The museum of the Washington Historical Society in Washington, MO, features an exhibit on the life and work of Franz Schwarzer, Missouri's famous zither maker. In total, Franz Schwarzer and his factory produced over 10,000 instruments, the majority of which were zithers. For more information on the ...

These photos come to us courtesy of Keith Bellhorn and Ron Rabenold. At the zither is James Exel, Keith Young's great-grandfather. James Exel was born in Austria in 1854. In the early 1880s he was employed as a butler in London, England and worked at Thrale Hall in Mitcham Road, Streatham. While wor...

This photo of a Schwarzer Large Model #25 was sent in by a reader of the web site, Leslee Lindstrom. She writes: "I inherited my great-grandfather, Jacob Dugwyler's Zither which was made, I assume from the sticker inside, Franz Schwarzer, Washington M.O. My Mother told me stories of how he woul...

A reader of the web site, Jamie L., sent in this question regarding his grandfather's zither. I was going through some of my grandparents things and found a Zither by Franz Schwarzer #4308. I was wondering if you could help me find out some information on it. It is in the original case, with extra s...

This illustration shows a lady enjoying a "Schwarzer" zither table, which could be purchased as a portable or stand-alone model. The catalog description reads: "This instrument is especially adapted for use in large halls and parlors, the resonance being of of a nature that requires s...

A reader of the web site, Michael K., sent in these photos of his grandfather's zither, a 36 string Columbian Zither, model number 172. He recalled that his grandfather played "Wein, du Stadt meaner Träume" (Vienna, City of my Dreams) on this zither. The instrument has serial number 10093 ...

Bill K., a reader of the web site, sent in this question regarding his grandfather's zither. "After my grandfather passed away I found a zither buried under some lumber in his garage. It is in its original case, has a tuning tool, a couple of finger picks and is in pretty nice condition. I woul...

These restoration photos of an Alt Zither were sent in by Don Offinger. This instrument, formerly owned by his father's uncle, a Zitherverein leader in Astoria, Queens, New York, has recently been restored by Sasha Radicic. This zither is now played by Don, who is also a member of the Long Island Zi...

This zither was made in 1890 by William August Teubner, an early craftsman in Baltimore, Maryland. I am aware of three of his zithers. One of the others was made in 1882. Teubner signed and dated his instruments on an internal brace under the fretboard. One would have to look inside the instrument t...

For those zitherists with an iPhone looking for a reliable tuner, consider Cleartune. It's an inexpensive alternative and makes for one less thing to carry when traveling with your zither.

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