J. C. L. Isermann

Biography

Born July 1, 1813, near Hanover, Isermann trained as a cabinetmaker and traveled on foot through Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Belgium before settling in Paris around 1835, where he worked in piano action factories to master the trade and study various models. Returning to Germany, he founded the first piano action factory there, at Hamburg, in 1842, at a time when piano makers still built their own actions in-house. He proved he could produce a better action for less money, and rival makers soon abandoned in-house production, spreading the piano-action industry he founded to Germany's manufacturing centers. His firm grew to employ about 550 people, prized for reliability and honest dealing. His son C. W. Isermann took over management in 1870, and grandson Ludolf Isermann joined in 1904. Isermann died November 5, 1898, in his 85th year.

Highlights

• Founded the first piano action factory in Germany, at Hamburg, in 1842
• One of three German self-made men (with Moritz Poehlmann and August Moritz Weickert) credited with supplying the actions, wire and felt that made the modern piano possible
• His firm eventually employed about 550 people

Source

Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. I (1911), pp. 237, 238.

Public domain.