The Legacies of J.G. Braun and Ernest Wiemann
At the top of the bookend is an authentic piece of ornamental ironwork history – a wrought iron leaf created by the J.G. Braun Company from Chicago. The leaf is one example of dozens of designs used for residential and commercial ornamentation from the late 1880’s through the 1930’s. The remainder of the bookend represents the future of metalworking. It was produced in Wiemann’s full-service blacksmith shop by a young man, Niel Arbman. A native of France, Niel is nearing completion of a traditional blacksmith apprenticeship program for The Compagnons du Devoir.
How Two German Craftsmen Shaped American Ornamental Metalwork Across Generations
The story of American ornamental ironwork is inseparable from the contributions of German immigrant craftsmen who brought Old World techniques to a rapidly industrializing nation. Among these skilled artisans, two names stand out not just for their individual achievements, but for an unexpected connection that would preserve a crucial piece of metalworking history: Jacob Gottfried Braun and Ernest Wiemann.
J.G. Braun: Pioneer of Industrial Ornamental Iron
Born in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany on February 28, 1857, Jacob Gottfried Braun represented the pinnacle of German metalsmithing tradition. Between 1870 and 1880, he earned his Certificate of Performance and Expression of Service from an art metalsmithing and ornamental décor school, mastering techniques that had been refined over centuries of European craftsmanship.
In 1884, at just 27 years old, Braun's father Friedrich Herman sent him across the Atlantic with a clear mission: sell the family's smithing wares—iron, bronze, and copper pieces that embodied generations of German expertise. What Braun found in America was not just a market, but an opportunity that would transform his life and the industry itself.
The Great Chicago Fire of 1871 had devastated the city, melting most of its cast iron architectural elements. By the time Braun arrived, Chicago was rebuilding with a hunger for fireproof, durable materials. His wrought iron mouldings offered everything the city needed: lighter weight than cast iron, superior aesthetics, unbreakable durability, and most critically, fire resistance. Recognizing the explosive demand, Braun moved his company headquarters to Chicago around 1890, establishing his factory at 322 South Paulina Street.
The J.G. Braun Company specialized in architectural ironwork—railings, storefronts, door frames, stairways, fences, and elevator enclosures. But Braun's innovation went beyond products. He revolutionized the manufacturing process itself, developing drop-forged wrought iron ornaments and advanced machinery that earned international recognition. In 1896, Prince Leopold of Germany awarded him the Nurnberg Silver Medal of Excellence for metal shears and punch machines. Two years later, the Munich State Medallion and Diploma followed. By 1899, Braun held U.S. patents for his innovations.
By 1904, the J.G. Braun Company had become the largest provider of handmade and pressed wrought iron and brass ornaments in America. His catalogs, distributed nationwide, featured hundreds of rosettes, leaves, crosses, and mythological creatures that adorned the finest buildings from coast to coast. The company's reach was so extensive that Braun's designs became synonymous with quality ornamental ironwork throughout the early 20th century.
Ernest Wiemann: The Tulsa Master
Four decades after Braun arrived in America, another young German metalworker would follow a remarkably similar path, though under far different circumstances. Ernest Wiemann was born in 1910 in Bramsche, Germany, where his father held a political position increasingly at odds with Hitler's rising power. Recognizing the danger, Wiemann's parents made a heart-wrenching decision: at just 17 years old, in 1928, they sent their son to live with family in Chicago.
Unlike Braun, who arrived as a salesman of his family's wares, Wiemann came as a fully licensed journeyman machinist—trained in the rigorous German apprenticeship system that had produced generations of master craftsmen. He quickly found work at Finkel's Machine Shop in Chicago, where his precision and skill were immediately evident.
In 1930, Wiemann's life took an unexpected turn when he married an Oklahoma native and relocated to Tulsa. What began as custom gates, furniture, and garden ornaments gradually evolved into a full-fledged business. In 1940, Wiemann opened Wiemann Ornamental Ironworks, bringing the German tradition of master metalworking to the American Southwest.
His work soon caught national attention. A gate Wiemann designed for a home at 61st and Harvard in Tulsa was featured on the cover of Better Homes and Gardens. Articles nicknamed him "Tulsa's Man of Iron." Orders arrived from Napa Valley, New York City, and Chicago—but Wiemann took special pride in his Tulsa accomplishments: the signature gates at Philbrook Museum of Art and the ornate gazebo and rose garden fence at Gilcrease Museum.
Wiemann's dedication to the craft extended beyond his own shop. He became deeply involved with the National Ornamental and Miscellaneous Metals Association (NOMMA), advocating tirelessly for quality standards and advancing the profession. His impact was so profound that upon his retirement in 1997, NOMMA renamed their annual Top Job Awards in his honor—a recognition unmatched in the industry.
The Discovery: A Hidden Treasury
The connection between these two German craftsmen, separated by decades and over 700 miles, emerged from an extraordinary discovery in the early 1970s. Ernest Wiemann, by then an established master in his own right, stumbled upon a seemingly forgotten warehouse. Behind a wall, he found something remarkable: a large collection of wrought iron ornaments from the J.G. Braun Company.
The pieces had likely been hidden during World War II to prevent them from being melted down for the war effort—a common fate for decorative ironwork during that period. Recognizing their historical and artistic significance, Wiemann preserved the collection. Years later, he donated all 280+ pieces to the National Ornamental Metal Museum in Memphis, Tennessee, where they remain today as the J.G. Braun Collection.
The collection includes drop-forged wrought iron ornaments shaped as rosettes, leaves, crosses, and mythological creatures, along with nearly 30 perforated sheet metal samples for fire screens and radiator covers. These pieces represent the height of early 20th-century American ornamental ironwork—the legacy of German craftsmanship transplanted to American soil.
A Shared Legacy
The parallel journeys of Jacob Gottfried Braun and Ernest Wiemann illuminate a larger narrative about immigration, craftsmanship, and cultural preservation. Both men fled different threats in Germany—Braun seeking economic opportunity in the wake of his family business, Wiemann escaping political persecution. Both found in America not just refuge, but the freedom to practice and innovate their craft at the highest levels.
Their shared German training—the rigorous apprenticeship systems, the emphasis on both artistic design and technical precision—gave them advantages in the American market. While American blacksmithing had strong traditions, the German approach to ornamental metalwork combined engineering innovation with artistic sensibility in ways that set new standards.
Braun's innovations in manufacturing made quality ornamental ironwork accessible to a broader market, democratizing architectural beauty. Wiemann carried forward that tradition of excellence while adapting it to custom, artisanal production—proving that even in an age of mass production, there remained a vital place for the master craftsman.
The fact that Wiemann discovered and preserved Braun's work speaks to a deep professional kinship that transcended time. Wiemann recognized in those hidden ornaments not just beautiful objects, but a piece of his own heritage—the German metalworking tradition that had shaped both their lives. By donating the collection to the Metal Museum, he ensured that future generations could study and appreciate the foundations upon which his own work was built.
The Living Tradition
Today, Wiemann Metalcraft continues under the Bracken family's stewardship, maintaining the standards Ernest Wiemann established. The company has been recognized by NOMMA over 160 times—more than any other metal fabricator in the country. Their work spans from residential gates to monumental religious installations across 47 states and multiple countries.
Meanwhile, the J.G. Braun Collection at the Metal Museum serves as an archive of design inspiration and a testament to the quality that made Braun's company the largest of its kind. Researchers, metalworkers, and architects continue to study these pieces, drawing inspiration from the designs that once adorned America's finest buildings.
The story of J.G. Braun and Ernest Wiemann reminds us that innovation and tradition are not opposing forces but complementary ones. Braun brought German precision to industrial-scale production; Wiemann brought that same precision to artisanal mastery. Braun's company shaped the landscape of early 20th-century American architecture; Wiemann preserved that legacy while building his own.
In the end, these two German immigrants, separated by time but united by craft, created a bridge not just of iron but of cultural continuity—a reminder that the finest work comes from those who honor the past while forging the future.
WORKS CITEDWORKS CITED
J.G. Braun Company Sources
Chicago History Museum. "Architectural metal-work records of J.G. Braun Co., [ca. 1887-1961]." Explore Chicago Collections.
https://explore.chicagocollections.org/marcxml/chicagohistory/30/wm14n6w/
J.G. Braun Co. Steel moulding catalog 30. Chicago, IL: J.G. Braun Co., 1930. Internet Archive.
https://archive.org/details/SteelMouldingsCatalogue30
Metal Museum. "Inside the Collection: J.G. Braun Company." Metal Museum Blog, March 12, 2021.
https://www.metalmuseum.org/post/inside-the-collection-j-g-braun-company
Metal Museum. "Wrought Iron Ornaments from the J.G. Braun Collection." Metal Museum Exhibitions.
https://www.metalmuseum.org/jg-braun
National Ornamental Metal Museum. "J.G. Braun Company - 139." Past Perfect Online Collections.
https://metalmuseum.pastperfectonline.com/bysearchterm?keyword=J.G.+Braun+Company
Ernest Wiemann and Wiemann Metalcraft Sources
Bollinger, Greg. "In haute demand: 85-year-old Tulsa business continues metalwork tradition of excellence." Tulsa People, January 1, 2025.
https://www.tulsapeople.com/city-desk/in-haute-demand-85-year-old-tulsa-business-continues-metalwork-tradition-of-excellence/article_bb6df37e-c6d4-11ef-af1d-c34e5e907113.html
"Creating Art From Metal // Ernest Wiemann Forging National Reputation." Tulsa World, April 12, 1992.
https://tulsaworld.com/archive/creating-art-from-metal-ernest-wiemann-forging-national-reputation/article_9c267587-d515-5126-848a-3dfd1080fdb5.html
"Ernest Wiemann (1910-2010)." This Land Press, December 7, 2011.
https://thislandpress.com/2011/12/07/ernest-wiemann-1910-2010/
Wiemann Metalcraft. "About Us - Wiemann Metalcraft."
https://wmcraft.com/about-wiemann-metalcraft/
Wiemann Metalcraft. "Awards - Wiemann Metalcraft."
https://wmcraft.com/about-us-wiemann-metalcraft-history/awards/
Wiemann Metalcraft. "Wiemann Metalcraft History: A Legacy Since 1940."
https://wmcraft.com/about-wiemann-metalcraft/history/
Wiemann Metalcraft. "Wiemann Metalcraft - Architectural Metal Fabrication."
https://wmcraft.com/