Karl August Berger violin, New York 1960

Swiss luthier Karl August Berger was born in 1893 in Basel, Switzerland. He traveled widely to pursue his career, moving to Naples to study at the Postiglione workshop, then to Paris to work for Silvestre and Maucotel. After working briefly in Mittenwald, Berger moved to the United States to work for Emil Herrmann's renowned shop in New York, then established his own successful workshop in New York in 1924. His instruments were played by prominent members of symphony orchestras and won numerous awards, including medals at the sesquicentennial World's Fair in Philadelphia in 1926, and at the 1927 International Exposition of Music in Geneva in his native Switzerland.