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Query out of curiosity:

The name Meinl seems to be somewhat prominent among instrument makers (Meinl Weston, Rudolf Meinl, Böhm and Meinl/Nirschl). Does anyone know some history/relations between all of these shops? I remember Walter Nirschl is related to Gerhard Meinl, and I had heard Rudolf Meinl, Sr was related to Anton or Wenzel?

Did all of these branches start out in the same shop? Was there specific reasons certain family members went into business for themselves (beyond just the obvious self-made rationale)? In any event, we have all benefited from some spectacular tubas to come from this family.

Any info is appreciated!

Chris Bettler

Also wondering if there's a family relationship to Meinlschmidt - they've been in business since 1866.

I'll be watching this thread with interest - FWIW, it's been a goal of mine to someday go over there and visit these shops......kinda odd, but so am I

Thank you for the responses!

I should have clarified, I already know a little of the family ties from ITEA Journals, TubeNet archives, etc: Melton lineage is Wenzel > Anton > Gerhard. I’ve seen it written somewhere that Walter Nirschl is Anton Meinl’s nephew, and that Rudolf Meinl, Sr was either a nephew or cousin of Wenzel Meinl.

I was just curious about these family ties, and wondered if at some point the branches apprenticed in one of the older shops (i.e., Melton). I do appreciate the commonality of the name Meinl in that part of the world.

Perhaps another angle might be: does anyone have any historical information of when Rudolf Meinl or Böhm and Meinl began operations?

Thanks again for any replies.

Chris Bettler

Hello Chris,

after the end of WW2, Germany was occupied and partitioned up between the Allied forces. Western Germany was divided between the USA, England and France while East Germany was under Russian occupation. The far east of Germany was partially returned to Poland and Czechoslovakia(as it was known then). The region between Czech and Germany which was previously known as the Sudetenland came under the Czech government jurisdiction and almost all native German speakers were expelled to Western and Eastern Germany.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sudetenland
The Sudetenland was famous for its Gräslitz region which was home to many of the famous German/Austrian brass makers of the early 20th century including Bohland & Fuchs, Hüller, and Hüttl to name a few. The makers and their employees as german speakers, were expelled and made their way, mostly to Western Germany especially in Bavaria. Some tried to restart their original factories, while others started new companies such as Miraphone, Rudolph Meinl or Böhm & Meinl. The Meinl family which started Melton comes from this group of refugees who made their way to western Germany.
Sorry its not very detailed, but that's the gist of it.
Cheers, TheBerlinerTuba

It's very possible. Where I work I have to deal a lot with German edged weapons, and a lot of skilled labor and craftsmanship in Europe goes back to the days of Guilds. Most of the best edged weapons and other steel wares come out of the city of Solingen. Several families are very prominent, such as Weyersberg. Craftsman often followed their parents into their craft, so it's not uncommon, and sometimes they didn't get along with siblings and cousins, so they would branch off to form another company.

We Americans are accustomed to moving around a lot. This is not the case in central Europe, notwithstanding forced moves as a result of wars and their consequences. So, you get family names that spread out quite a bit, and in an area where there are a few dominant crafts or manufacturing, those names pop up in a few places. They are probably connected, but the connection may go back centuries.

In Switzerland, for example, a few names pop up frequently in the watch business. More than one Swiss watch company has a family connection, and you see Favres, Ditisheims, Pellatons, Blums, Schilds, and so on in the history of many companies, up until maybe 40 or 50 years ago.

Rick "related to every Denney, and probably most people with the names Denny, Dennehy, and Dennis, if you go back to the coast of France in the 12th century" Denney

bloke wrote:' pretty sure Anton Meinl was Gerhard's father.
' also pretty sure that Gerhard has no offspring, which may (??) be why he was prompted to sell his company.

Meinl is not a particularly uncommon name in central Europe.

There is also Meinl electronic amplification equipment and Meinl (drum) cymbals.
I tend to suspect that those people are not particularly closely related to Anton Meinl's family line, though I really do not know.

This video may actually contain (compared to my otherwise-useless post) useful information:

https://www.namm.org/library/oral-history/gerhard-meinl

Roland Meinl...that also made Stencil 4/4 Rotary Tubas "Sanders Artist" for Custom Music in the U.S. with Chinese bells.

For more detailed questions about this topic it probably could be useful to address the forum of the Museum for the History of the Musical Instruments Production at Markneukirchen. Link below.

https://www.museum-markneukirchen.de/fo ... b4662e19b9

Furthermore there has been published a book by the museum, which should contain information on the major companies in the trade:
https://www.museum-markneukirchen.de/suskript.htm

Best,
Hubert

smileatom wrote:Although I have seen some references to the meinl connections in the past.

I do remember asking my high school teacher the same question 40 years ago, and his answer (as someone who played in german orchestras) was

Meinl = Smith.

Sorry, but your teacher told you nonsense.
Meinl and Meinlschmidt are different names.

https://www.jm-gmbh.de/unternehmen/" target="_blank

Meinlschmidt has be foundet by Andreas Meinlschmidt.

The German word for smith is Schmied.
Possible variations for names are Schmitt, Schmidt, and Schmitz.

Ulli wrote:

smileatom wrote:Although I have seen some references to the meinl connections in the past.

I do remember asking my high school teacher the same question 40 years ago, and his answer (as someone who played in german orchestras) was

Meinl = Smith.

Sorry, but your teacher told you nonsense.
Meinl and Meinlschmidt are different names.

https://www.jm-gmbh.de/unternehmen/" target="_blank" target="_blank

Meinlschmidt has be foundet by Andreas Meinlschmidt.

The German word for smith is Schmied.
Possible variations for names are Schmitt, Schmidt, and Schmitz.

This just shows that American humor often does not translate to German humor, and vice versa.

Ulli, the meaning of the phrase "Meinl = Smith" is not that they mean the same thing, but rather than Meinl is a common name, like Smith is a common name in the USA.

Rick "nobody in the USA knows what their surnames mean, anyway" Denney

I remember that I saw somewhere in Facebook that Gerhard Meinl and Walter Nirschl were cousins.

Rick Denney wrote: This just shows that American humor often does not translate to German humor, and vice versa.
Ulli, the meaning of the phrase "Meinl = Smith" is not that they mean the same thing, but rather than Meinl is a common name, like Smith is a common name in the USA.

Rick "nobody in the USA knows what their surnames mean, anyway" Denney

Thank you, Rick.

Ulli