John Friedrich (luthier)

John Friedrich (born 1858) was a German-born violin maker who worked in the United States.

Biography

He was born at Cassel, and a pupil of Oswald Möckel, a prominent German violin maker and repairer. He came to the United States in 1883, and in a short time ranked among the American leaders in his profession. In addition to violins, he also made bows, violas, and violoncellos. He received the highest award bestowed for violins, violas, and violoncellos at the World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago, 1893. He also became known among collectors as an expert in the identification and valuation of rare instruments. In the early 1900s, four of the choicest specimens of his violins were in the possession of Frank Waldo, of Cambridge, Massachusetts.

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