This message board does not seem to get much notice, how unfortunate. I knew Mr. Erickson personally, he was a close friend in his later years. Originally from Sweden, he apprenticed as a cabinet maker and moved into violins. He lived in Cedar Lake, Indiana. In the early part of his career, he worked for George Einsley making violins at the Perfection Musical String Company in Brunswick, Indiana. A small settlement west of Cedar Lake. He then opened up a shop on Hohman Avenue in downtown Hammond, Indiana where he made his high quality branded instruments with the Erickson name encircled on the back of the scroll. When he retired, (mid '60's or so-I believe, he still maintained a small shop in Brunswick around the corner from the Perfection String Company shop.
I first met him in the early '70's. My grandmother (also from Cedar Lake) gave me an old violin that was in her attic for years with the explanation that it was purchased from George Einsley's Perfection String Company shop in the mid 1930's. I took it to Mr. Erickson to have it restrung and to purchase a bow. Mr. Erickson explained that it was one of his early violins he had made while in the Employ of George Einsley which is why it didn't have his signature Erickson name stamp on the back of the scroll. That came later when he went out on his own and opened his shop. After seeing my instrument and listening to me relate my story of how I acquired it, he behaved like it was a lost sheep returning home. Upon learning that I was interested in classical music, he invited me to his shop and his home many times wher I learned much about the mechanics of the violin. He became quite ill and passed in the mid '70's. I also took violin lessons from his daughter Dorothy (also from Cedar Lake) for several years before going to college to study music. Contact me at brassplayer@excite.com