Orville Gibson

Orville H. Gibson ( * 1856 in Chateaugay in the State of New York; † August 21, 1918 in Ogdensburg, New York ) was an American musical instrument makers. As his greatest achievement, the transfer of design principles from the violin applies to the plucked mandolin and guitar ( archtop design). He was the namesake of the Gibson Mandolin - Guitar Manufacturing Company Ltd. , Now under the name of Gibson Guitar Corporation is one of the most famous musical instrument manufacturer in the USA.

Life and work

Orville Gibson was in 1856 (the exact date of birth is not known ), the youngest of five children of the married couple John W. Gibson and Amy Nichols Gibson on a farm near the town of Chateaugay born. In 1881, the young Gibson was listed in the census of the city of Kalamazoo, Michigan, where he initially worked as a shoe salesman as well as an accountant in a restaurant. Around 1890 he had begun to build as a leisure activity in home working musical instruments, and in 1894 he led a specialized shop to Mandolins for musical instruments in Kalamazoo.

As a leisure musicians Gibson said to have been unhappy with the sound and the volume of available in his time mandolins and guitars. Self-taught in the field of instrument making, he worked on improving opportunities for these instruments, focusing on forms of construction from the violin. One of the results of his work was the design for a mandolin, whose neck and sides should be cut and carved in one piece from a solid wooden board. His design called for to provide these rail frame with carved, arched ceiling, and just such a soil. In May 1896 Gibson applied for a U.S. patent for this design, which was awarded to him on 1 February 1898. However, it turned out that thus constructed musical instruments were not economical to produce due to the high proportion of production waste. Consequently presented Gibson neck and sides built by him mandolins individually ago and used for the frames instead of massive curved carving boards. Only the floor and ceiling of the instruments were made in the manner provided by him carved archtop design. His hand-built mandolins and guitars have been a sales success, and after some time Gibson could no longer cope alone the incoming orders.

In the spring of 1902 bought five investors from Kalamazoo Orville Gibson for U.S. $ 2,500 (in today's value about $ 250,000 ) from the rights to market his name and his patent, founded on 10 October 1902, the Gibson Mandolin - Guitar Manufacturing Company and made Orville Gibson as a consultant. However, its role in the company with his name remains unclear; it is no longer possible to determine whether Gibson worked for the company full-time or part-time, or whether he occasionally appeared only in the premises. The first catalog of the company Gibson appeared in 1903 and offered 32 pages mandolins, mandolas, guitars and " Harp" - guitars on.

Also in 1903, Orville Gibson left due to disagreements with the management of the company Gibson. Thereafter an annual compensation payment of $ 500 and a lifelong monthly pension payments were granted for the following five years. Already for Orville Gibson's time in the company health problems are with him are documented, followed by longer stays in hospital in Kalamazoo after his leaving the company. At an unknown date 1909-1911 he left the city and settled in Ogdensburg, New York State. There he went again repeated in -patient medical treatment. On August 21, 1918 Orville Gibson died in Hepburn Hospital in Ogdensburg after a long illness at the age of 62 years. The cause of death endocarditis was diagnosed, his death certificate performs as a professional "musician" to. Orville Gibson was buried in the family grave of his older brother Lovell Gibson; the tomb is located in the cemetery Morningside Cemetery in the town of Malone in the U.S. state of New York, just 30 miles away from his birthplace Chateaugay.