Perfection Musical String Company
By Adam Guggemos
George Nicolaus Einsele founded and ran the Perfection Musical String Company from sometime in the early 1920s until his death in 1940. His sister, Ella M. Einsele, continued operations until she passed away in 1958. The company was thereafter owned and operated by Raymond Joseph Neiner (a relative of the Einseles) until the business closed in 1988.
The company received rough-furnished gut strings via the Chicago meatpacking district: sheep gut from the Armour & Company Musical Strings Department, and later from the Victor Surgical Gut Manufacturing Company. In addition to the Tricolore string brand, Perfection also offered U.S.-branded Wonder Tone and RAO Gold Label strings; but the bulk of the company's yearly output went to only a few "jobbers" (wholesalers — Armour & Co. and William Lewis & Son Co. among them) who packaged Perfection's strings under their own trademarks for retail sale.
The Perfection workshop had no wet room (gut room) on site for the processing of hanks of raw gut. Instead, the supplied rough gut was provided with the steps of splitting, scraping, soaking, whitening, twisting, and drying already completed — a tremendously saving of time and effort, which explains sensational newspaper accounts of Perfection being able to produce "1,000 strings a day," and "more than a quarter-million annually." This is no small point: the post-abattoir/dresser steps of making gut strings are by far the most meticulous and time consuming, with the polishing and wire winding steps at the end taking a fraction of total production time.
Apparently, after retiring from railroad work, George Einsele had a business in Chicago (3348 Dearborn St., Telephone Douglas 3787) as a "Maker of High Grade Violins, Manufacturer of Silver and Copper Wound Strings," before eventually making violins for William Lewis & Son Co., but at an unspecified point switched to exclusively making strings: "I decided to stick to the string business, and I have no regrets. It is better to do one thing well."
It's hard to pin down specifically when the Perfection Musical String Company started. Firsthand correspondence below indicate George was making violins in 1912, and the company was "created in the early 20s," but no formal origin date is available. The Armour & Co. Musical String Department opened in 1912, and by 1917 had doubled in capacity, employing 100 people and endeavoring to start a second string factory, so the rough-finished gut would have been available en masse when Perfection opened its doors.
John H. Erickson also made violins for Einsele before becoming a local independent violin maker. Newspaper accounts list "1,000 hand-made violins" made between them in a "five-year period," but some of these early newspaper details should be viewed with a fair amount of skepticism, as George's own letters mention making "fids" in 1912; reputable auction houses like Amati listing George Einsele-made violins from as late as 1924; and instrument maker and author, John Dilworth, listing George Einsele as being "responsible for the 'Lewis' violins up to 1927."
Erickson previously worked for the Vega Company in Boston, and then William Lewis & Son Co. in Chicago — a distinguished music store specializing in violins and bows. It is most likely that a majority of their violins were sold to/through William Lewis, with recent sale prices for their violins listing in the low thousands of dollars (Erickson's retail for more). Tetto Gallo also worked for George from 1925-1955, specializing in varnishing and antique finishes for violins made in the white — unvarnished, unpainted, and unstained instruments frequently imported from Europe, and now China — before relocating to Chicago Heights. Gallo may have also been providing finishing work for instruments made by Ferdinando Garimberti. Additional luthiers working for George included Jacob Null.
Perfection's real innovation seems to have been George Einsele himself, a former locomotive engineer for the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad, who devised and built the machines to wind the wire onto gut strings with precision — an invention born out of irritation at being unable to purchase "good G strings." The cello string winding machine in the Gamut string workshop was made in about 1920 and has been making strings almost daily for over 100 years.
The string- and instrument-making business must surely have been doing well as, in 1926, George Einsele purchased 140 acres to build the Cedar Lake Golf Links and hired carpenter Nicholas Mager and bricklayer William Bierieger to construct a resort hotel — a three-story building featuring a clubhouse, dining room, and kitchen on the first floor; and 10 rooms on each of the next two levels. The Great Depression would hit before the third floor could be finished, and in 1938 George sold the property to the Franciscan Fathers of Green Bay for $51,000. The Franciscans would continue operating the golf club until 1952 when they converted the resort hotel into the Lourdes Franciscan Friary in Cedar Lake with the addition of grottoes and a chapel, remaining in residence until 2021. The grounds became fully monastic and closed to the public from 1952 until 1981 when it reopened as the 18-hole Cedar Lake Monastery Golf Club until 2006. The Cedar Lake Monastery Golf Club was permanently closed in 2006 and redeveloped into the Monastery Woods residential subdivision.
It seems George was known locally more for the golf course than music strings and instruments, and may have continued to operate the Cedar Lake Golf Course after selling to the Franciscans in 1938.
"A gravel road off US 41, two miles out of Cook, runs past the Franciscan (Polish) Seminary, formerly the George Einsele Hotel, a large brick building with a Colonial portico. The seminary was dedicated April 21, 1938, by Bishop Noll of Fort Wayne. Opposite the seminary is Cedar Lake 18-hole Golf Course (open; fees 50c on week days, 75c on Saturday, $1.00 on Sundays). A new yellow frame clubhouse offers restaurant services."
— The Calumet Region Historical Guide: Containing the Early History of the Region as Well as the Contemporary Scene Within the Cities of Gary, Hammond, East Chicago (Including Indiana Harbor), and Whiting - Compiled by the Workers of the Writers' Program of the Work Projects Administration of the State of Indiana, German Printing Co., 1939
— The Lake County Times, Munster, IN, October 6, 1940
The Perfection Musical String Company was shuttered on March 14, 1988, with Ray Neiner attributing the confluence of the rise in popularity of synthetic strings and the difficulty in domestically obtaining high-quality catgut as the ultimate factors that led to the company's closure.
In the early 1990s, Dan Larson and his son Jake traveled to Brunswick, IN, and purchased Perfection string winding machines and the Tricolore workshop formula books from the estate of Ray Neiner. Those machines and string formulas are still in use today.
While there is limited historical information on the Perfection Musical String Company, we have managed to dig up items ranging from newspaper articles and advertisements to historical association publications and museum artifacts. Below are a few selections we have found.
(A special thank you to Scott Bocock of Cedar Lake, IN, for providing additional historical resources on the Perfection Musical String Company.)
A few articles below mention hog gut. This is most likely inaccurate, as porcine serosa (pig gut) is not a suitable material from which to make strings, the intestines being too fatty and containing comparatively fewer (to sheep and beef) muscle fibers to bond together properly. Historically, porcine serosa has proven a difficult material to work with:
"Oxen and pig intestines are difficult to de-slime."
— [German] Anleitung zum Studium der Technologie, oder Kurze und Faßliche Beschreibung Verschiedener Künste und Handwerker (Instructions for the Study of Technology, or a Brief and Understandable Description of Various Arts and Crafts) - Johann Gottlieb Cunradi. Leipzig, 1785
Perfection Violin Stringing Machine Exhibit at Cedar Lake
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Violin Stringing Machine - George Einsele, Perfection Musical String Company 20th Century - Isabel Salvin. Object Histories of the Calumet - Committee on Environment, Geography and Urbanization Division of Social Sciences, The University of Chicago, 2025 / Exhibit hosted at The Museum at Lassen's Resort on Cedar Lake / Cedar Lake Historical Association
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[Audio] The Perfection Musical String Company - Isabel Salvin. Object Histories of the Calumet - Committee on Environment, Geography and Urbanization Division of Social Sciences, The University of Chicago, 2025
Letter From George Einsele to Cousin Albert - #1
[Letterhead: G. N. Einsele, Maker of High Grade Violins, Manufacturer of Silver and Copper Wound Strings, 3348 Dearborn Street, Chicago, Telephone Douglas 3787]
Feb. 7th. 1912.
Dear cousin Albert:-
Received your letter some time ago. Glad to hear you are getting along so well with the wood, but when it is so D----- cold dont stand out in the woods & freeze to death just to cut a few pieces of wood Life is too short to do anything like that stay near the house or in the house where it is warm see?
How would it be if you had Peters help you a day to saw them trees & then you can help him back at any time that is if he needs help. If the weather is nice I will be out to Brunswick Sunday & stay maybe until Wednesday as I want to work on 4 more fids.
I will try & have that violin ready so I can bring it with me Sunday & let your cotomer [customer] try it for a week or ten days I cant very well let anyone try them longer than that as I am so short on them.
Do you expect to be in Brunswick Sunday if you are then we can look the ground over.
Guess I will have to quit as I have several more letters to write.
Yours very truly.
Geo.
Letter From George Einsele to Cousin Albert - #2
[Letterhead: G. N. Einsele, Maker of High Grade Violins, Manufacturer of Silver and Copper Wound Strings, 3348 Dearborn Street, Chicago, Telephone Douglas 3787]
2/20/1912.
Dear Cousin Albert:-
Your of the 19 came to hand this morning & note what you have to say about sawing that lumber, I think that would be a wise plan as them big saws eat up most of the wood & I will get a shaft & 3 of 4 saws thin as possibe & put them on one shaft & build a buck & saw it our self & we will have a third more lumber, first time you get near that saw mill change the marking on the logs to 1 1/4" thick I think that is what we intended to saw, was't it? & the plank will have to be put in someplace where they will dry out a little, expect that they are full of water.
Havent looked for your tire yet but will bring it when I come sometime next week, I will look at several places & see where I can do the best.
Lewis [William Lewis & Son Co.] has hired another violin maker, has two now, & in the summer when work is slack he will come to B[runswick] & work for me, he is a dutchman to 15 years from Choimany [Cremona?] & a good fid maker. The only trouble with him is he likes his schnops once in a while.
Guess that is all I can thik of now so will choke off.
As ever,
Geo.
Farmer-Musician Strikes a Bonanza
Lands Big Order from Armour & Co. That Will Reach $400,000 a Year
(Special to The Times)
Crown Point, Ind., Sept. 1 — Nicholas Einsile [Einsele] of Cedar Lake is the father of several sons who have been content to follow the plow and earn their livelihood as their father had. But not so with George Einsile, his mind ran in other lines than tilling the soil. He early developed a musical soul and when a small lad his parents noted his love for music. In the early spring day on the annual visit of the grind organ man, George would follow him until the strains of his music could be heard no longer. When growing into manhood he had made several violins and his work was so fine that his instruments attracted the attention of several musicians of note and he had orders from wealthy people to make violins for them.
His musical genius was of an inventive sort and he recently has invented an attachment for wrapping G strings on a violin. There are quite a good many machines used in this work, but his attachment is pronounced so clever that it makes the G strings absolutely perfect. Last Saturday, Armour and Co., of Chicago who have heard of Einsile attachment send a representative down to Cedar Lake to interview him and before he left he had contracted with Einsele for $77,000 of the G strings to be furnished between this date and December 31st. He also entered into an agreement with Armour and Company to furnish them four hundred thousand dollars of the strings every year, the contract to last for four years. Armour and Company will furnish the material for the strings which are made of sheep gut. They are going into the musical instrument business on a large scale and it is said will rival Lyon and Healy of Chicago. Einsele will immediately install 50 machines and begin the work at once. A movement is on foot to induce Einsele to move to Crown Point and start his G string factory here. Einsele is a young man about 27 years of age and owns a beautiful home in Cedar Lake.
[A few notes: The facts of this article should be taken as most likely quite embellished.
George's father was Valentine Einsele — not Nicholas — a blacksmith and wagon maker, manufacturing the Hildebrand, Insley, and Beigrlir wagons, and Insley Buggy in Brunswick, Indiana.
George would have been about 45 at the time of this article — not 27. He was born in 1868.
A figure of $400,000/year would be over $13,000,000 today, which is highly suspect for a startup business that had no measurable employees or machinery.]
— The Lake County Times, September 3, 1913
Factory With Only 4 Customers Produces Fine Toned Violin Strings for Musical Thrills
It has taken a lot of gut to string along with you music lovers!
You can believe George N. Einsele for this remark for he knows where of he speaks.
George is 71.
For 36 years he has been making violin strings.
His factory is an abandoned rural school house situated in the tiny residential community of Brunswick, south of Hammond and Dyer.
Some of your most beautiful music comes from stringed instruments, like the cello, the viola, the bass fiddle and, of course, the violin.
And you have George to thank for the tonal perfection of many of these because he has been doing such a swell job with the gut of animals.
Right here you should learn that the life of a cat plays no part whatever in the making of a violin string, some screeching examples of the musical art to the contrary notwithstanding.
Former Railroad Man
Sheep and hogs whose journeys through life are culminated with one-way trips into the Chicago stockyards provide the intestines from which the strings are manufactured for use by George, and possibly no more than a dozen other so-called string-winders throughout the United States.
George Einsele is taking life a little easier these days. After all, he deserves it, for, besides having made notable contributions to the field of musical art all these years, he has behind him a splendid record of 20 years of continuous service as a locomotive engineer on the Chicago & Eastern Illinois railroad.
He was born in Brunswick, which is located two miles east of Cook, south of Hammond on Route 41.
Brunswick, now about 50 years old, has not grown appreciably like some of its neighboring Lake county communities. There isn't much to be seen, in fact, aside from its little 77-year old Zion Evangelical church; Ernest Meyer's general store; Arnold and Walter Schreiner's garage and gas station; Ben Reicheart's tavern about 30 homes and, to be sure, the comfortable Einsele residence, and nearby, the violin string factory.
George has the only string-making establishment in this part of the country. There are several "winders" at Battle Creek, Mich. and a few others on the east and west coasts. Because the field of production is not overcrowded, George's little factory does a splendid annual business. He furnishes employment to eight persons throughout the year and in the busy call season augments his corps of workers. His production averages 1,000 strings a day, or more than a quarter-million annually, and yet the Perfection Musical String Company of Cedar Lake (Brunswick's post office address) is know to only four customers!
Sales Made to Jobbers
"Our immediate customers are big jobbers," Einsele explained. "We deal with three in Chicago and one in Cleveland, Ohio. Yet our strings go all over the United States and, possibly, to owners of stringed instruments in foreign countries. This method of distribution has proved very satisfactory. It has eliminated much detail work in our small factory, for we are concerned only with the production of first-class, high quality strings. We ship them in bulk lots to the jobbers, who in turn, package them under their own trade-marks for sales to music stores and, ultimately, use by musicians."
George likes good violin music but has never been much of a musician himself. Years ago, he revealed, he used to play the violin "a little." He was discriminating enough, however, to realize that he never could purchase what his regard as "good G strings." This incident set him to thinking. He asked himself why good G strings could not be made and eventually rigged up a machine for the satisfaction of his musical zeal.
"You know the rest," George said. "That little machine happened to work and I obtained a good G string. And that's how I happened to get into this business."
Big Variety of Strings
Today, in the old Brunswick school house, a two-story frame structure built in [illegible], approximately 100 kinds of strings in more than 60 different sizes are being produced on a dozen electrically-operated winding machines, all invented and built by Einsele himself in a work shop behind the factory.
It is related in Brunswick that its inhabitants used to depend on George for their electricity. He furnished the little village with this service from the small plant used at the factory for nearly 10 years. Now the Northern Indiana Public Service company through nearby Cook renders this public service.
The Einsele factory has unquestionably kept Brunswick on the map, the townsfolk admit. When attendance became too small to keep the school house open 30 ago, George purchased the building. Boys and girls of the community now attend the Schiller school three miles north of Brunswick.
One of Brunswick's former veteran merchants now lives in Hammond. He is John Beckman of Glendale park who, for about 40 years, owned and operated the general store there.
Employees All Loyal
George Einsele is surrounded by a group of employees whose loyalty to his little industry is best illustrated by the fact that all have been with him at least 14 years, including Mrs. Martin Saberniak, Mrs. Edmond Gettler, Mrs. Clifford "Bud" Gless, and the Misses Catherine Rhein, Marcella Mayer and Amala Russell. The shop superintendant, Mrs. James Polivka, boasts an 18-year employment record, and the only male worker, Michael Kulling, has been producing violin strings for 21 years.
Einsele formerly made violins here, too. During a five-year period, and with the assistance of an expert in that field, J. H. Ericson [Erickson], now a Hammond violin maker. Einsele turned out exactly 1,000 hand-made violins; then quit. [This "five-year period" is considerably suspect, as George's own letters above mention making "fids" in 1912, and reputable auctions houses like Amati list George Einsele-made violins from as late as 1924.]
"I decided to stick to the string business," George added, "and I have no regrets. It is better to do one thing well."
How violin strings are made is not easily explained, according to George. He obtains the sheep and hog gut from a Chicago packing concern. The gut is sent to him in the rough, after having been properly treated at the stockyards. The gut is dried, of course, and a dozen or more fine strings comprise the four and six-food strands (which look like dried macaroni) which move on their way to the Einsele-designed turning machines.
Strings 6 Feet Long
The average violin string is 24 inches in length. The gut is cut to this length on the machinery while at the same time being reduced from its natural thickness of [illegible] of an inch to 24/225 of an inch.
When the string has undergone this sizing, it is again dried before entering other machines for winding operations. The little factory imports silver, copper and aluminum wire from France and Germany, besides using domestic products. Special winding operations involve each of the D, G, E and A strings. When completed, the strings have their respective tonal qualities definitely associated with them, and talented musicians need only tune them to achieve the melodious effects so long identified with stringed instruments.
— The Hammond Times - Phil Lamar Anderson. Thursday, January 25, 1940
Brunswick [Unincorporated]
Founded when Zachary Taylor was president.
The first store in Brunswick was started by Herman Lepin. It burned but was immediately rebuilt by Ernest Meyer; then Herman Beckman bought the store and ran it for 39 years and sold it to George Piepho who sold out to Ernest Meyer.
During its first years, the town consisted of a general store, blacksmith shop, harness shop, shoemaker, tailor, and wagon shop.
The violin and violin string factory in Brunswick has been very prosperous. Then the town was run mostly by the Einsele family. The blacksmith and wagon shop was in the hands of Valentine Einsele, and the violin factory and the Cedar Lake golf course and club house in the hands of George Einsele.
[…]
…Brunswick used to manufacture the Perfection violin, which was the finest violin in the United States at that time. Now they concentrate only on making violin strings. Mrs. Insley [Ella M. Einsele], who still lives in Brunswick is now the proprietor of the factory. The old school house was condemned and was moved to be the violin factory.
— Lowell Tribune August 28, 1952
History of the Perfection Musical String Company
It has taken a lot of gut to string along with you music lovers.
You can credit George N. Einsele for this remark for he knew whereof he spoke.
George Einsele was a Manufacturer of musical strings such as violin, viola, cello, and bass.
The factory known as Perfection Musical String Company is an abandoned rural school house situated in a little residential community of Brunswick, a few miles west of Cedar Lake, Indiana.
Some of your most beautiful music comes from the string instruments, like the cello, viola, bass fiddle, and of course the violin.
You have Mr. Einsele to thank for the tone perfection of many of these instruments because of the tone quality of strings manufactured by this small factory.
Right here you should learn that the life of a cat plays no part whatsoever in the making of a violin string, some screeching examples of the musical art to the contrary notwithstanding.
Sheep and hogs whose journey through life are culminated with one-way trips into the Chicago stockyards provide the intestines from which the strings are manufactured for use by this musical string company, and possibly no more than a half dozen other so-called string-winders throughout the United States.
George Einsele was born in Brunswick and in his youth was a locomotive engineer for some twenty odd years, working for the C.&E. I Railroad, his run being from Danville to Chicago.
Brunswick, now 100 years old, has not grown appreciably like some of its neighboring Lake County communities. There isn't much to be seen. In fact, aside from the Musical String Company, there is only Ben Reichert's Tavern, Niemeyer Sales & Service, John Ericson Violin Maker, and about 30 homes.
Perfection Musical String Company is the only string manufacturing establishment in this part of the country; there are several "winders" on the east coast. Because the field of production is not overcrowded this little factory does a splendid annual business. It furnishes employment to 15 persons throughout the year. Production averages 3,000 strings a day, or more than a million annually; and yet, the Perfection Musical String Company of Brunswick is known to only two customers.
Our customers are big jobbers, one in Chicago and one in Cleveland, Ohio. Yet our strings go all over the United States and possibly, to owners of stringed instruments in foreign countries. This method of distribution has proved very satisfactory. It has eliminated much detail work in our small factory, for we are concerned only with the production of firstclass, high quality strings. We ship them in the bulk lots to jobbers, who in turn, package them under their own trade marks for sales to music stores and, ultimately, used by musicians.
Mr. Einsele died in 1940 and the factory was operated successfully by his sister Miss Ella M. Einsele until her death in March 1958. The Perfection Musical String Company is now owned and operated by Raymond J. Neiner who has been its manager for the past twelve years.
Mr. Neiner is surrounded by a group of employees whose loyalty to this little industry is best illustrated by the fact that all have been employees for ten years or more. The oldest employee, Michael Kulling, with forty five years service is still active in producing violin strings. Some employees with twenty to thirty years of service are Alma Russell, Bernice Batterman,. Catherine Rhein, Erna Schreiber, and Eleanore Tobias. Other employees are Alice Piopho, Margaret Borger, LaVerne Schulte, Margaret Tolan, Edna Surchik, Luella Kettler, Richard Fetsch, and Marie Russell.
The Perfection Musical String Company formerly made violins and turned out exactly 1,000 hand-made violins, then decided to quit and go into the string business exclusively.
How violin strings are made is not easily explained. The sheep and hog gut is obtained from a Chicago packing concern. The gut is furnished in the rough after having been properly treated at the stockyards. The gut is dried and treated at our factory before it is trued and reduced from its natural thickness that will produce a good tone quality string. Special winding operations are then involved on each of the D, G, E, and A strings. Silver or aluminum wire is wound around this gut depending on type of string being manufactured.
When complete, the strings have their respective tone qualities definitely associated with them to achieve the melodious effects so long identified with stringed instruments.
Ninety-five per cent of all stringed instruments in Symphony Orchestras throughout the United States use strings manufactured by this small industry.
— Historical Association of Lake County, Indiana Reports and Papers, Vol. XII - Miss Catherinie Rhein. Mitchell-Flemming Printing, Inc./Greenfield, IN, 1970
Fax From Glenn Bjorkman - Perfection Musical String Co., Written by Carl Bjorkman
Sent By: The Victor Companies [Victor Surgical Gut Manufacturing Company, Inc.]
Date: July 22, 1980
Subject: Perfection Musical String Co., 14222 W. 135th Avenue, Cedar Lake, IN 46303
Perfection Musical String Company was created in the early 20's by George Einsele, an Engineer on the C. & E.I. Railroad. I believe he then lived in Hammond, Indiana. He carved violins as a hobby which led him to winding violin strings, etc. His wife helped him. They had no children. He bought the present 15 acres at Brunswick near Cedar Lake, Indiana. The original home became the factory and they built a new large house alongside to live in. I believe their biggest customer was Armour & Company's musical string department which ended in 1950. George bought enough land to build a golf course and club house near Cedar Lake. He sold this to a religious organization in the mid 30's for $50,000.00. Then a real estate developer took over and today a $500,000.00 price would be conservative. Thyra and I and the Gahle's [sic — it should read Gable's — as in H. O. Gable, the founder and manager of Armour & Co. Musical String Department] played golf there several times before I left Armour in 1929.
Mrs. Ensele died of cancer. She knew that the Bjorkmans had a baby coming and left some money with her sister to buy a present for the baby, Carol, who was born after Mrs. Einsele died.
George died (in the early 40's? [1940]), he willed the business to his sister.
I believe that Ray Neiner now 70 years old was a nephew to Einsele. She kept after Neiner to take over the business and promised he would have the business eventually. Ray was also a railroad man.
The aunt willed all the property and the business to Ray, a bachelor. In return Ray felt he had an obligation to the family and he has paid for the education of 14 nieces and nephews through various universities.
What will happen when he dies? The business is in a trust and the beneficiaries will be his three sisters and two brothers, none of whom are now involved in the business.(?)
Pioneer History - The Village of Brunswick
The Perfection Musical String Co., housed in the converted two-story school house, was established by George Einsele. After his death in 1940, it was managed by his sister, Ella M. Einsele, until she passed away in 1958. Then Raymond Neiner became the owner and operator until the plant was closed. For a time the company also made violins, making 1,000 fine, hand-made instruments. The products were sent all over the world, and 95 percent of all stringed instruments in symphony orchestras in the United States use Perfection Strings.
In 1970 Perfection employee Catherine Rhein wrote about the company and also included the following about the village: "Brunswick has not grown appreciably like some of its neighboring Lake County communities. There isn't much to be seen. In fact, aside from the string factory, there is only Ben Reichert's Tavern, Niemeyer's Sales and Service, John Ericson, violin maker, and about thirty homes."
— Lowell Tribune - Richard C. Schmal. June 28, 1995