Joseph Sürch, Engraver

Joseph Sürch (1811 - July 1877) was a prominent Viennese engraver whose work significantly contributed to the field of card sheet engraving. Born and raised in Vienna, Sürch trained as an engraver at the Akademie der bildenden Künste in Wien. He is featured as an artist in the 1880 edition of the Biographisches Lexikon des Kaiserthums Oesterreich (Biographical Encyclopedia of the Austrian Empire).

Above: the signature “Sürch / 1854” appears on the Cavalier of Hearts card from the Industrial und Glück Tarok deck.

From 1847 to 1849, Sürch worked for the influential Viennese fashion magazine Wiener Zeitschrift für Kunst, Literatur, Theater und Mode (Viennese Journal of Art, Literature, Theatre and Fashion). His graphic work, which includes common genre pictures, is not extensively documented and does not deviate significantly from the period average. Today, some of his works can occasionally be found in online stores.

Sürch also made his mark in the production of playing cards. In the 1850s, he worked with the card company of Joseph Glanz in Vienna. Many of his works are signed, making it possible to easily identify some of his engravings.

Industrie und Glück Tarok

This deck shows a developmental version of the Industrie und Glück deck with a custom composition of tarot card images.

AffenTarock

Above: "J. Sürch / Wien 879” displayed on the King of Diamonds card.

The name of this deck is derived from the German word “Affen” (monkey), inspired by the depiction on tarot card I. The tarot cards combine traditional genre scenes with vedutas of various buildings.

Wiener Veduten Tarock

The Latin motto “Recta sequi” (Follow the right path) engraved on Card XVII from the Wiener Veduten Tarock deck.

Above: card XVII of the Wiener Veduten Tarock deck depicts the Tunel bei Baden with the motto “Recta sequi,” (Follow the right path) symbolizing the tunnel as a groundbreaking infrastructure project in the Austrian Empire.

In 1849, Joseph Glanz purchased the rival company Max Uffenheimer. As part of his product line, he built on their tarot card offerings with views and had Joseph Sürch engrave an updated version.

Above, left to right: Card XIV from the Wiener Veduten Tarock deck, and the signature “J. Sürch” appears on Card I, known as the pagat.

Despite any questions regarding the value of Joseph Sürch’s work as an artist, his contributions to card sheet engraving are unquestionable. The quality of Sürch’s engravings can be exemplified by a tarot card depicting the Tunel bei Baden motif. The card shows the first railway tunnel in the Austrian Empire, built in 1841 near the town of Gumpoldskirchen. At the mouth of the tunnel is the Latin motto Recta sequi, which Master Sürch also included on his card. The size of the letters is approximately 0.65 mm.

In 1974, 1985, and 1993, reprints of this deck were published by the Piatnik company. The first reprint was to commemorate its 150th anniversary, and subsequent reprints were part of the Edition Piatnik series.

A Small Note in Conclusion

In the December 2016 Cartorama catalog, an Industrie und Glück tarot deck by Johann Nejedly was offered for sale with the signature “Wien 1861 / J. Sürch sc” on card XIII and the Cavalier of Hearts.