Best known as the father of Hermann Hauser I, Josef Hauser (1854-1939) was a renowned luthier in his own right, although perhaps better remembered as a maker of zithers, and as a composer of zither music than as a guitar maker. He was born in Burghausen, and apprenticed as a carpenter. During his apprenticeship, he meet Jospf Wimmer, a famous zither player and teacher, and began studying zither. He soon became a virtuoso zither player and composer. In Erding, near Munich, he rented an old barn, and started building zithers. Finishing his first instrument, he took it to show to Duke Maximilian of Bavaira, himself an avid zither player. The two men played the instrument all night long. The next day, the duke gave Josef a letter of recommendation. Thus encouraged, Josef established his workshop in 1875, and began to make zithers and a variety of instruments, guitars, lutes, mandolins, and violins. In 1898, Josef won a Gold metal at an exposition in Berlin. Unfortunately, he lost an arm in a street car accident in 1900, and was forced to sell his workshop. This guitar shows he was a talented maker, and passed on a considerable body of knowledge to his son. This guitar is essentially the same instrument design as Hermann Hauser's Munich model shown below. Surviving guitars by Josef are rare, Hermann Hauser III claims to have only seen three others in twenty five years.