Lecture series on the art history of the Tiergarten district
François Haby was one of the most prominent entrepreneurs in Wilhelmine Berlin. As court hairdresser to Kaiser Wilhelm II, he developed the emperor's distinctive beard into a trademark, which he skillfully marketed using surprisingly modern advertising strategies.
Image gallery
Blick in Habys Herrensalon, Werbepostkarte mit retuschierter Fotografie, 1902
His salon, designed in 1900 by Henry Van de Velde in the avant-garde Art Nouveau style, parts of which are preserved in the Berlin City Museum, became a tourist attraction. Haby's rise to prominence was further evidenced by his move to the Tiergarten district in 1904.
Through his regular interaction with the capricious monarch, whom he often accompanied on trips, he gained insights that extended far beyond hair and beard care. It has remained largely unknown until now that his career came to an abrupt end just weeks before the emperor's abdication in 1918 due to carelessly leaked indiscretions.
Speaker: Ulrich Feldhahn, M.A. is a freelance art historian in Berlin, a research associate at Wernigerode Castle, and the author of numerous publications on 19th- and early 20th-century art and history.
Admission and participation are free. No registration is required.
IN GERMAN
