Army Contracted Fife / Sold

Army Contracted Fife - Inventory Number: MUS 087 / Sold

This rosewood fife was manufactured under contract by the US government.  The fife measures 17” overall with a pair of 1 ½” brass ferrules.  The body is marked “Wurlitzer” in an arch with flourish accents. 

Franz Rudolph Wurlitzer (1831–1914), an immigrant from Schöneck, Saxony, founded the Wurlitzer Company in Cincinnati in 1853. His sons Howard, Rudolph and Farny successively directed the company after his death. The company initially imported musical instruments from the Wurlitzer family in Germany for resale in the United States. Wurlitzer was an early American defense contractor, being a major supplier of musical instruments to the U.S. military during the American Civil War. 

Inventory Number: MUS 087 / SOLD