Who made it?  It took quite some deciphering, but in the end, with some help from one of our friends (you know who you are 😊), we managed to identify the maker. Christian Gottfried GEISLER (1801-1884) was actually born as GEIßLER in Germany, in an area belonging to Leipzig. His story is one of love and misfortune followed by perseverance and a touch of final prosperity. 

Geisler was one of the many wind instrument makers from Saxony who ended up working in Amsterdam in the nineteenth century. He trained as an instrument maker in the Louis Embach & Co workshop in Amsterdam from 1822-1825. Once his training was completed, he returned to work in Bavaria for the Munich- and later Straubing-based maker Max STIEGER (1784-1858). But he wasn’t content with working for someone else. He wanted to obtain a licence to set up on his own in the town of Eggenfelden, making woodwinds and selling brasswinds too. That was not all – he also wanted permission to marry the orphaned daughter of a shoemaker. The young couple had no money, but lied that they would receive some from a relative. They believed the business would work out. Yet, despite a good reference from his previous employer Louis Embach & Co, the local authority and Max Stieger were having none of it!  The answer was a double NO. Max Stieger, who was obviously in the wind instrument maker’s guild and was actually a sworn expert, claimed that although Christian Geisler made woodwinds, he couldn’t even play an instrument and had no musical knowledge. Of course, Max Stieger clearly wanted to protect his own business. Poor Christian Geisler was ordered to leave.

He returned to Amsterdam, where we pick up his trail some years later in 1834, when he married his first wife who died in 1845. They had five children together. He married again in 1846 and had four more children. We can only assume that during this time he was perhaps working back at his old employers. Then he set up his own workshop, it seems around 1841-42. He took part in the Tentoonstelling der Nijverheid, industrial exhibition in Delft in 1849 and another in Haarlem in 1861.

Things must have gone well for Geisler in Amsterdam – he prospered. He reached the ripe old age of 83. His son, Christian Friedrich, became a clarinettist and took over his father’s hard-earned business as a woodwind instrument maker.

There are a couple of instruments stamped Geisler in the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam.

Back to the fife – it has had a tough life too! We can see that through the various bumps and scratches and the embouchure which has suffered some damage. There’s also a slight bananaish shape to the fife, which often occurs with boxwood.

Nevertheless, this lovely and unusual instrument is still going strong and is a must-have for any collector.

show less