Heinrich Knopf
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Heinrich Carl Knopf (1839–1875) was an award winning German bowmaker or bogenmacher.
Knopf came from a dynasty of bow makers. He studied bow making in Markneukirchen under his uncle, Christian Friedrich Wilhelm Knopf. He was a journeyman in Leipzig working for Ludwig Bausch. Upon the death of his father, Karl Wilhelm, he returned to Markneukirchen where he became his successor. In 1867, Heinrich Knopf was awarded a bronze medal for violin and cello bows at the Chemnitz Trade Exhibition. In 1868, he moved to Dresden, living at 9 Brudergasse, the same block as Richard Weichold. One year later, he and his family moved to Berlin. 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 string instruments'. [1] He also supplied bows to German shops such as Bausch, R. Weichold and the Russian Nicolaus Kittel.[2]
"The bows (he) made for Kittel are quite different in style from the ones he supplied to the German shops."[3] — Kenway Lee
"His bows are exquisite, showing mastery in technical as well as stylistic aspects. His son, Heinrich Richard gen. Knopf (1860–1939) (known as Henry) became an excellent bow & violin maker who established what was to become a very important and successful shop in New York City (from 1879–1931)."[4]
Auction World Record: Tarisio Berlin October 2021 Lot 80 Violin Bow Nikolai KITTEL made by Heinrich Knopf (c.1865-70) €94,400 = US$109,500
References
- STRAD magazine June 2021 - Knopf Dynasty (A Tangled Web), by Gennady Filimonov
- Die Geigen und Lautenmacher - by Lutgendorff, Frankfurt 1922
- STRAD magazine - "Nikolaus Ferder Kittel: The Russian Tourte" by Harvey and Georgeanna Whistler
- Encyclopedia of the Violin - Alberto Bachmann
- Roda, Joseph (1959). Bows for Musical Instruments. Chicago: W. Lewis. OCLC 906667.
- Vannes, Rene (1985) [1951]. Dictionnaire Universel del Luthiers (vol.3). Bruxelles: Les Amis de la musique. OCLC 53749830.
- William, Henley (1969). Universal Dictionary of Violin & Bow Makers. Brighton; England: Amati. ISBN 0-901424-00-5.
- VSA 14 #2 1995 Nicolaus Kittel: The Russian Tourte by Kenway Lee 183
- Deutsche Bogenmacher-German Bow Makers Klaus Grunke, Hans Karl Schmidt, Wolfgang Zunterer 2000