A TANGLED WEB

Three bow makers of the Knopf family are well known: Christian Wilhelm, Heinrich and Henry. But the dynasty comprises more than a dozen members, many of whom deserve recognition. Gennady Filimonov draws on archive material supplied by the Knopf descendants to unravel the complex hive of bow making activity

Above A selection of documents held by the Knopf family, including the letter sent by Heinrich Knopf to his fiancee Wilhelmine quoted on page 33

GENNADY FILIMONOV

Many violin and bow makers will pass on their skills to the next generation. It is rare, though, for a maker to found a dynasty with more than a few members taking up the craft and becoming just as skilled, if not more so, than their parents. And it is extraordinary for a dynasty to last five generations, with at least fourteen family members engaged in the same business, producing strings, stringed instruments, bows and horns in Saxony from the 18th century. This was the achievement of the Knopfs, one of the most respected instrument making families in all of Germany, whose bows are still highly regarded today and even bear comparison with those of Nikolai Kittel – who commissioned large numbers from them in the mid-19th century. The family name then became widely known in America, with a Knopf founding one of the first violin shops in New York. Several family members became famous in their own time, yet the less well-know Knopf makers have always remained shrouded in mystery, despite for years sharing the same workshop in Markneukirchen. Now, thanks to their descendants, documents and memorablia have come to light explaining the family history in more detail and bringing the lives of the Knopfs, as well as their work and achievements, into sharp relief.

The dynasty began in Markneukirchen in 1767, with the birth of Christian Wilhelm Knopf. He was the son of Johann Gottlob Knopf, a tailor and violin dealer who also dabbled in making bows and strings. C.W. Knopf achieved international renown during his own lifetime. He was inspired by the early work of F.X. Tourte, and was regarded in his day as the ‘German Tourte’ and by some as ‘Tourte’s greatest rival’. In Germany he is regarded as the inventor of the metal eyelet. He taught and inspired his descendants to make their own lasting contributions to the bow making tradition, which went far beyond the Vogtland region. C.W. Knopf died in 1837 but produced four sons who all went into the craft: Christian Wilhelm Jr (1799– 1835); Karl Wilhelm (1803–60); Christian Friedrich Wilhelm I (1808–74) and Christian Friedrich Wilhelm II (1815–97).

With the death of C.W. Knopf, Karl Wilhelm took over the shop and business. He became an excellent maker, also inspired by Tourte. But it was Karl Wilhelm’s son Carl Heinrich (1839– 75) who was destined for greatness among the new generation of Knopfs. He learnt the art of bow making from his father and uncle, C.F.W. Knopf, before spending his journeyman years in Leipzig working for Ludwig Bausch at Johannesgasse 25. This is evidenced by a letter he wrote from Leipzig on 26 August 1858, to his fiancée Wilhelmine Eschenbach:

If you and my father weren’t so close to my heart, I wouldn’t have any longing to come home again. You should know that you are always in my mind. Without doubt I have a very good life here, now I have got used to it […] Now, goodbye my dear Wilhelmine & write again soon with all the news from my Family. I will always be yours. H.K.

By 1859 Heinrich was back in Markneukirchen, and on 15 December 1860 his son Heinrich Richard was born. Karl Wilhelm died that same year, and Heinrich took over the workshop. He became the best bow maker in the family, indeed one of the greatest German bow makers ever. He was also an accomplished violin maker and dealer of instruments.

HOUSE PHOTO CHRISTIAN KNOPF. BOW PHOTOS COURTESY OF VIOLINS & MORE

Above This double bass bow, made by Christian Wilhelm Knopf Sr around 1820, was formerly in the collection of the Tsar Nicolas I. The unusual bow is inspired by F.X. Tourte. Knopf clearly made use of the finest materials, and its design and execution are exquisite.

The Knopf family home at Trobitz 14 was built around 1700. Karl Wilhelm and C.F.W. Knopf sold the house in 1840. Years later it was converted into a sawmill, and the building now forms part of the Markneukirchen Music Museum

CHRISTIAN WILHELM KNOPF ACHIEVED INTERNATIONAL RENOWN DURING HIS OWN LIFETIME AND WAS REGARDED IN HIS DAY AS ‘TOURTE’S GREATEST RIVAL’

Above Bronze medal for violin and cello bows, awarded to Heinrich Knopf at the 1867 Chemnitz Trade Exhibition

KITTEL BOW GENNADY FILIMONOV. BRUNO BOW COURTESY BRUCE BABBITT

Below A very fine violin bow made by Karl Wilhelm Knopf in c.1855, branded ‘C.W. KNOPF’ on the stick under the frog. This is an excellent example of his Tourteinspired model; the premium octagonal pernambuco stick is red-brown in colour.

Heinrich Knopf crafted bows of the highest order for Kittel. They differ in the thickness of the stick as they are narrower, especially at the handle, and the design of the frog and button is distinctly different. The frogs on his Kittel bows are modelled on Kittel’s, with their Parisian eyes, two-piece mitred heelplate secured with a number of pins (like Tourte), and a button with a simple collar but a second cut (which distinguished his bows from Kittel’s). The frog on this 1865 Knopf/Kittel bow is somewhat shorter than the Bausch model. The underslide is fastened with two screws rather than pins, which is consistent with Kittel’s oeuvre.

Heinrich Knopf also made bows for Charles Bruno of New York. This example is mounted in engraved gold/ebony, with gold lyres on each side of the frog. The head has all the typical hallmarks of Heinrich’s work. The bow is faintly branded ‘C. BRUNO. N.Y.’ under the frog just above the mortise, and the lyre was one of Bruno’s trademarks. The bow is indicative of Knopf’s stylistic characteristics in items he produced for Bausch and for his own account. The gold engravings are spectacular and the slide is lined in gold. The narrow ebony section of the three-part button is typical of the Bausch model.

Heinrich Knopf always retained his close relationship with the Bausch family, especially with Ludwig’s son Otto. By the 1860s he was supplying many of the leading shops with his bows, including those of Karl Grimm, Richard Weichold, Bausch & Sons and, as has recently been established, Charles Bruno of New York. He won a bronze medal for ‘a very prize-worthy assortment of violin and cello bows’ at the 1867 Chemnitz Trade Exhibition, where Bausch & Sons also took home a prize for ‘an assortment of instruments’. Knopf also cultivated a business relationship with the St Petersburg-based bow maker Nikolai Kittel, an association that began shortly after his return to Markneukirchen. According to his descendants, it may have continued until as late as 1873 with Nikolai Kittel Jr. Trade had been booming between Germany and Russia since 1850, when Russia enacted liberal tariff regulations, and the tariffs were lowered even further at the beginning of 1863. Studying the Knopf/Kittel bows, one gets a sense of at least five sets of hands responsible for their production: the workshop boasted some highly skilled superb makers during the 1860s (see box) and could deliver superior bows to Kittel’s exact specifications.

On 15 June 1863, Heinrich’s second son Albert was born. Among his godparents were Franz Albert Nürnberger and Heinrich August Kepler, a Markneukirchen guitar maker. Heinrich moved to Dresden in 1868, living at 9 Brudergasse, the same block as Richard Weichold. One year later he moved to Berlin, where he and Wilhelmine had five more children: Anna Helen (1869–1937); twins Minka Therese (1871–85) and Mary Bertha (1871–1949); and two who died a month after they were born: Anna Clara (1873) and Carl Herman (1875).

THE KNOPF WORKSHOP IN THE 1860S

ALL PHOTOS COURTESY KNOPF FAMILY

J. Wilhelm Knopf at his workshop in Dresden

After the death of Karl Wilhelm Knopf in 1860, the Markneukirchen workshop was run by his son Heinrich with four other Knopf family members and two other skilled makers – one of whom married into the family and began a dynasty of his own.

J. Wilhelm Knopf (1835–1912) was the illegitimate son of C.W. Knopf Jr. He received his Bürgerrecht (official document of citizenship) in Markneukirchen shortly before his marriage in 1857. He made bows at the Knopf workshop until 1886, after which he set up his own business in Dresden where he remained until his death. His work in the 1860s is very similar to that of Heinrich, and after the latter’s death in 1875 his contemporaries regarded him as Germany’s finest bow maker. During the Dresden years he supplied bows to Weichold and Grimm. His bows from this period display a new version of the bell-shaped form of the head, with thinner chamfers –a feature that may have been inspired by C.F. Herrmann (below).

Christian Friedrich Wilhelm Knopf I (1808–74) was C.W. Knopf’s second oldest son. Also a bow maker, he lived at Egertstrasse 28 from 1856 onwards.

Christian Friedrich Wilhelm Knopf II (1815–97) was the youngest son of C.W. Knopf, a highly respected bow maker who trained many students. Some of his bows are stamped ‘F. KNOPF’. He lived at Egertstrasse 167 until his brother’s death in 1874, when he acquired the house at Egertstrasse 28. Much of his work was inspired by Pajeot.

Karl Moritz Knopf (1826–72) became an accomplished maker whose work resembles that of his uncle and teacher, Karl Wilhelm. Some of his bows are stamped GRIMM.

Franz Albert Nürnberger Sr (1826–94) made fine bows for Heinrich Knopf (as well as Weichold and Hammig) before setting up his own shop. Together with his son Franz Albert Jr, he became the primary initiator and founder of Germany’s first bow maker’s guild in 1888.

Christian Friedrich Herrmann (1819–96) married Heinrich Knopf’s sister Carolina Wilhelmine Knopf in 1861. His mother was the daughter of Josef Strotz (1715–60), one of the earliest bow makers in the Vogtland. Herrmann learnt bow making in C.W. Knopf’s workshop and started working independently in 1840, first in Markneukirchen and then in Schönlind. He was a superb bow maker and many of his descendants (including his sons and grandchildren) utilised a family crest on their bows.

In 1873 Heinrich was awarded a ‘recognition diploma’ at the Vienna World Exhibition for a ‘very good violin with strong and beautiful tone’ and ‘for excellent bows made for stringed instruments’.

The same honour was bestowed on Enrico Ceruti of Cremona at that exhibition.

By the time of his death, a few days before his 36th birthday, Heinrich Knopf had made 30 violins and an abundance of bows. He left a wife and five children, of whom the two eldest – brothers Heinrich (Henry) and Albert would follow in their father’s footsteps.

Heinrich Knopf

Between 1850 and 1870, there were at least six children born into the Knopf bow workshop who studied with their fathers and uncles to become bow makers and violin makers in their own right. Christian Wilhelm Knopf (1856–82) was the son of C.F.W. Knopf II and became a bow maker, though unfortunately he ended up in an insane asylum at Colditz. August Ferdinand Muck was the illegitimate son of C.F.W. Knopf I and became a bow maker, studying with his uncle C.F.W. Knopf II. August Moritz Knopf (1857–99) was the son of Karl Moritz and became an excellent bow maker. He worked in Dresden for Richard Weichold between 1886 and 1889, followed by Louis Lowenthal from 1890, and for Julius H. Zimmermann in Moscow until 1899, when he died of tuberculosis.

Heinrich Knopf ’s own sons both crossed the pond to America. Albert Knopf (1863–84) became a very talented violin and bow maker but died of tuberculosis in New York. But it was the eldest son, Heinrich (Henry) R. Knopf (1860– 1939) who became the family’s true standard bearer in the New World. He excelled in both bow making and violin making, learning the former under the watchful eye of his father and uncle, and the latter with Otto Bausch in Leipzig. During the Berlin years he studied new making and restoration with G. Christian Adam and continued working with his father until 1875.

This 19th-century engraving of Markneukirchen shows, in the foreground, the house at 28 Egertstrasse where K.W. Knopf moved after his father’s death. Heinrich Knopf was born here, and it served as the main Knopf workshop until 1868 when he moved to Dresden.

The Knopf house as it looks today

A typical example of H.R. Knopf’s production in the 20th century, very similar to Sartory bows with the Parisian eyes and single silver cap with double gorge collars, branded ‘H.R. KNOPF. NEW YORK’

BOW PHOTOS ISAAC SALCHOW. OTHER PHOTOS COURTESY KNOPF FAMILY

Left–right Eugene, Henry and Richard together at the Knopf workshop in the 1920s

Tools from the workshop of Henry R. Knopf

HENRY’S BOWS REFLECT THE SAME TRADITIONS AS THOSE OF HIS FATHER

Violin and cello bridges from Henry’s workshop

Four years later, in July 1879 the 19-year-old Henry emigrated to America. He found employment with John Albert, a fellow German emigré and violin maker based in Philadelphia, at a salary of $3 a week. A year later he moved to New York where he established his own shop at 116 East 4th Street – considered one of the earliest violin shops in the city. After finding initial success among members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra he moved to larger premises on 14th Street. He also had enough money to relocate his family from Berlin to New York.

He was the first sole representative of Eugène Sartory bows in America. In 1912 he was joined in the business by his son Eugene, and in 1916 by his younger son Richard, with whose assistance he grew the H.R. Knopf business into one of the most successful American violin shops of the early 20th century.

Henry’s bows reflect the same traditions as those of his father, especially his early work: the short ferrule, the large eyes, the one-piece heelplate and the rounded collar of a three-piece button. His late bows are very similar to those of Sartory, with the Parisian eyes, single silver cap with double gorge collars, branded “H.R.

KNOPF. NEW YORK”. He supplied instruments to notable soloists and schools including cellist, composer and conductor Victor Herbert; violinists Maud Powell, Edmund Severn and Nathan Franko, cellist Emil Schenck, and the Juilliard School.

He was a member and sometime vice-president of the American Violin Trade Association.

After Henry’s death, his son Richard wrote a brief biography in tribute to his father. The text contains a reminiscence that could explain how his instruments differed from those of his contemporaries: Dismayed, he quickly reached for a piece of cloth and wiped it. This availed little for the substance had instantly penetrated the wood. His dismay quickly vanished, however, and his interest was aroused. Where the liquid had penetrated the wood, the curly maple appeared to be three dimensional.

Henry Knopf had been working on a violin scroll of curly maple and had finished the final sanding operation. As he started to put it aside on his work bench, his arm brushed one of the bottles he had earlier been using for varnish experiments and liquid gushed from the bottle and came in contact with the wooden scroll.

Henry R. Knopf studied bow making with his father, and his bows reflect the same working traditions, especially his early work. The head and the ebony frog with Parisian eyes are reminiscent of the Kittel bows made by his father, as well as the one-piece heelplate and the U-shaped collar of a three-piece button.

Mounted in gold and tortoiseshell, this is one of Henry R. Knopf’s most beautiful bows. The head is very much influenced by his father’s working traditions, yet is more slender and elegant. The gold-mounted frog is typical of the Knopf workshop, with its short ferrule and the throat which opens upward, reminiscent of some Tourtes and Kittels. The three-part button has a deep U-shaped collar, typical of 19th-century German makers.

He didn’t hesitate then. Taking a clean brush he covered the scroll completely with a generous coating of the spilled material and then put it aside. He kept it on an open shelf where dust, which is always prevalent in a work shop, could settle on it.

After a few weeks an abundant layer of dust had accumulated on the surface. None of it, however, had penetrated into the wood. Then, every day for some weeks he actually rubbed dust into the surface of the scroll, but it didn’t penetrate. The surface remained light and clean, à la Cremona. So, beginning in 1919, all instruments of his own make were treated with this same substance before the oil varnish was applied. The beneficial effect on tone was definite.

After the stock market crash of 1929, Henry R. Knopf decided his business could not adequately support three families – his own and those of his sons – so, at the age of 70, he sold the firm to Rembert Wurlitzer and retired, with both Eugene and Richard going into unrelated professions. It was estimated that by his retirement, Henry had made more than 500 instruments and 1,000 bows. He died on 15 December 1939, his 79th birthday.

Knopf ’s legacy to the violin world was such that on 27 June 1988 a six-month exhibition of his instruments and tools opened in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s musical instrument galleries.

During the course of my research for this article, his great-granddaughter told me: ‘To be a part of this family is a special honour that I cherish. You only had to meet them to know how special they all were. They not only cared for and loved the family members, but all who came in contact with them were treated the same way. This is the legacy that was left to all of us.’

The author wishes to thank the Knopf family, Leipzig Archives, Vienna Archives, Berlin Archives, Yung Chin, Klaus Gruenke and Isaac Salchow, heritage.statueofliberty.org, Leipziger Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung, Signale Magazine, Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung, Encyclopedia of Violin Makers – Karel Jalovec

Henry R. Knopf