G. Dolge

The story of Gottlieb Dolge (1834–1877) is a fascinating look into the shifting ownership and deep-rooted traditions of nineteenth-century German brass making. The foundation for his business was laid in 1868, when Dolge purchased the well-established Augsburg workshop of Anton Scherlein. Though Dolge built a solid reputation operating the firm, his time at the helm was cut short by his early death in 1877. Just a year prior, in 1876, he had married Elisabeth Dorner, who suddenly found herself inheriting the entire workshop and its legacy.

To keep the business running smoothly, Elisabeth eventually remarried Emanuel Kühnl, a skilled journeyman originally from Silberbach, Bohemia. This move secured both the practical and financial future of the workshop. Kühnl proved to be an astute manager who deeply respected the commercial value of the established names before him. For decades, he chose to keep using the traditional inscription "G. Dolge, vorm. A. Scherlein in Augsburg" on the instruments he produced. This clever marketing nod to both Dolge and Scherlein lasted until roughly 1900, after which Kühnl finally rebranded the workshop under his own name, continuing production until the outbreak of World War I.

Under their combined eras, the firm grew into one of the most productive brass-manufacturing businesses in Augsburg. However, historical records note that the workshop also heavily imported instruments and components from Bohemia. This integration of Bohemian trade and craftsmanship strongly explains the Central European characteristics found on instruments from this workshop, such as the unusually wide mouthpiece receivers.