On ebay I have seen Fritch & Co ice axes dating back to 1910.
The Fritsch company was located in Zurich Switzerland.
At some time either 1930s or early 1940s the “Co” in the Fritsch name changed to “Cie.” I am not sure why the name was changed but putting further research into it, “Cie” is the French word for Company. I know Switzerland shares many languages and the country is split up into groupings of these languages, but the Fritsch company remained in Zurich so I am not sure why the the company name was changed to the French reference. My biggest question is what year did the “Co” change to “Cie”, and why? Of course my other question is what year did Fritsch & Co start producing pitons?
The Fritsch company was located in Zurich Switzerland.
At some time either 1930s or early 1940s the “Co” in the Fritsch name changed to “Cie.” I am not sure why the name was changed but putting further research into it, “Cie” is the French word for Company. I know Switzerland shares many languages and the country is split up into groupings of these languages, but the Fritsch company remained in Zurich so I am not sure why the the company name was changed to the French reference. My biggest question is what year did the “Co” change to “Cie”, and why? Of course my other question is what year did Fritsch & Co start producing pitons?
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Fritsch manufacturers mark 1930s/early 1940s
"Fritsch & Co" in oval |
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Fritsch manufacturers mark mid 1940s
"Fritsch & Co" name without oval. |
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Fritsch manufacturers mark late 1940s/1950s
"Fritsch & Cie" |
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Fritsch manufacturers mark late 1950s/1960s
"Fritsch" |
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Of course there is also the odd marks that are presented in the research. I have a photo of a Fritsch early 1940s hammer that has a “Fritsch and Cie” in oval mark on it. The manufacturers mark looks very clean but appears to be missing the “I” in “CIE”. Plus there are two horizontal line dashes under the “IE” where usually there is only one line. Since I have a piton that is marked Fritsch & Co without the oval, I am not sure when this manufacturer mark on the hammer fits into its historical alignment. |
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Fritsch manufacturers marks on Fritsch ice axe heads. c. 1910-1940s 
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Fritsch & Co horizontal pitons c. 1930s/early 1940s 
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Fritsch & Co vertical piton No "Fritsch" manufacturer mark. c. 1930s/1940s 
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Fritsch and Co Spoon and horizontal blade c. late 1940s/1950s 
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Fritsch & Co piton
- Historic piece stating it is from 1927 first ascent of Stetner's Ledges, east face of Longs Peak. The marks on the piton aligns it more as a 1940s piton, where I have not found any proof that Fritsch was even making pitons in the 1920s. So this piton may have been placed on a later ascent of the route. I keep this item listed because I cant prove it is not true. However my research philosophy of Fritsch pitons equals the same year marks that were put onto the Fritsch Ice axe heads through the years. - Photo by: Keith Lober 
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Fritsch and Cie pitons, photo by ....... ?
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Fritsch & Cie Ring piton c. late 1940s 
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Fritsch & Cie Wafer pitons c. late 1940s/1950s 
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Fritsch & Cie Ring piton c. late 1940s/1950s 
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Fritsch & Cie Angle piton The darker color Angle is welded at the eye. I am not sure if the manufacturer offered the angles welded or non welded, but this weld looks somewhat home done. c. late 1940s/1950s 
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Fritsch Ice pitons
c. 1950s (1940s?)
c. 1950s (1940s?)
