Author: DaveT
Date: 2018-12-29 21:14
Thank you donald. My articles were entitled "The Chicago Mouthpiece Legacy" and appeared in four parts in the ICA magazine. After years of research and communicating with customers, friends, and colleagues of both Kaspars, I was able to put together a history these two artists and craftsmen, starting from their arrival in this country in the early 1900's to their final years. Without starting a battle, I must correct Bernado on several counts. 1. Frank Kaspar did not move to Cicero until 1964, therefore there can be no 1940's Cicero mouthpieces. 2. There is no "secret hidden" source of blanks. Rick Sayre, the ONLY person Frank Kaspar trained to make/reface mouthpieces, was working with Kaspar when blanks were purchased from Glotin, Riffault, Sumner, Babbit, etc. etc. It is true that at some point reliable blanks became harder to obtain. I had the great fortune to be entrusted with many of Frank Kaspar's tools and unused blanks. These were given to me by Ray Kaspar, Frank's son. 3. Frank Kaspar did in fact use commercial blanks from time to time. In my articles there are pictures of Selmer, Yamaha, Woodwind, and other makes that Kaspar experimented with and sometimes used after filing the trademarks off. Good Kaspar mouthpieces still remain some of the finest ever made. There were no secrets or magic to their work, just decades of hard work and craftsmanship.
Finally, Frank Kaspar and his cousin Frank L. (Louis) Kaspar, both worked in Chicago till 1950. that year Frank L. moved to Ann Arbor, and Frank stayed in the city until 1964. Sorry to take up so much space. Have a great day!
David Tuttle
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