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HistoryThe Becker family has a long history that begins in the early 1800s. Making and musicianship have been an intricate part of our past, while experience and tradition have made our violins what they are today. Herman Macklett (1834 - 1884) an upholsterer by trade and violin maker by avocation, in a sense, is the true father of the Becker family. He was the first to show an interest in making violins. Herman Macklett met with such great success in the making of violins that he gradually abandoned his upholstery business, and by the time of the Chicago fire he was the proprietor of a well equipped and flourishing violin shop. This shop was destroyed in the fire, but he and his wife rescued the most valuable of their violins by stuffing them into a couple of large grain sacks and carrying them across the Chicago river to safety. Herman worked on his violins from about the 1860s through the 1880s. During his lifetime he made about 150 violins. They are hard to come by, and we currently have a few of his violins in our collection. Macklett's daughter, Adeline Macklett (1865 - 1959) was a pianist. She married Carl J. Becker (1858 - 1921) who was a well-known violinist and teacher. Carl Johannes Becker was only twenty years old when he landed in America, but nevertheless he was an accomplished violinist at that time and he immediately hung out his shingle as a teacher of the violin. He had good background for his vocation. He had been a student in Germany under Edmund Singer and under Joseph Joachim, who was one of the most celebrated artists and teachers of the 19th century. He also attended the Stuttgart Conservatory for a number of years, and was a contemporary there of the celebrated Victor Herbert. Carl J. Becker was not only a successful teacher of violin; he earned a prominent place in the music community as a gifted performer as well. He became associated with leading professional organizations such as the Bismark Gardens Orchestra, the Chicago Civic Opera Orchestra, and the then prominent Turner Hall Orchestra, of which he was concert master for many years. Carl G. Becker (1887 - 1975) was one of the great creative personalities of the 20th century. His active career spanned 73 years and encompassed every facet of the luthier's art. His output was prodigious, qualitatively as well as quantitatively. Connoisseurs familiar with his work regarded him as a genius of the first rank. The passion to become a violin maker captured him when he was just a lad. When he graduated from grammar school in 1901, at 13, he was apprenticed to William T. Lane, owner of a music store. There, at 14, he made his first violin. In 1902 he began to work with Lyon and Healy, under the direction of John Hornsteiner; of the famed Hornsteiner violin making family, a relationship that lasted in all 22 years. When John Hornsteiner opened his own violin shop in 1908, Carl joined him. In 1924 he accepted an invitation from William Lewis and Son, a leading Chicago violin dealer, to become master luthier and instrument appraiser, with the understanding that he would leave for three months each year to make instruments. In 1968 he and his son, Carl F. Becker, who had joined him at Lewis in 1937, formed their own company, Carl Becker and Son. It could be said that Carl F. Becker (1919 - ) was born with a fiddle in his hands; violins in his blood; that he was to the manner born; a chip off the old block. After Carl's graduation from High School in 1937 he went to work for William Lewis and Son as an apprentice in the violin shop. He worked there, under his father's supervision, for the next four and a half years, and during that time completed his apprenticeship and advanced into the world of violin making and violin restoration. Carl F. has, indeed, achieved such a reputation for care and craftsmanship that he has been entrusted with the task of taking apart a violin that is thought by many musicians to be the world's finest- the "Lady Blunt," a Stradivarius that was made in 1721. He was mustered into the military service in November, 1941. He ranked second in his Company in rifle marksmanship, with the rating of Expert Rifleman; and at the completion of his basic training he was selected, as one of eight men from his Company, for appointment to Officer Candidate School. At the time of his discharge, February 21, 1946, he was a First Lieutenant, and he entered the Air Force Reserve with the rank of Captain. He has since been advanced to the rank of Major. It was in 1946 when Carl F. rejoined his father at the bench of William Lewis and Son. Carl F. Becker has recently completed 4 violins at the young age of 90 and has 2 violas and 1 violin that should be completed by the end of January 2011. Paul C. Becker joined his father (Carl F.) and grandfather (Carl G.) at the bench when he was 14. Paul finished his first violin with the help of Carl G. Becker. Paul briefly left Carl Becker and Son, Ltd. to begin his own woodworking company specializing in custom furniture. He decided his heart was in violin making and he returned to the family business, although he continues to make custom furniture as a hobby. Paul has just completed 2 violins in 2010, with 4 more near completion by January 2011. Jennifer Becker-Glows Brightly joined her father and grandfather full-time at the bench at age 16. She continues the family tradition by making and repairing instruments at her own shop located in Lakeville, Minnesota. Jennifer is working side by side with Carl F. Becker on 10 of her new instruments. In addition, Carl F., Paul, and Jenny are collaborating on 3 cellos and 1 violin together.
**Property of Carl Becker and Son, Ltd. 30 East Adams St, Suite 500, Chicago, IL 60603. Please refrain from copying and pasting this document in part or in whole.**
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Carl Becker and Son, Ltd. ♦ 30 East Adams Street, Suite 500 ♦ Chicago, IL 60603 |
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