It was made by Frederick Menzenhauer of 24 Sherman Place, who was formerly a member of Menzenhauer & Schmidt. вЂњThe Arion Singing Society of Jersey City, which is preparing for a fair to be given in April, will have a novel bank check on exhibition. However, he seemed to be content and had a sense of humor as evidenced by an article in 1904 He still experimented making different musical instruments, and registered different patents for his inventions, but none had the success of his fretless zither. He traveled to Europe for a time and on returning to America settled into a house at 22 (or 24, reports differ) Sherman Place, NJ, where he spent the rest of his life. While itвЂ™s never fully explained why Menzenhauer sold out, it seems he was not suited to the hustle and bustle of big business and enjoyed working on a smaller scale. Reportedly вЂњthe deal was consummated on a very friendly basisвЂќ with Oscar Schmidt owning the entire business including the factory, patents and good will. Later in 1900 Oscar Schmidt assumed complete control of Menzenhauer & Schmidt when he bought out Frederick Menzenhauer. They also sold to Britain, South Africa and Australia. This was largely due to Oscar SchmidtвЂ™s aggressive selling, traveling and establishing branches in Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Stockholm, St. The business became successful so quickly that by 1900 they were selling Menzenhauer guitar-zithers not only throughout the United States but all round the world.

(For links to photos and information on fretless zithers see Footnote 4.) вЂњThe success of a commercial contract between a clever inventor and a shrewd, far-seeing business man has never been better illustrated in the musical industries than in the prosperous firm of Menzenhauer & SchmidtвЂќ. They expanded the factory and enjoyed immediate success:

At the same time Oscar Schmidt obviously saw the potential of MenzenhauerвЂ™s invention, and from being his customer, he partnered with Frederick Menzenhauer in 1896 and they formed the firm Menzenhauer & Schmidt, with Oscar Schmidt as the junior partner. It was so successful demand outstripped production.ДЇrederick Menzenhauer realized he was more of an engineer than a businessman and needed a business partner. He was an inventor and developed and patented the fretless Menzenhauer guitar-zither. By 1887 he was living in Jersey City, NJ, and was known as a maker of musical instruments. Menzenhauer was born in Germany in 1858 and came to America in 1882. (Frederick) Menzenhauer, who had a factory in Ferry Street, Jersey City. (Jersey City of To-Day, 1910)Дuring this time, he was buying guitar zithers from inventor and manufacturer, W.F.

He engaged in the publishing business in 1882, and continued therein until 1896, when he was involved in selling musical instruments in a small shop in the two-storey repair establishment of the North Hudson Street Railway Company on Palisade Avenue New Jersey. Oscar Schmidt was born in Germany in 1857 and came to the US at an early age. Oscar SchmidtвЂ™s fortune was built on another manвЂ™s invention. General information also comes from Neil HarpeвЂ™s book and website (See footnote 3.). Most of the information here deals with the early formation and evolution of the company and has been obtained primarily from old copies of the Music Trade Review (MTR) and Presto publications, both available online. They are best known for the Zithers they produced in the early 1900вЂ™s, and for their early guitars, particularly the Stella label, and their 12-string guitars, which are still favored and sought after by blues players today (see Footnote 1.). The Oscar Schmidt company was founded in the late 1890вЂ™s and incorporated in 1911.

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