“Franz Schwarzer: The History & Legacy of the Zither King" at the German American Heritage Center -- October 11.
Friday, October 11, 6 p.m.
German American Heritage Center, 712 West Second Street, Davenport IA
The expansive life story of a famed zither musician and zither manufacturer - one responsible for 10,000 of his personalized instruments being made in Washington, Missouri - will be explored on October 11 when Davenport's German American Heritage Center presents Franz Schwarzer: The History & Legacy of the Zither King, the program celebrating the man who won the Gold Medal of Progress in 1873, beating out all of the zither manufactures in Europe.
As detailed at Zither.us, "Franz Schwarzer was born in the town of Olmutz, Austria in 1828. The son of a building contractor, he also learned the building trades. Franz Schwarzer attended the Polytechnic Institute of Vienna, where he studied architecture and wood working. After college, he studied zither under the highly regarded composer, Ludwig Ritter Von Ditrich. In the spring of l866, Schwarzer and his wife, Josephine, came to America. Before their marriage, Josephine had a short career as a stage actress. Sadly, they had lost an infant son before they immigrated. They probably had come to America in search of economic success in the face of a prolonged economic slump in the Austrian handicraft system.
"In Washington (Missouri), they lived in modest circumstances while Franz occasionally fabricated a zither for one of his friends. Before the Civil War Washington had become a bi-lingual, bi-cultural town, as were most of the counties in the lower Missouri valley, following heavy German migration which had begun in the l830s. Franz became active in the Washington 'Turn Verein' and the 'Liederkranz' and was elected the first Fire Chief of the town.
"His reputation as a zither maker spread and in a few years he was able to work full time making various models of the concert zither, importing stylish components like German silver frets, mother-of-pearl inlay, ivory and rare woods from abroad. In l873, Schwarzer entered three of his zithers in the Vienna Exposition and was awarded the “Gold Medal of Progress”, the highest award of the fair, for his entry. That distinction, and his skillful use of the publicity, increased his business and allowed him to enlarge his operation, ultimately to 25 workmen. He was also able to experiment with other instruments, especially mandolins and guitars. A plain zither sold for about $19. Larger zithers with more strings and decorated with fine inlay could fetch from $600 to $1000.
"The Washington Historical Society maintains an exhibit of a dozen Schwarzer zithers and other instruments from his factory at its museum at Fourth and Market Sts. in Washington, Missouri. The Schwarzer zither exhibit originated in the mid-1960s. After the old factory was demolished in the 50s, Thomas M. Davis and Franz Beinke collaborated with the Missouri State Museum to gather locally owned zithers and other artifacts for a zither exhibit at the state capitol in Jefferson City. About the same time, the state historical society published their scholarly account of the development and demise of Schwarzer’s enterprise (“Franz Schwarzer – Missouri Zither Maker,” Missouri Historical Review, Vol. LX, October 19, l965, Number 1, Page 1). When it opened in 1984 the Washington museum had a small zither exhibit. The museum moved to larger quarters in 1995 and Schwarzer zithers and family memorabilia donated to the society now comprise the exhibit."
Franz Schwarzer: The History & Legacy of the Zither King will be presented at the German American Heritage Center on October 11, admission to the 6 p.m. program is free for Heritage Center members and $45 for non-members, and more information is available by calling (563)322-8844 and visiting GAHC.org.
