Martina Rosenberger wrote: > I did research in Hamburg, ..
Some seriously good reseach too it seems. > Eventually I could find evidence, that C.H. Böhm started his business in 1898 with an instrument very similar to the portuguese guitar of that period, .. Well, the fact that he started in 1898 is hardly surprising. It's printed inside all his instruments after all. But do I understand you correctly when you say he built his special Waldzither right from the start? I always thought he made regular mandolins at first and later switched to the Waldzither. Do you know when he started building the smaller 8-string Walddoline? If that was before 1916 it may well have been the first flattop mandolin ever! Do you know how long the Böhm company lasted? I know somebody still built "original Böhm Waldzithers" as late as 1960. .. > including an original portuguese tuning machine. So there's conclusive evidence Böhm got the Preston tuners via Portugal then. That's definitely an important fact. > Böhm from then on simplified the mechanik step by step. I just wish he had kept the thumbscrews. Tuning keys for Böhm instruments are fiendishly hard to find these days. In the end I had to get a friend to *make* one for me. > The music industry in Markneukirchen/Vogtland soon copied the mechanic under the name "Hamburgian mechanic". Actually it seems most South German manufacturers chose their own solutions. I have scans of a number prewar German instrument catalogues here and all Waldzithers in them are either made by Böhm or of some completely different design. I've also watched Ebay closely for Waldzithers for a year or two and although Böhm copies do come up from time to time they're rare compared to the number of original Böhms and of completely different designs. > Perhaps without him.......there were no German citterns in the 20th century...... You may be right. It seems to me that Böhm's contribution to the Waldzither is often overestimated but it wouldn't do to *underestimate* him either. The Waldzither certainly existed long before Böhm came along and instruments not influenced by his design continued to be made and are still made even today. But without the boost he manage to give the instrument's popularity, it may well have gone extinct. > I have written a documentation about Böhm but it's in German and I doubt that I could do this effort twice to publish it in English.....and I have still no spare time to do my own website for showing you all the pictures needed for the context. I'd love to publish it on one of my sites. I may even get around to translate it into English some day. Frank Nordberg http://www.musicaviva.com http://www.tablatvre.com http://www.mandolin-player.com To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
