International success 1882-1923
Christian Gottlieb continually broadened his selection of products, now adding induction equipment, microtomes, endoscopy lighting and ophthalmological instruments to his existing repertoire of Instruments.
Christian Gottlieb (1855-1907) and Pauline Erbe (1857-1933)
When Christian Gottlieb Erbe completed his apprenticeship in precision mechanics in Stuttgart at the beginning of the 1870s, the German Empire had only recently been established. In 1871, Otto von Bismarck had become the first Imperial Chancellor. Central Europe was in the throes of the Industrial Revolution. While news of inventions in the fields of technology and medicine was spreading with increasing frequency around the world, the young mechanic began traveling, like his father before him. He worked in Vienna, Berlin, Holland and Freiberg in Saxony.
In 1882, Christian Gottlieb Erbe took over the workshop. He was 27 years old. In the same year, he married Pauline Gruenvogel from Weil im Schoenbuch. Unlike his father, who had completed all the work in the workshop by himself, Christian Gottlieb hired a number of
employees, some of whom he brought to Tuebingen from Berlin and Freiberg.
His father's contacts within the institutes of the University of Tuebingen provided a sound basis. Christian Gottlieb continually broadened his selection of products, now adding induction equipment, microtomes, endoscopy lighting and ophthalmological instruments to his existing repertoire of instruments.
In 1907, Christian Gottlieb Erbe died unexpectedly at 52 years old. His wife Pauline took over the management of the company, a courageous decision in an era in which women in Germany were not permitted to vote and could only study at a handful of universities. As company managers, they were a rare sight. For 16 years, Pauline remained the sole owner supported by her son Christian Otto, to whom she transferred the company in 1923.