The collector Hans-Jürgen Krackher dedicates itself to everyday culture in the Potsdam World Heritage Site from palaces and gardens.
As a marketing expert, he demonstrates the development of the branded item in his marketing cabinet using the example of historical containers and bottles. As a gallery owner, he offers hands-on exhibits, and as a blogger, he organizes a worldwide network of collectors.
His topic is the emergence of marketing, based on the Coca Cola bottle from 1915. It is the most famous branded article in the world. The collector explores the history of mental refreshment and stimulation. The element as a food with taste and effect, tap water as a basic food. Historic world drinks such as beer, tea or wine. Distilates like spirits or essences.The collection includes marked vessels from 1700, hollow bodies are the oldest product packaging in the world. The focus is on the pioneering days of German global brands. With Johann Maria Farina, 1709 founder of the Eau de Cologne. With Jacob Schweppe, 1783 developer of the first industrial soft drink. Or Bayer, the international drugstore since 1863. The spirit of research, innovation and enterprise unites them all. Hence the collection name “spiritschweppes”.
The exhibits are historical world brands, auctioned by excavators, divers and diggers from all continents. The archive contains over 3000 documents and artifacts. The discarded “treasures from the trash” are handmade precursors to industrial mass production. Manufactured from glass and earthenware as unique pre-industrial pieces.
The message is museum education in the sense of collecting. Receive. Understand. Convey.
Krackher’s vision is to develop a digital platform to document private collections for the next generation. With practical instructions for lettering, visualization, digitization, presentation. spiritschweppes.com is on the way there.