Ignaz Bing

Ignaz Bing (January 29, 1840 - March 24, 1918) was a German-Jewish industrialist, naturalist, poet, and memoirist.

The brothers Ignaz Bing and Adolf Bing were the children of Bela Levi (later Babette Tuchmann) and Saloman Beer Bernard Bing, an Ashkenazi Jewish master dyer in Memmelsdorf, Germany, who went on to become a hops-dealer. In 1863 they founded GBN (Gebruder Bing Nurnberger Metall und Lakierwaren Fabrik) in Nuremberg, also known as BW (Bing Werke).

Ignaz was the leader of the two brothers. He began with a line of willow baskets and enamel household goods, then hired artisans to design and craft fine art nouveau pewter, copper, and glass tableware. Toy production commenced in 1880 and the company's first teddy bears were released in 1907. By the early 20th century, GBN was the largest toy company in the world, and the Bing factory in Nuremberg was the largest toy factory in the world, producing a variety of goods such as dollhouse furniture and enamelware, tin-litho metal toys, and an extensive catalogue of stationary model steam engines and model trains. Non-toy products manufactured by the company included gramophones, a line of recordings called Bingola Records, bicycles, kitchenware, office equipment, and electrical goods.

The Bing Brothers company employed thousands of workers and engaged in joint business investments with many collateral family members in Nuremberg and the wider environs of Bavaria. Bing goods were sold not only in Germany, but also in Great Britain, the United States of America, and Canada. As a prominent Nuremberg industrialist, Ignaz Bing helped to develop the modern concept of annual industry-wide trade shows. For his many services on behalf of his country's economy, he was honoured with the title of Privy Councillor of Commerce (Geheime Kommerzienrat) to the Bavarian Court.

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