Twenty-one members met in Wuppertal on the 30th. September 2009 at the invitation of our Hosts Werner & Ingrid Wiessmuller

The meeting was arranged by the Club’s Visits Organiser Graeme Holland and we stayed four nights at the Arcade Hotel which was very comfortable and convenient for the town centre. Wuppertal is famous for its overhead railway system which was built in 1901, but more about that later.

The first day was spent at the home of Werner & Ingrid with plenty of time to see their very extensive collection of antique spectacles and many other related items displayed all around their apartment. There were a number of very rare items for us to see, shown to advantage in a range of different showcases, plus many others in storage cabinets. Ingrid supplied lunch for us all, which was no mean task but made a very sociable occasion. There was a short time available to explore the town before going to a local restaurant for dinner.

On the morning of the second day we were welcomed at the home of Karl-Lu- Steymans in Cologne for coffee and to see his collection which was displayed very attractively in two tall glass cabinets. The items were meticulously labelled and catalogued with some interesting and innovative methods of display. After lunch at a nearby hostelry which had a very local atmosphere and akin to an English village Pub, we went on to the home of Christa & Thomas Finkelstein to see their collection. This again showed considerable enterprise in the manner of display where Thomas had made picture frame type mountings and had these hung on all the walls of the staircase of their three storey home with a further display in a room on the top floor.

All our hosts had different methods of displaying their collections, which as visitors we found inspiring and enabled us to come home with some new ideas.

The third day’s visit came as a great surprise. We travelled to Geldern to the works, museum and home of Mr Karlheinz Hotsteges. Mr Hotsteges with his two sons and about sixty employees run a Company manufacturing and repairing spectacles of any description. We had a tour of the works where only a few people were working because of the weekend, but were shown laser soldering machines being used, jewellery being repaired and we got the impression that anything old or new can be repaired or replaced in this workshop. We then went on to Mr & Mrs Hotsteges home where they also have their personal museum which is adjacent. We were able to see and handle any of the items in his collection which extends over four large rooms on two floors. The whole afternoon was spent in this museum with Mr Hotsteges describing many items of interest from spec-cords and tie-pins made in his factory to some very rare antiques, then into the garden to view the largest spectacle frame made.

On the Sunday morning before travelling to the Airport for members to go their different ways home, we went to the Wuppertal overhead railway for a ride on the train. This travels nineteen kilometres from one end of the town to the other, travelling mostly over the river Wuppa.  This railway is a major attraction for tourists in the area and some coaches can be hired with their original livery and with attendants in original costume serving refreshments. We did not have time for this historic trip to be included in our visit, but were able to see one taking place.

The whole visit was a wonderful opportunity to meet other members and to see their collections. All those present said how enjoyable it had been and at the final dinner a very appreciative vote of thanks was expressed to Graeme the Visits Organiser for his exemplary planning and to Werner and Ingrid our hosts.