Chris Knutsen Timeline
by Gregg Miner, as part of
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by Gregg Miner, as part of |
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(some dates are estimates; most are those
proposed by Most/Noe.
Entries in blue are still under investigation)
| 1862 | Born Johan Christian Kammen in Norway. |
| 1866 | Immigrates to America, settling in Minnesota. |
| 1888 | Marries Anna Kammen. Changes name to Knutsen. Working as a mason. |
| 1895 | Moves to Port Townsend, WA. Prototype "One-Arm" guitars made. |
| 1896 | First patent for "One-Arm" guitar granted. |
| 1898 | Second patent for "One-Arm" guitar
with sub-bass strings granted. Symphony harp Guitars introduced. Dyer relationship starts. |
| 1900 | Moves to 1001 J. St., Tacoma, WA. |
| 1903 | Moves to 903 S. Yakima Ave. Symphony Harp Guitars evolving new headstock. |
| 1905 | Moves to 905 S. G St. Hawaiian bands tour the Pacific Northwest, including the Lewis & Clark Exposition in Portland, OR. |
| 1906 | Moves to 1910 8th Ave., Seattle, WA. Harp Guitars change to "Lower Bass Point" style. The Harp Guitar Company established with John H. Bourn at 2002 6th Ave. |
| 1907 | The Harp Guitar Company is dissolved. Knutsen again independent. |
| 1908 | Moves to 405 Cedar St. |
| 1909 | Moves to 219 Westlake Ave North. Public heavily attends the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in Seattle, WA, featuring continual Hawaiian music. First "convertible guitars" appear. |
| 1910 | Harp Mandolins introduced. |
| 1912 | Has a shop in Bellingham, WA; Residence still in Seattle. Harp guitar patent expires. |
| 1913 | Moves residence and shop to 1200 Stewart St.
in Seattle. Lists address as "Harp Guitar Factory at Stewart and Minor." Harp Guitar headstocks change further. DeLano/"Kona" relationship begins. |
| 1914 | For
the next two years, Knutsen's exact location is unknown. Tom Rousseau, Knutsen's son-in-law moves to 1413-F Temple St. in Echo Park, Los Angeles. This may have served as Knutsen's temporary "base of operations" - first, to build steel guitars (Knutsen style, then the first Konas) for Charles DeLano who was based in Los Angeles (as Tom Noe has long believed) and next to create the New Hawaiian Family line (perhaps to coincide with the upcoming PPIE in San Francisco, my belief). Hermann Weissenborn is in Los Angeles listed as a "manufacturer and repairer of all stringed instruments," with piano repair his specialty. |
| 1915 | Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San
Francisco officially starts the "Hawaiian music craze." "New Hawaiian Family" line introduced by this time, including harp ukes and additional Hawaiian guitar styles. |
| 1916 | Moves to 1600 Temple St.,
Los Angeles, CA. Weissenborn enters the Hawaiian guitar business. |
| 1917 | Residence at 1635 Temple St. Shop set up at 1542 Temple St? |
| 1918- 1919 |
Missing from 1918 directory (and 1919 directory is not available). |
| 1920 | Moves to 1642 Temple St. Shop is now listed at 1542 Temple. |
| 1921 | Moves into apartment over the shop at 1542 Temple St. |
| 1922 | Business and residence still at 1542 Temple; additional space listed at 536 Echo Park Av. |
| 1927 | Resides with daughter Myrtle’s family at 1306 McDuff St. |
| 1928 | Shop at 1487-1/2 Sunset Blvd. Found! This was a tiny outbuilding behind his McDuff home. |
| 1930 | Dies on Nov. 6th at age 68. Anna dies on Nov. 8th at age 73. |
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