Carl Richard Ritter
Carl Richard Ritter (born February 12, 1836 in Merseburg , † May 28, 1917 in Halle (Saale) ) was a German piano maker .
Life
After finishing school in 1850, Carl Richard Ritter learned the craft of piano making in the workshop of his father Carl Friedrich Ritter . After five years of apprenticeship, like his father before, he went on a journey with his craft , first to Stuttgart to Mathees & Kahnhäuser, a year later to Dieudonné, followed by Hüni & Hübert in Zurich and then Kristiania at the first Norwegian piano company JW Kappelen.
After eight years he returned home in 1863 because of the death of his father and took over his workshop, now in the C. Rich piano factory. Renamed Knight . In 1870 he married Agnes Knoblauch, with whom he had four children: Alfred, Willi, Ernst Richard and Helene. Agnes Ritter, b. Knoblauch took on the upbringing of the children, the accounting as well as buying and selling. Thanks to this active support from his wife, the piano manufacturing business soon expanded. In 1874 the first factory was built on its own property in Merseburg. In 1882 the company moved to Halle for further expansion and to recruit suitable employees.
The sons Alfred (joined the company in 1894), Willi (joined the company in 1900) and son-in-law H. Otto Naumann (apprenticeship with Carl Richard Ritter in 1894) also followed in the footsteps of their father and grandfather. With the expansion of production and the continued quality of the instruments, recognition was inevitable, which was expressed, for example, in the rise to court purveyor to the Grand Duchy of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach (Grossh. Sächs. Hof Pianoforte factory).
The company was now to supply not only the surrounding province, but also abroad, and so in the following years the world exhibitions in Antwerp , Brussels , Paris and Turin were used to establish business relationships all over the world. In May 1902 the company became a family company with his sons Alfred and Willi and H. Otto Naumann, the latter being given commercial management.
Carl Richard Ritter retired at the age of 66 and retired to Dresden - Blasewitz with his wife Agnes Ritter . When she died on October 30, 1906, Carl Richard Ritter went back to Halle, where he spent a few years with his family. He died on May 28, 1917 at the age of 81.
Awards for Ritter pianos
- at world exhibitions
- 1894: Gold Medal, Antwerp
- 1997: Gold Medal, Brussels
- 1900: Silver medal, Paris
- 1910: Diplom d'honneur, Brussels
- 1911: Grand Prix, Turin
- further awards
- Royal Prussian State Medal
- Purveyor title of the Grand Duchy of Saxony-Weimar-Eisenach
- Purveyor to the Court of the King of Romania
literature
- On the 80th birthday of the piano manufacturer Carl Richard Ritter , in Zeitschrift für Instrumentenbau, Vol .: 36, Leipzig, 1915-16
- Obituary and obituary for Carl Richard Ritter , in Zeitschrift für Instrumentenbau, Vol .: 37, Leipzig, 1916-17
- For the 100th anniversary of C. Rich. Ritter, piano factory in Halle ad Saale. In: Zeitschrift für Instrumentenbau , Vol. 48, Leipzig 1927–28, pp. 631–633. (Digitized version)
- Holger Zürch : "Every Ritter piano must be a masterpiece" - The Ritter piano company , still known to many Halle residents today, built world-renowned instruments. Mitteldeutsche Zeitung Halle, March 18, 1992, page 30
Individual evidence
- ↑ Zeitschrift für Instrumentenbau, Vol .: 37, Leipzig, 1916-17, page 278, image number 352
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Knight, Carl Richard |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German piano maker |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 12, 1836 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Merseburg |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 28, 1917 |
| Place of death | Halle (Saale) |