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Boleslaw Cybis 1895-1957
When Boleslaw Cybis determined he would produce china and porcelain goods for public consumption, it was his intent to not only build a solid business, but to also do what he loved. Boleslaw was an artist in every aspect having learned old world techniques in sculpture before immigrating from Europe to the U.S. in 1939. His artistic skill combined with the foresight to produce items consumers wanted insured his success in his new country.
First working with a cold cast, porous plaster product he termed "Papka", Boleslaw and is wife Maria created crude whimsical figures they sold on the streets of New York City.
Papka angels produced in 1940
After moving to New Jersey and setting up kilns in Trenton, Boleslaw perfected his recipe for fine china and began producing sculptural figures, busts, vases, table lamps and dinnerware under the Cordey name. With a shortage of decorative goods due to World War II, Cordey products were in demand and the business grew quickly. By the mid 1940's, Boleslaw employed as many as 250 employees producing up to 25,000 items per month.
Boleslaw inspecting fired items in 1948.
By 1950 Cordey's prominence began to erode within the market. Cheap imports and knockoffs by competitors were impacting sales. This alone was not good. Complicating things, Cordey was also facing worker dissatisfaction and staff divisions among a few. Even though the majority of employees overwhelmingly supported Boleslaw, stating he was a fair and good boss, a small faction attempted to unionize and illegally formed picket lines to blockade the operation. Union organizers were far from successful in acquiring the signatures needed. Efforts to unionize eventually fell apart, but not before taking its toll on Cordey and Boleslaw. To end the illegal blockade, Cybis filed a lawsuit against the union, which he won. At this point, his health was failing and he could no longer commit the time and energy to develop new products to drive the studio forward. It was time for change.
Cybis Religious Art Sculptures
One may say Boleslaw's prayers were answered with the introduction of Christian decorative wares under the Cybis Fine China hallmark. In 1953 Boleslaw registered Cybis as a NJ corporation. A new studio was born while Cordey would be phased out. Through the purchase of commercial molds of varying Christian subject matter, items could be quickly produced and sold to a large market hungry for decorative items supporting their faith.
While many of the items produced were simply treated as household decorations, as opposed to art, Boleslaw did produce several finer large pieces. This drew recognition to the Cybis Studio and established its reputation for producing the finest in Christian art sculpture and decorative products. Not long after introducing the Cybis pieces, Boleslaw again perfected the formula used in creating sculptures and the studio graduated from fine china to porcelain. The Cybis brand was doing well, but Boleslaw was suffering both physical and mental health issues.
Sadly, in 1957, Boleslaw made the decision to end his life, committing suicide at home on Greenhouse Drive in Princeton, NJ. A year later, in 1958, his wife Maria, who never recovered from her husband's death, ended her life at the same address. The studio was left to a longtime employee who was like a daughter. Marylin Kozuch had worked with Boleslaw and Maria since their arrival in New York in 1939. The studio was now hers. Just as Cordey ran its course, by the early 1960's the religious line of products Cybis introduced also began to wane. Marylin would be responsible for taking the studio to the next level and her success was certainly amazing.