EH Roth ‘Jacobus Hornsteiner’, Markneukirchen c.1920 (GE043) - $6,500 Canadian

EH Roth ‘Jacobus Hornsteiner’, Markneukirchen c.1920 (GE043) - $6,500 Canadian

Jacobus Hornsteiner was a trade name used by EH Roth, one of the most successful German workshops in the early years of the 20th century. There is a famous Hornsteiner family of violin-makers that worked out of Mittenwald, a different area of Germany but this instrument is not related to their work.

The Roth workshop was founded by Ernst Heinrich Roth and his cousin Gustav August Ficker in Markneukirchen in 1902. They became tremendously successful and developed a reputation for quality.

Ernst’s son Ernst Heinrich Roth II immigrated to the US in 1921 to promote the company’s wears and in the process became one of the leading instrument dealers in North America with his company Scherl & Roth. Ernst junior, a savvy business man, understood the opportunities in selling string instruments at different price points to different markets and offered instruments under multiple trade names, Jacobus Hornsteiner being one of them.

The early Jacobus Hornsteiner instruments (of which this is one) are of a much higher quality than the later imports under the same name. It is rare to come across one of these early ones, especially a cello.

Soviet control over East Germany after WW2 led to the Roth family fortune being expropriated and like many violin making families at the time, the Roth family moved to Bubenreuth in West Germany to rebuild their business. They are still in business there today.

This cello is in top playing condition having being fully restored. It was played professionally for many years and displays a warm, intimate and mature sound, suitable for chamber ensemble.

Length of back is 760mm. High resolution photos available on request.