Jacob Wolf Spier And Sons

Place: Fürth

Born: 1879

Biography:

J. W. Spear & Söhne was a German company founded by Jacob Wolf Spier (1832-1893) in 1879. Initially, they produced goods such as table mats, photo frames, and waste-paper baskets. By the turn of the century, games had become their main product. The company set up a factory in Brimsdown, Enfield, Britain to avoid customs duties. With the rise to power of the Nazis and the Spier family being Jewish, some members of the family moved to Britain and subsequently Anglicised their name to Spear. The Nuremberg factory was forcibly 'purchased' by a German businessman, and survived most of World War II under Nazi control until the Royal Air Force bombed it. The UK factory switched to military production during the war and then returned to making games.