History

Around 1682, the four sons of Melchior Assman ran a wire forge in Lüdenscheid, Westphalia. From there, the forge was transformed into a brass buckle factory by Melchior's grandson, Leopold Wilhelm I Assmann in 1794. Leopold Wilhelm I Assmann died in 1803 and his son, Friedrich Leopold Wilhelm II Assmann, took over until his death in 1824. The business was then transferred to Friedrich Leopold Wilhelm II Assmann's stepbrother, Friedrich Wilhelm Assmann, and he renamed the business F. W. Assmann & Söhne in 1826. The company produced buttons for the clothing industry and later medals for the military. The maker mark at the time was "A". In 1862, Peter Wilhelm Julius I Assmann, the son of Friedrich Wilhelm Assmann, joined the family business. After Friedrich Wilhelm Assmann died in 1877, Friedrich Leopold partnered with his brother in the company.

In 1889, Peter withdrew from managing the company and handed over management to his son, Friedrich Julius Eugen Assman. Friedrich Julius Eugen Assman acquired the Hamburg flag factory CG Ulrich Nachf. in 1890. Management was passed to his son, Friedrich Wilhelm Julius Assman II. In 1893, he founded the Felix Otto Assmann company for meteorological equipment for his third son of the same name. He also merged the Lüdenscheid uniform button manufacturers into a cartel, which the Association of Uniform Button Manufacturers emerged from in 1919. The flag factory CG Ulrich Nachf. was renamed F. W. Jul. Assman and was relocated from Hamburg to Lüdenscheid due to a cholera epidemic in 1894.

In 1900, a branch of the firm was established in Berlin as the imperial purveyor to the court. After the death of Julius Assmann I in 1914, the Felix Otto Assmann company was closed by Felix Otto Assman, but the other sectors remained open. With the deaths of Fritz in 1922 and Eugen in 1926, F. W. Assmann & Söhne was passed on to Fritz Assman's son, Hans.

During the Second World War, Assmann & Söhne manufactured under the LDO number L/64, PKZ number 35, and RZM code /17.