(Werdau, Saxony 1865-1943 Vienna)
Wien, In der Annagasse, signed E. Graner, watercolour on paper, 44 x 35 cm, framed, (BH)

A type written description on the reverse: „Das Bild stellt das Haus in Wien, Annagasse 8, dar, wohin die Firma Gebrüder Mayer, die vorher in der Maximlianstrasse untergebracht war, im Jahre 1899 übersiedelte. Der Herr mit Hut und kräftigem Vollbart stellt tatsächlich Herrn Scherer dar, der, aus seiner Wohnung im 3. Stock Arenbergring kommend, des morgens vor dem Bürohaus erscheint. Das Zimmer, das er bewohnte, lag im 1. Stock und hat geöffnete Fensterflügel. Die drei geschlossenen Fenster links davon sind die eines grossen Raumes, in dem die Kommissions-, Fakturen- und Mahnabteilung untergebracht war. Sowohl das Haus Annagasse 8 als auch das daneben Annagasse 10, wo sich heute noch - allerdings im Hausflurder Blumenladen befindet, gehören der Firma Gebrüder Mayer und stehen unter Denkmalschutz. Beide Palais ziehen sich durch den ganzen Block bis zur nächsten Nebengasse der Kärtnerstrasse, nämlich zur Krugerstrasse. ..."(The picture shows the house in Annagasse No 8 where the company of the Brothers Mayer which had previously been located in Maximilianstraße moved to in 1899. The gentleman with the hat and the prominent full beard is Herr Scherer, who is coming from his apartment on the third floor of Arenbergring and approaching the office building in the morning. The room which he occupied was situated on the first floor whose window appears to be open. The three shut windows to the left of it belong to a large room which included the commission, invoicing and dunning of the company. Both the building in Annagasse 8 and the adjacent one at Annagasse 10, where the flower shop is located in the doorway even today, belonged to the Gebrüder Mayer Company and are listed as historical monuments. Both building extend along the whole bloc towards the next side street of Kärntnerstraße, namely to Krugerstraße...)

The so-called „Täuberlhof“ in Annagasse 8 was a five- to six-storey high building with a courtyard and a rear building. It was probably designed by Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt around 1830 and built by Leopold Giessl. Between 1766 and 1789 the drawing and engraving school of the Academy of Fine Arts was located in this building. At the end of the 19th century the Gebrüder Mayer company of colonial goods moved into the premises. Rudolf Scherer (1857-1930), seen on the present watercolour with hat and full beard, was the managing director of the Mayer Company. He had great commercial skills and was largely involved in the success of the enterprise. He was also responsible for the introduction of the then very popular Munich brand „Kathreiner Malzkaffee“ in Austria.