Instrument
violin bow
Carl Albert Nürnberger
Markneukirchen,
± 1950
played by
Hrayr Yervand Ter-Sargsyan
Hrayr Yervand Ter-Sargsyan
bouwer
Carl Albert Nürnberger
*1885 , Markneukirchen †1971 , Markneukirchen
When Carl Albert Nürnberger began his career in Markneukirchen, the family business was already a company that enjoyed worldwide renown. His great-grandfather, Johann Adam Nürnberger, had started out as a violin maker in Markneukirchen in the mid-18th century, but subsequent generations had devoted themselves to making bows. And they had made quite a name for themselves in that field.
The town of Markneukirchen had, in every respect, adapted to the craft of making stringed instruments. In 1890, there were about 80 companies, with 19,000 stringed instruments leaving the workshops each year. The number of bows produced there would not have been much less. The Knopf, Pfretzschner, and Nürnberger families were the largest producers.
The town of Markneukirchen had, in every respect, adapted to the craft of making stringed instruments. In 1890, there were about 80 companies, with 19,000 stringed instruments leaving the workshops each year. The number of bows produced there would not have been much less. The Knopf, Pfretzschner, and Nürnberger families were the largest producers.
Workshop(s)
Markneukirchen, 1900-1971
(Inter)national trade in Nürnberger sticks
The first bow maker in the Nürnberger family was Carl Gottlieb. He had learned the trade from F.C. Knopf. His son, Franz Albert I, succeeded him. Together with his employees, he produced a large number of bows, which he exported far beyond Germany’s borders—as far as Russia and America—where the New York-based firm Wurlitzer handled distribution. They did not brand their bows with a mark of their own. Carl Albert’s grandfather had exerted a great deal of influence in Markneukirchen. In 1872, he became president of the association of violin makers and bow makers, an organization that served as the driving force behind national and international trade relations. He held that position until 1885. His son, Franz Albert II—Carl Albert’s father—took over the business after his death and brought it to worldwide fame.
Carl Albert was born in 1885; his brother Philipp Paul was three years old. Both brothers joined the company and successfully expanded it after their father’s death. German bows were in high demand throughout Europe.
Franz Albert (II) Nürnberger and his sons Philipp Paul and Carl Albert (standing on the left) in 1915
Transition to the French architectural style
That changed when Pfretzschner, a bow maker originally from Markneukirchen, returned in 1879 from his stay in Paris. He had worked for Vuillaume and Voirin and brought the French influence back with him. And since French bows had become fashionable throughout Europe, the Nürnberger family adopted that trend. Gradually, the Bohemian-Saxon tradition of bow-making faded away.
Tourte copies…
The French influence wasn’t entirely new. Richard Weichold had previously made a good replica of a French Tourte stick, but had limited himself to just one; Pfretschner made many. The Nürnberger family didn’t want to be left behind. Franz Albert and Carl Albert made a large number of precise Tourte replicas but did not brand them. Carl gave the bows an aged appearance, which led to them often being sold later as genuine “Tourte bows.” Carl Albert also supplied other German bow makers; for example, he made a number of bows for Weichhold bearing the brand mark “Imitation du Tourte.”
…and a variation of our own
Together with his brother Philipp Paul, who also worked in the business, Carl developed yet another new model, also based on the Tourte. Carl Albert sold that model under his own name. Around 1920, when the company was at its peak, it even became his trademark.
At that time, German and, for the most part, French cane makers finished the cane with shellac and alcohol. Among the early French bow makers, Carl adopted the technique of treating the wood with linseed oil. This penetrated deeply into the wood and gave the bow a soft sheen rather than a glossy appearance.
Virtually all cane makers in the family whose names included “Albert”—including Carl Albert—used the brand “Albert Nürnberger.” Canes bearing this brand can be attributed to their maker only by very subtle characteristics.
Sources
German bowmaking of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, 1992, Klaus Grunke, Chicago
Zoebisch, B., 2000, Voigtlander Bogenbau; Biographies and Explanations.
Tarizio, Cozio Archive, accessed 2023
Britannica Archive, accessed in 2023
Geneanet, accessed in 2023
- Auteur
- Jan Boekhout
- Date
- 6 September 2023
