History

In the year 1900, my grandfather, Erwin Perzy I, created the very first snowglobe. He lived in a house not too far from Schönbrunn where the beauty of Vienna brought forth his first design, the Basilica of Maria Zell, which contained snow made from ground rice.

The first glass globe measured 40mm diameter on a gypsum base which was painted black. Through the years, grandfather created more and more new scenes and it was about 1920 when he decided to manufacture the snowglobes in 20, 40 and 60mm sizes.

We began producing snowglobes 35, 45, 80mm in 1970 and first produced a 120mm snowglobe in 1977.

Our family has had the distinction of manufacturing many special orders, at times, just one-of-a kind piece, or sometimes, thousands of just one style. One of our unique designs included a 120mm snowglobe on a solid silver base which was given to President Bill Clinton. The snowglobe contained the original confetti which was thrown at his inauguration party.

We have also made snowglobes for many famous movies, snowglobes with industry logos, and giveaway snowglobes for large corporations.

In 1995 we decided producing the 25mm snowglobe as a replica of grandfathers production and it has turned beside the 80mm to one of our best selling sizes.

My grandfathers invention of the Austrian Snowglobe has given much joy and delight to millions of people and now it is sought after by collectors all over the world. He proudly accepted a special award for his designs as a toymaker from Kaiser Franz Josef I.

Today, the tradition that my grandfather began is carried on from the same house in Vienna. Here, we produce the snowglobe completely by hand and like my grandfather`s creations, it makes no difference if we produce one or thousands of a style, each piece is as unique as a snowflake.

Erwin Perzy, III
Vienna, Austria