during his 13 year stay in New York were portraits, sculptures, bronze castings, and designs for jewelry.

In May 1910 Paul H. Schramm came to Buffalo. At first he was employed as a design illustrator and pattern maker for the Cordova Art Leather Shop at the corner of West Huron and Pearl Streets. He designed a large leather table cover, which was four years in the making and of exquisite artistry. You can view it and other works of Mr. Schramm at the Leather Shop. Later Mr. Schramm became self-employed and he worked for the Art Work Shop, for Charles Rohlfs, the congenial manufacturer of artistic furniture, and for others. Besides this Mr. Schramm has created a series of impressive oil paintings and sculptures in our city. There are portraits of Miss Aline von Liebich, Mrs. Carrie Peek, nee Auracher, and Charles Rohlfs. There are bronze reliefs of Mrs.Hermina Auracher and two of her daughters and bronze statues of Miss Theodosia Sevin and Mrs. Emma Warmington, nee Auracher. The portraits painted by Mr. Schramm are modern in conception and execution. They reveal uniqueness of perspective and masterful artistry of technique. His bronze works have also garnered limitless praise, thus testifying to the innate genius of the sculptor as well as the painter. When one takes in the amount ot artistic production created by Mr. Schramm, one must say that he is an astonishingly multifaceted artist.

Although Mr. Schramm has only been in Buffalo for two years, he has already made many good friends. Besides his many artistic accomplishments, which have gathered the attention of an ever widening circle of people and which have awed so many, Mr. Schramm is noted for his lovable nature and his modesty. Mr. Schramm is a member of the Christian Science Church, the Society of Buffalo Artists, and the National Society of Craftsmen in New York. For some time now he has been employed by the School Department as a special teacher for design in the manual training and vocational schools.

He has introduced a new system of training, which quickly clarifies the principles of art to the students and enables them to unite practical technique with original design within a few lessons. After spending last winter at the night school at Central High School teaching industrial design and technique, he was engaged for the summer at the Technical High School teaching the same course. His studio and private residence are located at "The Surrey" at 106 Elmwood Avenue.

Mr. Schramm is the personification of artistic drive and intellect. These qualities are demonstrated in his modern and realistic artistry. He masters the scientific basis for his art the same way a field general masters his troops. Therefore we can with justification describe him with the words of Du Bois-Reymond - "The human spirit is brightest when it unites the field of art with the field of science."

The art of Paul H. Schramm will prevail despite the many and difficult obstacles it will encounter.

August C. Esenwein

Mr. August C. Esenwein, head of the nationally known architectural firm of Esenwein & Johnson, was born in Stuttgart, Württemberg on November 7, 1856. He graduated from the academic high school there and the University of Polytechnics. In 1880 he came to Buffalo. Here he first worked as an engineer with the Lackawanna Railroad and in 1882 he established himself as an architect. His plan for the Music Hall he built for the 1883 Singing Festival took first prize.

Due to his well-rounded knowledge of architecture and his encompassing intellect Mr. Esenwein has had great success. He built a large number of residences, apartment dwellings, warehouses and business facilities as well as many factories and other commercial buildings in Buffalo and Syracuse, N.Y. Among the large number of hospitals he constructed is the large psychiatric center in Gowanda for the State of New York, which to this point has cost over a million dollars but is not yet complete.

Caption under picture at center reads Miss Elsie Auracher and Mrs. Emma Warmington, nee Auracher (as portrayed in 2 bronze reliefs by Paul H. Schramm)

For the Buffalo State Hospital he has built several buildings and he was responsible for the construction of the magnificent Providence Retreat Hospital in Milwaukee on the shores of Lake Michigan. He built the Buffalo Orphanage and Hospital and the Teck and Lyric Theaters.

Mr. Esenwein has designed many public building here for the Parks Department and for Erie County. He built 6 public schools for the city including Lafayette and Masten Park High Schools and the City Library. He designed the Saturn Club Building on Delaware Avenue. In later years he's had great success with hotel structures. After building the Iroquois, Touraine, and Statler Hotels he became a sought-after architect. He built the large, modern hotels in Peoria, Illinois, Rochester, Utica, Syracuse, and Jamestown, New York. Other cities include Akron, Ohio, Philadelphia, Pa., Worchester, Mass., Hartford, Conn., and Detroit, Mich.

He was the original architect for the Pan-American Exposition. When the project went into the actual building phase a board of architects was organized. As a member of the administrative committee he built the famous recreational facility called Old Nuremberg. He also built the Temple of Music, which gained international notoriety as the place where President McKinley was assassinated.

One of the last large buildings designed by Mr. Esenwein is the General Electric Building, a 300 foot high turreted structure, which is one of the most beautiful and imposing in Buffalo. For all his great successes Mr. Esenwein has remained a humble, lovable human being. He is a good German and a man of whom the German community can be proud.

John F. Müller

Mr. John Frederick Müller has made an excellent name for himself not only because of his extensive knowledge but also because of his integrity and generous nature. Born in Buffalo on May 8, 1861 as the son of Mr. Friedrich Müller and his wife Amalia, nee Klein, he attended the public schools and originally intended to become a merchant. He got a job at the department store of the Wm. Hengerer Company, where he was employed as a sales clerk. Then he established a dry goods business on Broadway, which he successfully operated for 6 years. From before that time Mr. Müller had a special love for jurisprudence. During his spare time he studied political and socio-economic issues. He decided to attend the university and study law. After passing his exams with distinction in 1899 he established his practice in 1900.

Caption under picture at lower left reads August C. Esenwein

He was successful from the beginning and was a sought-after advocate, especially by the German community since he had a natural command of the German language and displayed the qualities and characteristics of a true German. When he went for the unveiling of the Steuben Memorial in Washington in 1910 he was granted the right to practice law in the Federal Court System.

Mr. Müller is a member of the Buffalo Orpheus, the Buffalo Historical Society, the Society of Natural Science, the Bar Association, the Lawyers Club, the Order of the Royal Arcanum, and the German Young Mens Association. On June 14, 1905 he married Miss Anna Auerbach, who was a supervisor of nurses at the German Hospital. Mr. Müller lives with his wife in a pleasant home at 59 East Utica Street. His office is located in Room 111 of the Erie County Savings Bank Building.

Mr. John F. Müller was a candidate for the Assembly in 1907 on the Democratic ticket. He led a rigorous campaign for good municipal, state, and national governance. He is a prominent member of the Good Government Association. He is also a zealous advocate for higher education for the masses as exemplified by his regular involvement in activities to promote the expansion of the University of Buffalo. He's especially vocal when it comes to relaxation of the admissions requirements so that immigrants have the chance to study the history of this country and learn about its political and social structure so that they may become good citizens and true patriots.

Caption under picture at upper right reads John F. Müller

Biography for Chas. A. Klocke can be found on Webpage 44

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Susan Kriegbaum-Hanks
Revised September 3, 2005