About
Theodore (Theodor) August Gast was born October of 1874 in Germany and immigrated to the United States. He was married to Martha Schalk in the year 1900 [3]. In the 1910 census he was listed as a worker in a musical instrument factory [4]. By 1917 he was the shop foreman at the Harmony Company [1]. In 1940, he was listed as violin maker for an unnamed musical instrument company [2]. He died in 1955 [5].
Airplane Bridge (1928)
Gast designed the airplane bridge and X bracing that appears on the Harmony Johnny Marvin, Roy Smeck, and similar higher end models from the era.
Tailpiece Connected To The Back (1931)
This is a unique patent for a tailpiece that connects to the back of the guitar because, as the patent states, the back isn't directly affected by the vibration of the strings compared to the top.
Sources
[1]
https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-L14N-99FR?i=2243&cc=1968530&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3A743Z-YHZM
[2] https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9MB-JKFH?i=12&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AK4M8-P2X
[3] https://www.newspapers.com/image/350275873/?terms=%22theodore%2Bgast%22
[4] https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:33S7-9RV9-H92?i=36&cc=1727033&personaUrl=%2Fark%3A%2F61903%2F1%3A1%3AMK8S-932
[5] https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/184902346/theodore-august-gast
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