Christian Kremp
Christian Kremp (born February 1, 1843 in Ennerich near Runkel , † January 21, 1920 in Wetzlar ) was a German instrument maker .
Life
Christian Kremp was born as the only child of the Ober-Steiger Johannes Kremp and his wife Elisabeth Böhm. Christian Kremp was one of the pioneers of Wetzlar's precision engineering industry. His father came from Wellmich , a small village near St. Goarshausen .
The self-building of a guitar at the age of 15 and his desire to become a watchmaker already indicate his personal development in his youth. Since the apprenticeship of a watchmaker in the area of Philippstein and Braunfels was not available, Christian Kremp worked as a miner for a year until his father agreed to an apprenticeship as a carpenter in Braunfels. His teacher - Konrad Kreiner - manufactured piano spare parts in series at the time. In 1867 Konrad Kreiner emigrated to America and Christian Kremp took over the workshop as his successor.
In the Chronicle of Philippstein Kremp is mentioned with the words:
- “In 1872, for example, he repaired the church clock for 3 thalers, 15 silver groschen and the community's safe for 1 thaler. He made warning signs for 1 thaler and a frame for the biblical history books for the price of 27 silver groschen. "
- "His skill for every repair soon and his willingness to help brought a lot of work to Kremp."
In an advertisement in the “Wetzlarer Kreisblatt” on July 31, 1873 he announced his move from Philippstein to Wetzlar with the following text:
- "Business recommendation: I would like to inform the public that I am on November 1st. Js. settle there and set up my business in Mr. JPZisseler's house. I therefore take the liberty of recommending myself in repairing and tuning pianos and harmoniums, as well as in beating new cylinders for barrel organs, in mending all wooden and string instruments, especially in gluing violins in whatever condition they may be, also in metal turning and the production of all carpentry work. "
- "The music master Rödig is already taking orders there." Chr. Kremp, carpenter and instrument maker
Inventions
An exhibition report of the "Wetzlarer Anzeiger" from April 24th, 1880 can be seen:
- "... instrument maker Christian Kremp (Wetzlar) shows with various self-made violins, a steel viola and patented zithers that his work is in no way inferior to manufacturing (meaning industrial production) in terms of the fineness of the instruments."
He manufactured the metal components for his patent zither himself and later incorporated this experience into gear manufacturing . To do this, he designed his own machines and tools, drew, designed and built them himself. He discussed his ideas with his friend Moritz Hensoldt . From his production department, he passed on requests to improve the high-quality, coarse gears at the time, which in turn prompted Christian Kremp to develop and market his own helical gears.
Since 1883 it has been proven that Christian Kremp's products were also sent abroad. The court optician of the Tsar of Russia was also one of the deliveries. Similar to the manufacture of piano replacement parts, the development of its products flowed into series production. Even then there was a small catalog from which products could be ordered. Existing price lists contain data from "helical gear drives and racks, fraisers in various designs, countersinks, reamers, prismatic shifts" .
From 1893 onwards, more and more gears appeared in a wide variety of designs, all of which were available from stock. Over the years, products that had nothing to do with gears were also manufactured, such as protractors in the most varied of designs, submarine auxiliary target devices, carbon savers (arc generators) and much more.
From 1913 there was the expanded production of parts and components for optical applications. A second company was established that deals with the construction of magnifying glasses , microscopes and all the optical components that are known from the history of Wetzlar optics.
Christian Kremp died on January 21, 1920 in Wetzlar and found his final resting place there.
obituary
An obituary for Kremp was published in the trade journal "Optische Rundschau" . It says, among other things:
- “On January 21st of this year, after a short sick bed at almost 77 years of age, the founder of the precision mechanical and optical works 'Christian Kremp, Wetzlar' - Mr Christian Kremp - was called off from this temporality .... All obstacles that Mr Kremp put in the way, he overcame in a brilliant way on a practical basis. At that time, machine tool technology was not yet highly developed enough to meet the requirements of Mr. Kremp, which prompted him to develop new types of equipment and machines that met the needs ... The specialty is built on a scientific basis, worked through to the last detail and normalized . The products have a leading character and can be found everywhere ... His favorite place was the drawing table. After the burden of everyday life, he sought and found his recovery by studying new problems, probably also in the discussion with like-minded people, including the long deceased founder of the Hensoldtwerke, Mr. Moritz Hensoldt .... The fruit of his work will extend beyond his grave Leave a blessing and the lasting memory of him will live on in his work. "
Christian Kremp's philosophy at that time has been preserved to this day. Standard items are produced that can be called up from stock and individual and custom-made products for the optical-precision engineering industry, machine and apparatus construction, and medical technology.
Web links
- Website of the company Kremp Wetzlar
- Museum of Optical Instruments: Microscopes : Kremp Klemi, small excursion microscope from 1923
- Museum of Optical Instruments: Catalog excerpt
Individual evidence
- ↑ see Hessisches Staatsarchiv Marburg (HStAMR), Best. 911 No. 7582, p. 27 ( digitized version ).
- ↑ Microscope Museum ( Memento of the original from March 12, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. : Christian Kremp
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Kremp, Christian |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German entrepreneur, precision mechanic |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 1, 1843 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Ennerich near Runkel on the Rhine |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 21, 1920 |
| Place of death | Wetzlar |