Heinrich Carl Knopf (1839–1875) was a German bowmaker or ''bogenmacher''.

Biography

Knopf came from a dynasty of bow makers. He studied bow making in

Markneukirchen Markneukirchen () is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district, in Saxony, Germany, close to the Czech border. It lies in between the Erzgebirge and the Fichtelgebirge in the Elstergebirge, southeast of Plauen, and northeast of Aš (Czech Republic) ...

under his uncle, Christian Knopf. He was a journeyman in Leipzig working for

Ludwig Bausch Ludwig Christian August Bausch (15 January 1805 in Dresden26 May 1871 in Leipzig) was a German ''Bogenmacher'' / bow maker. He became known as the "German Tourte". Bausch started a dynasty of makers. He studied violin making in Dresden with J.B. ...

. Upon the death of his father, Karl Wilhelm, he returned to Markneukirchen where he became his successor. He also supplied bows to German shops such as Bausch, R. Weichold and the Russian

Nicolaus Kittel Nikolai Ferdinandovich Kittel (1805/6 - 18 April 1868) was a Russian violin and bow maker who is often still mistakenly considered as of German origin, and was known as the "Russian Tourte". According to the latest findings, his full name was Niko ...

. "The bows (he) made for Kittel are quite different in style from the ones he supplied to the German shops."*VSA 14 #2 1995 Nicolaus Kittel: The Russian Tourte by Kenway Lee 183 — 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)." 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 * * * *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 {{DEFAULTSORT:Knopf, Heinrich 1839 births 1875 deaths Bow makers German luthiers People from Markneukirchen