Washington, Missouri
Franz Schwarzer

Wood, rosewood, ivory, metal, mother of pearl 
1873 CE
Length: 24.13 in; Width: 14.88 in; Depth: 2.75 in
Strings – Zithers

Original label: Vienna 1873. Progress. / FRANZ Schwarzer, / Washington, / MO. / 1st Prize

This winning 19^th century Alpine zither by Franz Schwarzer (1828 – 1904) was made in Washington, Missouri.  It has 42 strings including 5 melody strings over the fret board and 37 accompaniment strings based/identified by their function.  The top is made of Brazilian rosewood, and the back is painted black with three small foot pegs of ivory.  The two acoustic sound holes, pillar, and top edges have inlaid wood purfling and are trimmed in pearl inlaid.  The sides appear to be veneered with tulipwood and have inlaid with wood purfling.  There is a finely carved scroll and shell.  On the fret board are pearl position dots and the at the top is the engraved nickel patent head with nickel hardware and pearl button tuners.

In the spring of l866, Franz Schwarzer, later known as Missouri’s ‘Zither King’ and his wife, Josephine, emigrated from Austria to America.  They bought land in Missouri from a land grant agent in New York.  When they arrived, they found a two-room log cabin with dirt floors.  Schwarzer was not much of a pioneer and within a year they moved to a nearby town named Washington, located on the Missouri River. 

Schwarzer began as a furniture maker and on occasion fabricated a zither for one of his friends.  He became very active in the town and was elected as Washington’s first Fire Chief.  In the meantime, his reputation as a zither maker began to spread.  He eventually opened a factory in 1869, where ultimately it employed 25 workmen. 

In 1873, Schwarzer entered three of his zithers at the Vienna Exposition.  For his entries, he received the highest award at the fair, the “Gold Medal of Progress.” This zither as indicated by the original label was the winning model and possibly the actual winning zither.