I arrived by train in Kaufbeuren, the small town adjacent to Neugablonz, and managed to walk the few minutes to my hotel right before a huge rainstorm started. If you are unfamiliar with the history of Neugablonz as one of the important German "bead towns", please read Floor Kasper's excellent book, "Beads from Germany". There is a link on the Classified page.

My goal in Neugablonz was to look for information about the German production of phenolic beads. Unfortunately I didn't find anything about phenolic beads but I did learn a bit about the production of other kinds of plastic beads both before and after WWII. Plastic beads made from acrylic are still in production by one company, Bartel, but they are under severe pressure from Chinese companies, who copy the Bartel designs as soon as they come out, and mass produce them very quickly.

I bought one new necklace of German plastic beads at the museum in Neugablonz so I could have an example in my collection.