James Reynold Carlisle violin, Cincinnati c. 1925

Born in Ashland, Kentucky, James Reynold Carlisle (1886–1962) was the son of a carpenter and was primarily a self-taught luthier. In 1914, he began working for the Rudolph Wurlitzer Company in Cincinnati as the firm's house violin maker. Around this time, he appeared in a film directed by William Fox titled "The Violin Speaks," which was a step-by-step exploration of the violin making process. In 1941, he won third place for his workmanship in a competition for American luthiers promoted by Jascha Heifetz.

Carlisle enjoyed a prolific career and made both student and finer quality instruments. His personal instruments often bear a clear red sunshine varnish, which he developed over the course of many years. Finer-quality instruments from his later career are often marked with his signature red thumbprint in varnish on the label. His instruments are generally patterned after the works of Stradivari and Guarneri.