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JAMES M. FLEMING.
THE
FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE
A MANUAL
OF INFORMATION REGARDING
VIOLINS, VIOLAS, BASSES AND BOWS
OF
CLASSICAL AND MODERN TIMES
TOGETHER WITH
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES AND PORTRAITS OF THE MOST
FAMOUS PERFORMERS ON THESE INSTRUMENTS
BY
JAMES M. FLEMING
Author of "Old Violins and their Makers,^., &>c.
SECOND EDITION
ILLUSTRATED
With Fac-similes of Violin Tickets
IDonicm :
HAYNES, FOUCHER & CO., 14, GRAY'S INN ROAD
1892
I'KINTED BY
E. SHORE AND CO., TYPE-MUSIC AND GENERAL PRINTERS,
3, GREEN TERRACE, CLERKENWELL, B.C.
Music
Library
PREFACE.
THE Reader who may be interested in the subject of this
Guide will, I hope, find the contents of the book to be of
some value to him how much, if any, more than usual, is
not for me to say. I think, however, I may, without
egotism, state that there is hardly a maker of any import-
ance, from the earliest to the latest, about whom, or about
whose work, something fresh in the matter of descriptive
detail may not be gleaned from these pages, while a very
large number of the more ordinary class of craftsmen
have had certain points of their work briefly elucidated
in a manner calculated to be helpful for purposes of
identification.
Everything in the book has been, to employ a common
phrase, brought up to date, and although, as a matter of
duty to my readers and to myself, I have, in writing
THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE, consulted and collated
afresh, with great advantage, every source of information
known to me, I think I may yet fairly claim that the
results which have been tabulated throughout, are very
largely those of my own observation and practical
experience, and where these have failed me, the names
of the authors on whose assistance I have drawn, will be
found duly recorded in the body of the work.
J. M. FLEMING.
London, 1st October, 1892.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I. PAGB
THE Bow AND CRUTH i
CHAPTER II.
THE Bow AND CRUTH (continued) 12
CHAPTER III.
THE CRUTH AND VIOLS 18
CHAPTER IV.
ON OLD AND NEW VIOLINS .. .. .. .. .. 25
CHAPTER V.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS 30
CHAPTER VI.
SECOND SERIES OF CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS 135
CHAPTER VII.
VIOLIN Bow MAKERS 230
CHAPTER VIII.
VIOLINISTS .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 244
CHAPTER IX.
BASSES AND BASS PLAYERS 301
LIST OF PLATES.
PAGE
Corelli 249
Tartini 254
Viotti 266
Nicolo Paganini . . . . . . . . . . . . 274
Louis Spohr 279
Ole Bull 283
Henri Vieuxtemps . . . . . . . . . . . . 293.
John Tiplady Carrodus 296
Martin Meliton Sarasate. . .. .. .. .. 298-
THE
FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE
CHAPTER I.
anb (truth.
THE Arabs have a saying that the best discourse
is that which is " short and clear." No doubt
they mean " clear and short." That is, at least, how
I should prefer to understand the apothegm lucidity
first, and brevity afterwards, in as far as it may
be possible. In whatever order they appear, I trust
both virtues may be found illustrated in the method
of this manual, but I shall make, at any rate, a
sincere effort to secure the presence of one of
them by beginning at once the consideration of
my subject.
Eleven years ago, when writing a work on the
history of the violin, I began by referring to what
was then, in my view, the more important factor in
dealing with the antiquity of the instrument, namely,,
the violin bow, and I pointed out that the hard and fast
conclusion which then prevailed with regard to the age
of this adjunct was not altogether a very philosophical
2 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
one. Writers of eminence, who, at that time, might
be said to represent the literary view of the subject,
had stated that it was then proved that the Greeks
and the Romans were not acquainted with the use
of bowed instruments. I suggested that the investiga-
tions which led to that conclusion had not been so
thorough as to justify its expression in these absolute
terms, and I offered some evidence in support of my
conception that more proof of the bow's antiquity
might be available if due care were observed in
seeking it. Since then the question has been in some
measure revived, and it is now admitted that the
Greeks and Romans probably did know something
about the archaic representative of the fiddle bow,
and were very likely practically acquainted with its
uses. From subsequent investigations, I confess it is
to me almost impossible to believe that they could
have been ignorant of it, when we take into considera-
tion the antique monuments in existence which display
figures of musicians with stringed instruments and
rods in their hands, the latter of which could be of
little or no use to them in any capacity other than
that which the violin bow has to us.
The evidence which I offered on the above point
was a drawing from an Etruscan vase, in which
an implement like an early bow was placed across
the strings of a musical instrument, and in calling atten-
tion to this drawing, I said that the bow was placed
so close to the strings as to appear as if it had no
hair, and that it might on that account be claimed
as a kind of plectrum, with which the ancients were
THE BOW AND CRUTH. 3
understood to strike or twang the strings. I said
then that if we remembered how Paganini is reported to
have played exquisitely with a rush on the occasion of a
contest which he had with a young man in Italy, there
Avould be no difficulty in supposing that the ancients may
have excited the vibrations of their strings by a similar
contact before hair came to be used. A year or two after
the publication of this view, it appears to have been
accepted in a tentative manner, and it is now admitted
as a highly probable explanation. I may here em-
phasise the view which I then expressed by pointing out
that had the artist who decorated that vase intended to
depict a plectrum for striking the strings, he would
hardly have placed it across them, but would probably
have shown it hanging parallel to the instrument. The
position in which this implement is found across the
strings at the very place where the musician would use
his bow, is, in my view, evidence of a conclusive kind
that in those times, they were acquainted with, and
practised, the method of producing musical sounds by
means of continuous friction over strings. Indeed I
do not see how evidence of this kind could be more
decisive, for the Greeks were under the most stringent
laws with regard to the reproduction, in the domain of
art, of instruments which w r ere in established use.
Artists were not allowed to invent forms which did not
actually exist. They were not permitted to make
innovations or alterations pictorially in the instruments
which they represented special mention of ".musical
branches " being actually made in the law of which
Plato informs us. In the scene depicted on the vase
B2
}. THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
referred to there are t\vo musical instruments one on
each side of the principal figure. In this case they
indicate the profession of the person whom they flank,
and the personage represented on the cup to which I
refer was Chironeis, a learned Greek musician and
scientist.
Since these views were expressed in 1881, the ten-
dency has been to pursue the subject on similar lines,
and even the mounds of Nineveh are now, and I think
rightly, supposed to yield their quotum of evidence in
the same direction. \Yhether it will ever be possible to
bridge over the gulf which separates the eighth or ninth
century of the Christian era from the time of the fulfil-
ment of Jonah's prophecy and bridge it over in such
a manner as will yield a firm footing to the historical
inquirer it may not be at the present moment easy to
s:iv, but I am very hopeful of such a solution, and I am
sure it will come all the more quickly the less people are
anxious to have their personal theories and fads accepted
at all cost and at every hazard. As one of the very
mildest instances of the results of unconscious bias
towards a preconceived idea I may here quote a few lines
from an old Welsh poem which has been printed in a
volume entitled " Musical and Poetical Relics of the
\Yelsh Bards," by Edward Jones (1794) for the purpose of
showing that the early Welsh Crwth or Cruth was played
with a bow. The precise date of the composition of the
poem is not known, but the name of the author is, and it
is supposed by those who claim to have a knowledge of
Welsh literature, that the verses were written in the
fifteenth century. The poem contains a detailed account
THE BOW AND CRUTH. 5
of the instrument, but four lines will be sufficient for my
purpose.
" A fair coffer with a bow, a girdle,
A finger board and a bridge ; its price a pound.
It has a frontlett formed like a wheel
With a short-nosed bow across."
Now the comment on these lines by a distinguished
writer is that "it is by no means certain to the
unbiassed enquirer that it (the bow) is alluded to in the
above description of the instrument. The bow which is
mentioned may possibly refer to the curved shape of the
frame." If the first line were the only one in which the
word "bow" occurred, I could understand how one
might maintain that it \vas a reference to the shape of
the instrument, but how the fourth line could be
supposed to, be a repetition of the same description
passes my comprehension. I confess it seems to me as
clear an account of a primitive fiddle bow as could well be
put in English words. If literary evidence of that kind
is to be rejected, or even discredited, one may as well
reject everything that has ever been written by any
writer in any country of the world. I am almost
inclined to believe that the author of the above comment
had forgotten all about the details given in the poem,
and had turned to the first line only when penning his
curious remark. There is no mistake in the translation,
as even a reader accustomed to very old English will
see on comparing it with the original :
" Prennolt teg bwa a gwregis,
Pont a bran, punt yw ei bris ;
Athalaith ar waith olwyn,
A'r bwa ar draws byr ei drwyn, etc."
6 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
It so happens that the rejection of this evidence would
not, in this case, be of great importance, but it might have
been, and at any rate, it is not a right way to deal with
evidence, however slight it may be. The same author
says, " sure enough, in Wales they found a curious sort
of fiddle, said by the natives to have been in use with
them from time immemorial, as people always say when
they possess something peculiar, the origin of which
they are unable to trace. The supposed high antiquity
enhances to the people the value of their relic, especially
if they find it admired by foreigners and learned anti-
quaries." So much for the claim of poor Wales. Just
previously the same distinguished writer had given an
illustration of a Burmese " Thro," which happens to be a
very near approach to violin form, and which appears to
have been unearthed from a book of travels (Embassy
to Ava in the year 1795). The only evidence which
is adduced in support of the conjecture that this instru-
ment is of Burmese invention, or, at least, not a repro-
duction from a European model, is the statement of the
person who was of the Embassy. " I at first imagined
it had been of European introduction, and brought
to Pegu by the Portuguese ; but I was assured that
it is an original instrument of the country." This simple
statement of a traveller, together with the circumstance
that the Burmese name " Thro " is said to be a deriva-
tive from a Sanskrit root sarva, which means " entire "
or " universal," and from which a number of Indian
musical instruments have received their names, is to be
accepted as evidence that the Burmese fiddle is ancient
and indigenous to the country in which a member of a
THE BOW AND CRUTH. 7
diplomatic mission saw it, while a three or four hundred
year old Welsh poem minutely describing an instrument
then in existence is to be rejected as evidence of that
existence for no reason whatever unless it be that
" people always say these things when they possess
something peculiar, the origin of which they are unable
to trace " the Burmese people, of course, alone excepted,
I merely mention this to show how lightly scientific
modes of reasoning weigh sometimes with cultured minds,
and how utterly unreliable are the conclusions which are
drawn in such fashion. If the circumstance that the
name of the Burmese " Thro," derived from a Sanskrit
root sarva, meaning " entire " or " universal " be
considered an element sufficiently weighty to make
evidence pointing to its Oriental origin, why should I
hesitate to trace the Welsh Cruth in a much more direct
manner to the Hebrew participle Cnith signifying " cut "
or " engraved ? " It has never been suggested before,
but suppose I do so in this FIDDLE FANCIERS'S GUIDE
merely to show how easy it is to work out a plausible
conclusion on paper with the aid of etymology. The
ancient Eastern lyre had an arched back cut and
engraved to imitate the shell of a tortoise. The Greeks,
who had their letters if not their literature and sciences
largely from the cities of the plain, seeing this, called
it chelys (x^ l ) their name for a tortoise, and the
Romans called it testudo, which is the Latin name for
the same creature, and also, secondarily, for any stringed
instrument whose body is of an arched character. Now,
how is it that the Anglo-Saxons and the Welsh, alone
among all occidental peoples, retained the original Hebrew
8 THE Finm.E FANCIER S GUIDE.
word in almost its primitive phonetic purity for that the
two words are identical I have not a doubt ? The Anglo-
Saxon word is Cruth, and the Welsh Crwth, in old French
Cayoth. In old high German chrota, whence it degene-
rated to chrotta, from that to hrotte, thence to rotte, with
intermediate modifications, such as crotta, and the English
crowd, until it ultimately became rote. There are besides
these, some dozens of different forms of the same word and
its degenerations, such as the Irish emit, krnith, and the
Cornish kroud. In Halliwel's " Dictionary of Archaic and
Provincial Words " croud and cronth are found as nouns
signifying a fiddle, while the verb crowd is "to move one
thing across another, to make a grating noise." It is
more than merely interesting in this last connection to
note that the old Hebrew verbal root ghrad or gJiwnd is
almost identical in phonetic power and meaning. It
signifies " to scrape " or "scratch." Suppose we go a
little further and point out that long before the Greeks
and Romans knew anything about the British Isles, the
Canaanites (Phenician) had colonised a considerable
portion of the mainland, and were busy working it?
mining resources. The Cassiterides islands were no
doubt known to the later Greeks by name, but Diodorus
Siculus confesses that he did not know where they were.
He had merely heard of them as places to which the
early Phenicians had gone. Although some modern
scholars for reasons which do not appear to be very
cogent have relinquished the notion that the
Cassiterides of these Canaanitish settlers are the Scilly
Isles off the Cornish coast, Cornwall itself, and all the
southern district teem with etymological reminiscences
Till: HOW AND CRUTH. y
of these almost prehistoric colonists. They baptised
the streams by which they squatted, giving them
designations which have come down to our own
day. The Taff, the Taive, the Teiffy, the Tavy these
are all names of rivers at the " end " of the land, and
are formed from the Phenician Tauv, Tav, Tau, or Te
the final letter of the ancient Hebrew alphabet
and signifying a mark, limit, or boundary. There is
at the extreme limit of farther India another river so-
called by the same colonising race, namely, the Tavoy,
and we have another instance of it in the Tay, which, in
Scotland, drains the Southern boundry line of the
Grampians. In addition, we have in the North the Yare,
the Yore, and the Yarrow all modifications of " Yen,"
a river. We have the Plym, the Tamar, the Thames
and how well they named this last great stream may
be realised by anyone who visits Herne Bay or Southend,
and observes the steady manner in which the great
estuary still performs the duty which earned for it the
title it has now borne, for, it may be, three or four
thousand years. It is still " melting away " the land
carrying the " London clay " in solution out to sea. In
the matter of names in almost their original purity the
country, as I have said, teems with these ancient
Hebrew words and the Phenician or Canaanitish
dialect is nearly identical with ancient Hebrew.
What does all this point to ? That the Cruth is
the progenitor of our present violin ? Most certainly
that, and nothing less if etymology is to have its say
in the matter. Of the score of spellings in which this
musical instrument's name is to be found throughout
IO TIIK RDUl.K FANCIER S GUIDK.
Europe and Asia the purest is that still current in the
British Isles, and all the others are corruptions of it.
Charuth, C'ruth or Cruth is the Hebrew form. Cruth
and Crwth the British and Welsh. Kruith and Cruit
the Irish, Caroth, old French. Chrotta, Crotta and
Chrota, Latin and German. The initial sound of the
Hebrew word is a strong gutteral like the ch in the
Scottish word loch, or in the German hoch. By variety
of vocalisation this gutteral became a strong aspirate,
and then we have on the Continent of Europe hrotta
and hrota. Still further softened it becomes rotta, rota,
rotel, roet, and has about a dozen other changes, among
which are rotteh, rote, riote, rott, rotha, rothes, rotten.
But in whatever forms this name appears they are all
corruptions of the primitive Hebrew word Cruth, instead
of Cruth being a corruption of Chrotta. That is, as it
appears to me, the conclusion to which etymology points
and in a very decisive manner.
With regard to the actual delineation of these bowed
instruments in historical records there are, in existence,
manuscripts dating from about the tenth and eleventh
centuries which contain drawings of them in various
forms called the crowd, the crout, and rote, and on
architectural edifices dating a century or two later
sculptures of them are found, but it is a mistake to
suppose that the dates of these manuscripts and sculp-
tures indicate in even the vaguest manner the time or
period of the instrument's introduction to use with the
people among whom it is found thus .commemorated.
This is, however, a common error, and many writers do
not seem to realize that before such musical instruments
THE BOW AND CRUTH. II
could in those old times become conventionalized decora-
tive adjuncts of architectural structures especially when
connected with edifices erected for purposes of religious
worship they must have been part and parcel of the
people's life for ages one might* say, if not from time
immemorial a phrase to which some of us object for no
particular reason, but which, in the circumstances, is
strictly accurate. Although I look with a kind of
respectful terror on that magnificent hyperbole of
Michelet's where he describes the sixteenth century as
extending " from Columbus to Copernicus, from Coper-
nicus to Galileo ; from the discovery of the earth to that
of heaven," I would point out in somewhat of the same
spirit, but in less beautiful and epigrammatic form, that
these drawings and sculptures of the tenth, eleventh,
twelfth, and thirteenth centuries, with their fiddle bows
and fiddles of all sorts "and sizes, indicate that the
objects which have lent themselves in this way to schools
of decoration or, folk-lore treatises, have been in existence
and familiar to the people for ages before the time of the
chroniclers who wrote about them, or the Cathedral
builders who used them. They are of little or no use
either in fixing the comparative age, or in tracing the
development of any one of them. They are merely
valuable monuments of their existence, but are not
evidence capable of fixing priority of use. The changes
found in their appearance are almost certainly the
results of selection on the part of the decorator, and, in
the matter of manuscripts, the differences probably
indicate the limits of their writer's research.
CHAPTER II.
(continued).
THE earliest known literary reference to the cruth
is contained in two well canvassed lines of a
Latin poem written by Venantius Fortunatus, a bishop
of Poitiers the capital of the old French province of
Poitou, and which is now called the department of
Vienne. This rather important poet from a fiddle
fancier's point of view was born in the year 530.
near Ceneda, in the vicinity of Treviso, in Italy, and
died early in the following century at Poitiers. The
two lines, which have for many years afforded oppor-
tunities of discussion to musical antiquarians, occur in
an ode to be found published in a volume in 1617.
called " Venantii Fortunati Poemata." They are as
follows :
" Romanusque lyra plaudat tibi, Barbarus harpa,
Graecus Achilliaca, Chrotta Britanna canat."
The passage has been translated in several ways to
be referred to later on, but, in the meantime, we may
take one rendering which is, perhaps, the least faulty.
" Let the Roman praise thee on the lyre, the Barbarian on the harp,
The Greek on the Achilliaca, and let the Britan Crouth sing."
What the Achilliaca was is not certainly known.
It is supposed to have been the Cithara, or Cyther.
That is, however, of little importance to us at present,
THE BOW AND CKUTH. 13
except as a passing matter. What we are chiefly
concerned with is that portion of the extract formed
by the words, " Chrotta Britanna canat." That this
word, taken along with its context, means that the
1 iritish Cruth sang, appears to me to be quite beyond
dispute. Why the bishop should have described the
cruth as a singing instrument has been explained by
Welsh commentators as a complimentary allusion to
the excellence of the technique of British performers,
and people have made merry in gentle fashion over
what appeared to them to be an interpretation having
about it a soupqon of egotism. I do not think there is
any particularly good reason for banter of this kind,
because it appears to me that the conclusion was a
very natural one to draw, although I do not think
it was the correct one. \Vhen His Grace of Poitiers
was writing poetry he would doubtless choose his
similes much after the manner of his kind when
seeking to describe some distinction either of appear-
ance or effect. He did not scruple, for example, to
employ, or compound, the term " Achilliaca," to
describe the Greek instrument, although for it there
were already then at his disposal one or two names
which would have been clearly enough " understanded
of the people "such as Cithera or Chelys. But it is
just possible that he thought the term " chelys " to be
derived from " Achilles," and made a new name for
the instrument on that account although such a
dreadful supposition should perhaps be advanced only
with the greatest diffidence. But a scholarly man like
Fortunatus, having such an impression on his mind,
1^. THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
would undoubtedly seek to discredit what he con-
sidered to be a corrupt form of the name, and en-
deavour to restore it to a closer relation with its origin,
and hence we might well have, instead of " Chelys,"
the mediaeval substitute, " Achilliaca," which nobody
except Venantius Fortunatus appears to know anything
about. That is not the first time in the history of
musical nomenclature where a new name suddenly
appears in a well developed literature, and of which
no trace can be found either before or after the solitary
instance of its materialisation. At any rate, whatever
*' Achilliaca " may mean, we know that canere means
" to sing." Now it does not appear to have struck
any one of the numerous commentators on this precious
couplet of the bishop's, to enquire why he used this
term to describe the cruth, if he does not mean that
the sounds emitted by that instrument when played
were continuous sounds such as are characteristic of
the voice in singing. In other words, I think the
bishop is, of set purpose, describing the sounds of an
instrument played with the bow. I am supported in
this belief by another circumstance which also appears
to have entirely escaped the notice of those who have
engaged in this discussion. Fortunatus does not say
" Let the Romans extol thee on the lyre," etc., in a
general fashion, but in quite a particular manner. He
is indeed very much concerned to be accurate. He
does not employ laudare, which would have suited well
enough had his purpose merely been to invoke the
unanimity of nations and races in their musical praises.
He wanted to indicate their methods, and therefore he
THK BOW AND CRUTH. 15
used plandaYC. " Let the Romans praise (applaud)
thee (by beating, striking, plucking, twitching, twang-
ing by any kind of percussive action whatever) on
the lyre, the Barbarians on the harp, the Greeks on
the Achilliaca," and " let the British Cruth sing.''
He could not well have been more explicit. Plaitdare
signifies to clap, to beat, to strike, to stamp, and,
secondarily, to applaud in that fashion, and this
mediaeval writer seems to be most emphatically specific
in his choice of words to describe the marked distinction
between the instruments which were struck or twanged,
and the British or Breton cruth which was bowed. It is
rather a curious thing that several translations have been
made which appear to go pretty wide of the original.
For example, M. Vidal renders it as follows:
" Le Romain t'applaudit sur la lyre, le Barbare sur la harpe et
le crouth breton, le Grec sur la Cythare."
This, in English, would be :
"The Roman praises thee on the lyre, the Barbarian on the
harp and the Breton Crouth, the Greek on the Cithara."
Why he should have so translated it does not very
clearly come out. I hope it is not uncharitable to
suppose that it was merely not to seem to literally
copy M. Fetis, who had previously translated it thus :
" Le Romain t'applaudit sur la lyre, le Grec te chante avec la
cithare, le Barbare avec la harpe, et le crouth Breton."
This in, English, would be :
" The Roman praises thee on the lyre, the Greek sings to thee
with the Cithara, the Barbarian with the harpe, and the Breton
crouth."
if) THK FIDDLE I-ANCIHK's GL'ID! .
M. Fetis' translation is quite as unsatisfactory as
M. Vidal's. We have another version from Herr Abele
which runs :
" Der Romer lobt dich auf der Leier, der Barbar singt dir mil der
Harpe, der Grieche mit der Cyther, der Britannier mit der crouth."
This becomes, in English :
" The Roman praises thee on the lyre, the Barbarian sings to thee
with the harp, the Greek with the Cyther, the Briton with the crouth."
Then we have in English, direct from the Latin
of Fortunatus :
" Let the Romans applaud thee with the lyre, the Barbarians with
the harp, the Greeks with the cithera; let the British crouth sing."
I confess I like none of these. They all appear to
have been made without a careful consideration of the
original. I take the liberty of offering another trans-
lation which, I imagine, is more faithful to the words,
construction and intent of the author.
" To thee the Roman strikes the lyre, the Barbarian the harp,
the Greek the Chelys, and the British Crouth sings."
At the risk of being considered a little prosy, I should
like to point out that the literal and fully extended
meaning of the mediaeval bishop who died just when
the Latin tongue had ceased to be a living language is
as follows, with those words added w r hich poetic usage
elided from his verse.
" The Roman the lyre strikes to thee, the Barbarian (strikes to
thee) the harp, the Greek (strikes to thee) the Chelys, and (to thee)
the British Crouth sings."
And now I have done with this valuable couplet
for it certainly is valuable as evidence of the existence
THE BOW AND CRUTH. 17
of the bowed form of the cruth as early as the sixth
century in literature, and when we realise that these
literary and architectural witnesses testify to the preva-
lence of forms long prior to the periods when they
are themselves found in the witness box, the real
importance of their evidence is enormously enhanced.
A representation of the crouth trithant, or three
stringed crouth, played with a bow, was found in
a manuscript of the eleventh century in the abbey of
Saint Martial of Limoges. That manuscript would not
be a register of new inventions any more than the
bishop's reference to harps and lyres indicated new
instruments. It is, however, a far cry from the sixth
to the eleventh century, but the instrument, neverthe-
less, existed during all that time and down to a much
later period. The Welsh cruth only went out of use
with the death of John Morgan, of Newbury, in the
island of Anglesea, in the end of the eighteenth century.
He was alive in 1776.
I have also, in a previous work, indicated that
evidence of the cruth having been played with a bow
as early as the tenth century in Wales, might be found
in the prizes awarded to musicians by Howell Dda, a
king of Cambria who reigned from 904 to 948. The
first, second, and third prizes consisted respectively of
a harp, a cruth, and a bagpipe. I have thought I
recognised in these, representatives of the various
methods of producing musical sounds for purposes of
melody and harmony, namely, the harp by percussive
sounds, the cruth by bowed sounds or continuous
friction, and the bagpipes as representing the wood wind.
CHAPTER III.
Uhc Cvuth anti Diob.
AFTER the early Cruth period of Fortunatus,
literature and the arts are, for nearly five hundred
years, almost silent about this primitive instrument.
But it had not disappeared during that time. On the
contrary, it was quite as much an item in the life of
Occidental nations in the eleventh century as it had been
in the sixth ; quite as familiar to them, and found to be
quite as suitable as the decorative adjunct of a monk's
manuscript as it had been deemed fitting to adorn a
poet's line. In the Latin illuminated work of the
eleventh century already referred to and which was
discovered at the abbey of Saint Martial of Limoges,
but which is now in the National Library of Paris, the
body of the three-stringed Cruth or Cruth trithant, is
not unlike that of a Guitar, having three strings led
over a bridge from one end of the instrument to the
other, and having no neck nor fingerboard, but a some-
what large oblong opening on each side of the strings, so
as to permit the hand to pass through from the back in
order to stop them. Coeval with this cruth trithant of
the eleventh century we find a large variety of stringed
instruments played with a bow, and which perhaps on
account of their irritating multiplicity appear to many
to have claims to separate classification as of distinctly
different origin. I have grave doubts of the necessity
THE CKUTH AND VIOLS. 19
for such a classification, but the pages of a brief manual
like the present, which is chiefly concerned with the
modern violin, are hardly a suitable medium for more
detailed expression of those opinions. I will content
myself with saying here that I still harbour the
conviction that the cruth through the viols is the
progenitor of the violin, and that I have found no
reasons adduced in any quarter sufficiently cogent to
change the tendency of this belief, but that most results
of subsequent research have, on the contrary, tended to
confirm it. I have shown, I think as clearly as words
fairly dealt with can, that the Cruth of the sixth century
was played with a bow, and there is very little room for
doubt seeing that almost everyone is agreed that
the cruth of the eleventh century is a similar instru-
ment. And now I want my readers particularly to
notice the fact that for a period of five hundred
years there has not been found a single literary refer-
ence to, or artistic reminiscence of, this instrument
between the two dates over the whole area of the then
civilised world. I am not concerned at present with
the reason for this temporary oblivion, I am merely
asking an interest in it as a fact, for the purpose of
enquiring if such a fact as this should not teach us
to be chary in drawing conclusions. Should it not
inoculate us securely against the inroads of the fever
for immature classification ? I certainly think it should.
Here we have a popular instrument existing through a
period of five centuries without the slightest reference
to it being found in any literary or artistic monument
of the period intervening these two dates ! We may
C2
2O THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
well pause when we are asked to believe that certain
other instruments were not known at all, merely because
no trace of them has been found in literary or artistic
remains. In face of a circumstance like this, I shall
not venture at present to follow too dogmatically any
particular line of classification in dealing with the
ancestry of the violin. I will merely point out that among
all the forms which have been marshalled to show their
kinship to the monarch of string instruments, not one
of the earlier species has a sound-post except the old
viols. That circumstance alone is, in my view, sufficient
to prove their direct descent from the cruth, which,
although it had no sound post in the sense in which
we now understand that term, namely a movable sound
post, it certainly had one in principle the long, left
foot of the bridge going through the left sound hole and
being supported on the inside of the back.
The only other instrument which has been set up
with any particular claims to notice as the ancestor of
the violin is the rebab. It, however, had no sides, and
although it may be called a contemporary of the cruth
seeing that illustrations of it have been found as far back
as the ninth century I am afraid its claims must be
lightly passed over. Its form was that of a heart-shaped
block of wood, hollowed out and narrowed towards the
handle. It had, at different times, one, two, and three
strings, and its name rebab supposed to be an Arabic
word is quoted as meaning " emitting melancholy
sounds." I think this derivation is a mistake. The
word rebab is, I fancy, an Arabic variation of the old
Hebrew word " lebab " the Hebrew letters r and
THE CRUTH AND VIOLS. 21
being interchangable. " Lebab " signifies the heart,
and it appears to have had also the meaning of " hollow"-
if we may follow Gesenius and Principal Lee. It has,
further, the meaning of " hollow-hearted " an epithet
which admirably describes the primitive form of the
rebab.
The earliest known illustration of a viol the instru-
ment which seems to me to be clearly the only direct
descendant of the cruth is contained in a work entitled
" The First Book of Songs," and printed at Verona in
1491. This illustration will be found reproduced in No. 5
of " The Violin Monthly Magazine." The instrument
is a five-stringed viol having, in addition, two deep-toned
strings under or outside of the fingerboard and apparently
for a purpose similar to that which the two detached
strings of the Welsh Cruth serve, but which, on the
latter instrument, are placed on the opposite side of the
fingerboard. A most interesting feature of this very
early viol is found in the circumstance that although it
has no middle bouts as we now know them it possesses
an approximation to what we are familiar with as the
Brescian violin corner. I am quite sure that we cannot
in every case depend on the entire accuracy of these
early drawings, for we find in them many little details
which are visibly absurd, but in their main features, and
in their outline I think they are quite trustworthy, and
in this, the very earliest known illustration of such an
instrument, there is a clear and unmistakable approach
to violin form in the rounded end, the corners, the
position of the sound holes in relation to the corners,
and the position of the bridge in relation to the sound
22 THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
holes. There is also a tail piece to this viol attached to
the end of the instrument in precisely the same fashion
as many old specimens of tail pieces are still attached.
In addition there is in this drawing a most important
feature, which must not be overlooked. The finger-
board is quite a long and broad one, and displays no frets.
A drawing of this kind having such a striking resemblance
to violin form, and found in a work published in Italy
in 1491 long before we have any historical trace of lute
or viol makers anywhere, should dispel for the present all
the hazy speculative notions regarding the post-historic
Arabian origin of either the violin or the bow, for, side
by side with this vio*l there is the drawing of a bow as
like the modern violin bow in principle and in measure-
ment as could well be expected in so early a specimen.
It is a little longer than the instrument and has a
mechanism shown on the stick quite evidently for the
purpose of increasing or decreasing the tension. The
original bow might even have a backward curve when
in a relaxed condition as the hair in the drawing
is represented to be tight while the stick is drawn
straight. In view of all this, in the picture of a viol
coeval with the cruth, and almost identical in style
and stringing with known forms of the latter instrument,
it appears to me difficult to avoid at least one tentative
conclusion, namely, that the " First Book of Songs " of
Augurellus temp 1491, confirms in a singularly cogent
fashion my previously expressed opinion that the cruth
was the progenitor of the violin.
Subsequent to the publication of the above work, one
or two musical treatises came from the early printing
THE CRUTH AND VIOLS. 23
presses, and in these are found illustrations of viols of
various shapes, until 'we come to the large work of
Athanasius Kircher issued from the Roman press in 1650,
and entitled " Musurgia Universalis." The illustrations
of viols in this book represent violin form as it is at the
present day. In every point, these illustrations conform
to our- present outline and model. He calls them
Chelys major and Chelys minor. They are four-stringed
instruments large and small having volute and scroll
precisely like our present violin. The shaping of the
neck and fingerboard is much the same as we have them.
The outline of the instruments almost exactly corresponds
to that of our violin. The design *of the sound holes,
and the placing of them are what might well be called
identical with our methods. We are only shown the
front of the viols, but the shading round the margins,
combined with that on the fingerboards, and the evident
curve of the bridges, plainly indicate the nature of the
arching to be broad and long. Kircher, in describing
these instruments, says that the larger one was commonly
called violone, and that it had at the utmost four strings.
That the stopped portion of the strings was a third part
of their whole length, he further adds, with regard to the
violone, but, in describing the lesser " Chelys," which
he calls a noble instrument, he says that although it has
at the most four strings, one can ascend as far as
the fourth octave. This implies a much longer finger-
board than is shown in the drawing, which, for the rest'
is remarkably accurate in its general features. The
only other point in which its absolute faithfulness might
be questioned would be the indication of the precise
24 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
spot in which the bridge is placed. With us it occupies
a position between the notches in the sound holes, but in
Kircher's drawings the bridge stands just a little nearer
the tail piece. Whether the backs of these viols were
flat or arched in the same way as the fronts, is not of the
slightest importance. There they are, violin forms from
head to tail, and at the present time instruments claiming
to be violins are sent out into the world with similar in-
felicitous outlines, similar heavy-looking sound holes,
similar crude scrolls and volutes, and almost as stinted
fingerboards. What, if any, particular individual can claim
to have been the inventor or designer of this violin form
will be considered in another portion of this book, but
here it may be said that it can be traced in various ways
through many models and fanciful variety of outline back
to the viol of 1491, and that the violin, as we have it,
also actually existed long before Kircher's book was
printed.
CHAPTER IV.
(Dn (Dlb anb Jlcto Violins.
BRESCIA and Cremona are, no doubt, the chief
centres of interest for the intelligent fiddle
fancier that is, the fancier of old fiddles. If it is not so,
it should be so, for, although there are many other
places where fine fiddles have been produced in times
past, the great majority of these places are still producing
fine instruments of much the same class if people only
knew what to look for, and where to look for it but
there are no places in the world producing violins of
the same high character in all respects as those which
have come down to us from the great masters of the
Cremonese and Brescian schools, and here it may be, I
think, just as well to say a word or two about new fiddles.
It is, undoubtedly, a general opinion current among pro-
fessional and amateur players that new violins are usually
new in the matter of tone. That means that the tone
is " woody," " hard," or " metallic." These are really
the only terms that may properly describe the supposed
defect. Now, that opinion is, in regard to the vast bulk
of ordinary trade violins, perfectly sound, and these three
terms very accurately portray the kinds of tone which
new violins of the trade class possess. Curiously
enough, the same three terms will exactly describe the
tones of ninety out of every hundred fiddles of the old
type to be found in the market at the present time. I
26 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
am speaking now principally of violins from twenty-five
and thirty pounds downward to eight, six, five, four, and
even fewer pounds. These sums are freely given for
common, old rubbish, such as are really only fit to be
broken up when compared with new instruments at
similar prices. The reader will observe that I have
said ninety out of every hundred a rough and ready
way of indicating the proportion of bad to good instru-
ments. And by " bad " I here mean not intrinsically
bad, but bad by comparison with new instruments at
equal prices. It is now going on for half a century since
I began to take an interest in violins, and few aspects
of the subject have caused me more surprise from time
to time than the apparently fixed determination of
people to have an old fiddle at all hazards. It is not so
much that they want a beautiful old violin, or an
exquisitely toned old violin, for these distinctions cannot
generally be promiscuously secured at such prices as they
are willing to give, but they want an old violin, because
they consider that its age will be a kind of guarantee of its
excellence. Few notions could well be more absurd than
this. Age guarantees nothing, except the possibility that
there will be a few cracks here and there in the wood
of the instrument, a few square inches of varnish rubbed
off, a fracture or two in the ribs, a scroll defective on one
side, or some such indication of abuse or wear, but age
guarantees nothing with regard to excellence of
manufacture or quality of tone. If the instrument has
originally been a good violin, with a good quality of tone,
age and use undoubtedly improve that quality in a
manner which no person scientific or unscientific has
ON OLD AND NEW VIOLINS. 2J
as yet been able satisfactorily to explain. A great many
people have, from time to time, advanced more or less
plausible reasons for this important betterment of violin
tone through kindly treatment and the beneficent
influences of the lapse of years, but the best of these
explanations are merely careful examinations of, and
researches into, the mechanism of phenomena which
have nothing to do with the question of improvement of
tone, but only concern its production or existing
quality. If a scientist \vere to set about subjecting to
practical analysis the constitution of one of the eternal
verities, he would probably find himself involved in
conditions of work and experiment, which would render
his efforts of little use to his fellow man, and although
I daresay it will not be found quite so hard a task to
investigate the causes of improvement in violin tone,
I do not think it will be accomplished in a trustworthy
manner under present limitations. To shake together,
as it were in a box, a few choice selections from a
technical terminology and sprinkle them, with a little ink
and more or less taste and skill, over the surface of a
sheet of paper is one way of explaining this curious
phenomenon and a good many other much more
important phenomena, be it said, without offence but it
is never resorted to by genuinely scientific writers. It
is the stock-in-trade of the secondary hand, who, having
nothing particular to say, but, convinced in deadly earnest
that he must say something for his own preservation,
rushes with a sensation of fierce hunger in his literary
stomach, and clutches at the little store of some patient
worker who has modestly placed the results of his
28 THK I'IDDLK FANCIER'S GL'IDli.
research before the world in some out-of-the-way corner
of the country. Lucubrations of this kind are valueless,
because they are generally compiled by those who only
in a very superficial manner understand what they are
writing about, and who indeed do not always appear to
comprehend the precise meaning of the terms they cull
from the works upon which their efforts are based.
Many felicitous instances of this kind of misplaced confi-
dence in what are frequently considered quite legitimate
authorities might be quoted, but this is hardly the place for
them. Now, whatever may be the cause or causes few
or innumerable of this improvement through age and use
in a violin's tone, the general reader may rest assured that
any instrument possessing it in a marked degree in com-
bination with those excellences which no\v characterise
the better classes of modern work, will be well looked
after. There is always, of course, the chance of a fine
old violin of the second, third, or fourth rank coming
within reach at a moderate price, but a " moderate
price " is not now determined by the figures employed,
but by the quality of the instrument to be sold. Forty
pounds may be a moderate price for one violin, and two
thousand pounds may be a moderate price for
another. But it is now one of the rarest things to find an
instrument of good quality and finish, having that round
maturity of tone so much desired, at anything like forty
pounds. And under that and down to five pounds, if a
buyer only knows how to choose, modern instruments
will put old ones entirely out of court. I say this
unhesitatingly, and with regard to almost every point in
which one violin can excel another. The difficulty is in
ON OLD AND NEW VIOLINS. 2CJ
the choosing of them. In the matter of tone and capacity
there are hardly two violins alike, and one does not meet
a great many people who are really good judges of tone.
It appears to be a faculty something like tea-tasting,
and for which no amount of training seems to be a very
good substitute. Many grocers' assistants could tell you
a fairly sound tea by closing their hand on a small
quantity, and others could indicate a similar quality by
scanning the roll of the leaf, but standards of that kind
are the result of an experience which might fail any day.
No man during this century had better opportunities of
training himself in the matter of proper violin tone than
the late J. B. Vuillaume of Paris, and few men have spoken
with a calmer assumption of supreme knowledge than
he, and yet few I was about to say not any have been
so thoroughly hoaxed on this subject as he was. He
made splendid violins with a most excellent quality of tone
in a great many instances, but he did not know appar-
ently although he professed to know the differences
when he heard them. My advice to all readers of this Guide
who think of laying out five, ten, fifteen, twenty, or even
twenty-five and thirty pounds on a violin, is to purchase a
sound, new instrument unless, of course, they have some
exceptionally rare opportunity of getting one of the finer
old ones at the same money a chance which is not
likely to occur. And if they have no knowledge them-
selves of what a violin tone should be, let them seek
the services of someone who does know.
CHAPTER V.
Classkal anb -post-classical Violin
reader will find the following alphabetical
JL arrangement easy of reference. He will be able
to turn at once to the name of the maker, and find
there explained such points of his work as I have
found it possible to differentiate. There is a very
large number about whom little or nothing can be said,
and these have been excluded from this list, and given
in one later on, but the latest particulars are given in all
cases where any particulars were available. I have ex-
cluded certain names which are found in tickets in old
violins sold at the present day, because in the mean-
time, I am inclined to the belief that they are absurd
concoctions of violin dealers and others. Such names
are Raccomodes, Revisto, Renisto, etc. I have seen
Renisto gravely described as a pupil of Carlo Bergonzi.
To me all these names appear to be concoctions
suggested in the following fashion. Italian makers,
when they repaired a violin, have occasionally put in a
ticket intimating that circumstance as follows, generally
in handwriting, but now and again printed, " Revisto
da me," followed by the repairer's name. This means
in our idiom, " overhauled by me," literally, " revised
by me." I have seen a ticket of Carlo Bergonzi's
which is, I think, reproduced somewhere containing
this expression, " Revisto da me Carlo Bergonzi."
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKKKS. 31
Sometimes these inscriptions are not very legible, and
1 daresay an enterprising man coming across one of
the half erased tickets, and not, perhaps, acquainted
with Italian, might readily think Revisto was a maker's
name and that da meant, in this case, " from " and not
" by." I could conceive him, then, in the interests of
his art, getting a few tickets printed to put into violins
which he was absolutely certain were made by the same
hand. Having accomplished this, these tickets might,
in their turn, become partially illegible, and some other
dealer might very readily misread v for n, and feel that
he also had a duty to perform to society, and hence we
have Renisto. At any rate this is my present view with
regard to these names, but, of course, I am quite open
to change it on proper evidence being adduced that
persons bearing them, and who were fiddle makers,
really existed. There are many queer names in the
world. I have the same opinion with regard to
" Raccomodes," which appears to be a corruption of
the French participle raccommode, and which signifies
" repaired."
Acevo and Sapino have long been suspected as
fabricated names, and I have not included them either.
They were at one time supposed to have been pupils of
Cappa. The first name appears to be a corruption of
acero which, in Italian, means maple, and sapino means
pine, the two woods of which a violin is generally made.
Of course we have, in this country, both these names,
the owners of which both work in wood, the one in
fiddles, the other in furniture, but there is an air of
mystery in addition attached to Acevo and Sapino
32 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
which has never been dispelled, and there seems to be
little ground for supposing them to be the names of
actual makers.
ACTON, W. J. Contemporary. One of our good
native makers. Violins.
AIRETON, E., London, 17271807. A very good
maker who made for Peter Wamsley and afterwards
for himself in Piccadilly. Model Amati.
ALBANI, M., Botzen, 1621 1673. -^ n ^ Tyrolese
maker. Good quality, but tubby Stainer model.
ALBANI, M., Botzen, 1650 1712. Son of preceeding
maker. Totally different style of work from that of his
father. In some cases it is really of a very high class,
and might very readily be mistaken for Cremonese work.
Beautifully figured wood.
ALBANI, M., Gratz. I know nothing of this maker.
ALBANI, P., Cremona, 1650 1670. I know nothing
of this maker. He is supposed to have been a pupil of
Nicolas Amati, and to have made instruments of that
model and of good workmanship.
ALDRIC, Paris, 1792 1840. Some of the work of
this maker calls for the highest praise. He made
beautiful copies of Stradivari, not only in model and
arching, but in some cases succeeded in getting the
Cremonese quality of tone to quite a marvellous degree.
His varnish is sometimes very spiritless and common-
looking, but one might say it is his only defect. The
heads of his violins are strong and massive-looking, and
finely designed. The grain of the belly is sometimes
irregular in width, which in some people's eyes indicates
carelessness in selection, but the tone tells a different
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 33
tale. His sound holes are prettily cut, but just a little
pot-bellied. His arching is very fine, and his ribs of a
full height. His finest varnish is of a dark reddish
brown, and a perfect specimen of this maker's work-
might be played along with many a fine Stradivari and
not suffer much by the comparison.
ALLETSEE, PAUL, Munich, 1726 1735. A very artistic
and in some respects chiefly in matters of design an
original worker. Sometimes has beautifully grained
wood, such as even A. and H. Amati might have been
proud of. Made large instruments mostly. Tickets
generally in German letters " Paulus Alletsee Geigen-
macher in Munchen."
AMATI, ANDREA, Cremona, was the founder of this
family of violin makers. The date of his birth is not
known. It is conjectured that he was married to his
first wife in 1554, and that his sons Antonio and
Hieronymus were born in 1555 and 1556, respectively.
By this marriage he had also a daughter, Valeria, who
was herself married for the first time on 3rd May, 1587.
This is the earliest fixed date regarding the Amati family
that has been ascertained from documentary evidence.
The father, Andrea, was married a second time in 1609,
and of this union was born another daughter, Candida,
who did not survive a month. Of the work of Andreas it
is only possible to speak in very limited fashion. I have
only seen two specimens \vhich could claim to be from
his hand. One was the famous " King Andreas Amati "
'cello which, it is said, was presented by Pope Pius to
Charles IX. It is a magnificently decorated instrument
with somewhat narrow but finely finished margins, and
34 THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
having beautiful golden-brown varnish over wood of which
it is not very easy to see the quality, or to say anything
that could not be said of its very clever copy by John
Betts. The purfling certainly is of exquisite quality,
but there does not appear to have been the same care in
the selection of wood as makers displayed later on.
The second was another of the same suite, but a violin,
the outline of which did not strike me as being particu-
larly good. Instruments by this maker are scarcely
known, and are chiefly of antiquarian interest.
AMATI, A. and H., Cremona. Antonius and Hieronymus
Amati were the sons of Andreas, and are supposed to
have been born in 1555 and 1556 respectively. Hierony-
mus died on the 2nd November, 1630, and there is no
trace of his brother Antonius either having lived or died.
There is an Antonius mentioned in the documents of
another parish in Cremona as having died in 1595, but
those who have carried out the researches believe that
he was only distantly related to the fiddle family. The
instruments of this firm are of the highest merit in their
class. They are finished in the most perfect manner, and
covered with varnish passing from a warm maple brown
to a beautiful golden brown with a tinge of red. The
wood selected is of the finest character, and the sizes
of the instruments are generally small. The arching is
somewhat high, but finely and gracefully carried
out, and has, of course, nothing of the grotesque
and tubby character displayed in imitations. All
the work is of a refined and delicate nature, and
harmonises well with the choice of wood, which may be
described as fine, and delicate too. I have seen some
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 35
of this firm's wood of a nice open grain, but it is usually
close. Many of their two-piece backs are beautifully
matched, and have a clearly defined figure. The sound
holes are graceful, and well placed, and have a slightly
peculiar look which has given rise to certain extremely
odd effects in the imitations. The inner side of each
sound hole being, to a certain extent, on the rise of the
long and graceful arch, these have a slightly misleading
appearance given to them, as if they were in fact, just a
little knockkneed, so to speak. The result of this mis-
apprehension is that in so cutting them in many of even
the best imitations, the grossly exaggerated arch of the
copies gives to these sound holes quite a ludicrous
appearance in the eyes of a connoisseur, although it
might not be so easily observed by anyone not acquainted
with the originals. Some of their work, like that of
Andreas Amati, was painted and gilded, and otherwise
decorated or abused as many might not think it
unseemly to say. The tone of the A. and H. Amati
violins is generally exceedingly rich and sweet, although
it is not usually very powerful.
AMATI, NICOLAS, Cremona. This maker was the
great artist of the family. He was a son of the
Hieronymus Amati previously mentioned, by his second
wife, Madonna Laura Lazzarini, who died of the plague
some six days before her husband, on the ayth October,
1630. Nicolas was the fifth child of the second union,
his brothers and sisters by the two marriages numbering
in all thirteen. He was born on the 3rd December, 1596,
and died on the i2th April, 1684, being buried in the
Carmelite Church of Saint Imerio. His work is very
D2
36 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
rare, although one would not readily suppose so from the
number of instruments claiming to be original specimens
from his hands. He somewhat flattened the model of
his father's firm, and brought the arching nearer to the
margins. Indeed I have seen late specimens Q his work
in which the contour of the arch might almost be described
as quite rounded. In work again dating forty years
before his death, the arch is quite high, but all his work
is, of course, fine. That goes without saying. One
peculiar characteristic of his early period may be seen
in the very pronounced corners. They are so fully
developed that they are not unlike a dog's nose. Later,
that peculiarity almost disappears. At any rate, it
ceases to be so strongly in evidence. The figure of his
wood, both back and ribs, is generally very full. The
sound holes are narrow in early work, and in later a
little wider. His varnish is a beautiful golden yellow,
through brown, to golden red. The model of a
Nicolas Amati of the grand pattern has a distinctly solid
look about it. The width of the upper portion of the
violin is much nearer that of the lower portion than in
the work of his predecessors in the firm, namely, A. and
H. Their violins have a more tender, less robust look,
chiefly because of this difference between the width of
the upper and lower portions. The sound holes that
is, the main stems of their design in a fine specimen
appear as if infinitesimally drawn toward each other at
the lower half of the stems. They are, in reality almost
parallel, and that delusive appearance is the will o' the
wisp which leads copyists astray. Nicolas Amati was
married on 23rd May, 1645, to Lucrezia Pagliari, who
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 37
was his junior by thirteen years. They had nine children,
of whom only one followed the father's calling. Among
the pupils who resided in the house of Nicolas Amati,.
as is evidenced by extracts from the parish records,
may be mentioned, in 1641 Andrea Guarnieri, fifteen
years old. Five years afterwards, Andrea Guarnieri is
not mentioned. Then, in 1653 ne reappears, and is
described as being then married, and next year dis-
appears for good from the house of his master.
AMATI, HIERONYMUS, Cremona. Born 26th February,
1649, died 2ist February, 1740. This was the only
member of Nicholas Amati's family who followed the
father's calling. He appears to have done so chiefly as
a dealer, for the styles of the instruments bearing his
name are of such remarkably varied character as to
leave one strongly doubting that they were all made by
one man.
AMBROSI, P., Brescia, Rome, 1730. Reputedly some-
what common work.
ANSELMO, P., Cremona and Venice, 1701. Very
little known about him. Described as good work.
ASSALONE, G., Rome, 17 . Poor work.
AUBRY, Paris, 1840. A nephew of Aldric, already
referred to, and who succeeded to his uncle's business,
but not to his skill or fame.
AUDINOT, NICOLAS, Paris. An excellent French
maker, born in Mirecourt in 1842, and trained by his
father, who was established there. He was afterwards
employed by Sebastien Vuillaume (who w r as a nephew
of the great J. B. Vuillaume) and was in business in
Paris. His instruments are of great merit.
38 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
AUGIERE. A very good Parisian maker, established
about 1830.
BAGATELLA, ANTONIO, Padua, 1786. Chiefly known
as the author of a work on violins which is of great
interest even yet. He was a fine repairer of old violins,
and was employed by Tartini.
BALESTRIERI, T., Cremona and Mantua, 1720 1772.
A very good maker indeed. Some of his work is re-
markably like that of Stradivari in almost all points,
except finish. Powerful and good quality of tone.
BALESTRIERI, P., Cremona. Brother of preceeding.
Poor work.
BARNIA, FIDELE, Venice, 1760. A Milanese trained
maker, who was established in Venice. Fairly good,
neat work, yellow varnish.
BANKS, BENJAMIN, Salisbury, 1727 1795. One of
our finest English makers. Quite equal in style, finish,
and tone to many of the fine Italian makers. His margins
are splendid. His edges beautifully rounded. His
corners full, and of true Nicolas Amati early style. His
' arching is exquisite, and the tone of his violins fine and
ringing. The grain of the wood is generally remarkably
equal, and of medium width. His varnish is decidedly
rich, of a beautiful purplish cherry colour, and fairly
transparent. His bigger instruments are also superb,
and grand in tone.
BELOSIO, ANSELMO, Venice, 1720 1780. A pupil of
Santo Serafino, but a mediocre worker. Dull, thicker
varnish than his master's.
BARRETT, J. London, 1714 1725. A copyist of
Stainer whose model he has much exaggerated, like
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 39
dozens of other makers who have tried it. It may
indeed be said that the bulk of Stainer copies are so
exaggerated as not to merit the title of Stainer copies
at all. They are caricatures. Barrett's work is,
however, by no means bad. His tone is of fairly good
quality with a certain amount of breadth in it. His
sound holes are quaint looking the lower turn having
a long sweep. Varnish a warmish yellow. Edges
round ; purfling not particularly good.
BERGONZI, CARLO, Cremona, 1716 1747. This
maker is one of the finest of the Cremonese artists.
A member in fact, of the quartet par excellence, Amati>
Stradivari, Guarnieri, Bergonzi. It is not known
yet when he was born, but he began working
on his own account in the year first mentioned, and died
in 1747. He was a pupil of Stradivari when the latter
was doing his finest work, as seems to be borne out by
the grand outline of Carlo's own work, which is akin to
the best of Stradivari, and of Nicolas Amati. The
sound holes are very pure, and sometimes approach the
style of Nicolas Amati, except that they bend slightly
outwards at the lower turn. The model is grand,
although his violins are sometimes small, being slightly
under fourteen inches. There is that approach towards
equality between the upper and lower portions of the
instrument which gives that magnificent appearance to
what is called the " grand " pattern of both Stradivari
and Nicolas Amati. His arching is flat, and his varnish
of rich quality, and exceedingly fine in colour. In many
of his violins it is of a beautiful, rich, transparent brown
on reddish orange, and is occasionally rather thickly laid
40 THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
on. In some instruments it has crackled all over, not
unlike the manner of the famous Vernis Martin on some
old French pieces of furniture. His scroll is very fine.
There is a marked peculiarity about the ear, or eye,
as it is sometimes called. More properly it would be
the boss of the volute, or terminal stem, which shows
itself on each side sticking out at the last turn. This
last turn comes suddenly out, although the immediately
previous turn is almost parallel to the vertical axis of'
the volute viewed from the back. The tone of his
instruments is generally splendidly full, broad, smooth,
and magnificently equal.
BERGONZI, M. A., Cremona, 1720 1760. This maker
was a son of Carlo. His work is not equal, by many
degrees, to that of his father, but that is not saying a
very great deal against him, for his father, as has been
said, was one of the greatest of the Cremonese.
Michael Angelo Bergonzi's style is, however, heavy, and
perhaps many fastidious judges would not appreciate
him on that account, but he employed good wood, both
in back and front, and plenty of it. His work is solid
and massive, and not so artistically finished, but there
is no doubt about the quality of his tone being of a high
character. His sound holes are after his father's style,
but longer of very fair design, but slightly unequal.
Purfling not particularly good, but his varnish is of good
quality. His outline is not so good as his father's, and
his middle bouts are set in much deeper, but with all that
there is a sense of strength and individuality about his
work which, when combined with the quality of his tone,
makes a fine specimen of his something to be cherished.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 4!
BERGONZI, NICOLAUS, Cremona, 1739 1765. Son of
Michael Angelo Bergonzi, made better finished instru-
ments than his father, and much after same model, but
worse varnish, and as far as I have been able to judge,
I do not like them so well.
BERGONZI, ZOSIMO, Cremona, 1765. Another son of
Michael Angelo, made somewhat highly arched instru-
ments for a Bergonzi, but having a pretty enough tone.
BASSOT, JOSEPH, Paris, from about 1788. This is
reckoned a good French maker. Anything I have seen
^of his did not strike me as being of very high class,
but it was of sound construction and the tone of good
quality. Model somewhat high and boxy. Varnish
ordinary.
BERNARDEL, SEBASTIEN PHILLIPS, Paris. Born at
Mirecourt in 1802. He learned violin making there and
went to Paris, where he got employment from the famous
Nicolas Lupot at first, and afterwards from Charles
Fran9ois Gand, another famous Parisian maker. He is
called in the trade Bernardel pere, and many of his
violins are of a class reckoned only inferior to Lupot.
Bernardel indeed made instruments very like those of
his first employer, as was to be expected. They are
highly esteemed in France, but not much appreciated
here. He retired from business in 1866, and died on
6th August, 1870. Previous to his retirement, his two
sons were taken into the business, and the firm became
Bernardel and Sons. After his retirement in 1866, the
late Eugene Gand became a partner of the two
brothers, and the firm was changed to Gand and
Bernardel Bros.
42 THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
BETTS, JOHN, London. He was born at Stamford
Lincolnshire, in 1755, and died in 1823. This maker
and dealer has become famous chiefly through two things,
the first being his copy of the King Andreas Amati 'Cello
before referred to. This copy is certainly a fine pro-
duction, which, besides showing paint in what was
apparently the primitive abundance, also shows the
wood, a very great advantage over the original, which is
rather ancient now, and dingy-looking. The second
circumstance was that singularly fortunate, and most
exceptionally lucky windfall as it might be named in
his direction of the now famous " Betts Strad," one of
the handsomest of Stradivari violins. Nothing definite
appears to be known about the date of this transaction,
but it occurred probably between seventy and eighty
years ago. Some person sold a violin over the counter
to one of the Messrs. Betts, in their shop at the Royal
Exchange No. 2 one of the shops, probably, which at
present face the front of the Bank of England. The
price asked, or agreed upon, for the instrument was
twenty shillings, the person selling it, not having, of
course, the slightest idea of its value. Mr. Betts, how-
ever, knew what it was, and bought it, keeping it beside
him for years, and declining very handsome offers of as
much as five hundred guineas for it. The story is a
striking one, but it is not without its parallel, even in
recent times. John and Arthur Betts are said to have
made a copy of this Stradivari. These were descendants
of the original John, who does not seem to have been a
prolific violin maker. This copy has very handsome
wood in the back, as it ought to have, in order to match
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 43
its original, but the sound holes appear rather weak, and
the volute of the scroll just a little topheavy. Anything
I have seen of the original John Betts was good, solid,
square work, without any great display of taste, and
with rather bad sound holes. There was an Edward
Betts, who did better work as far as concerns appearance.
They were both pupils of Richard Duke, but they
chiefly employed other people to make for them, and, as
far as I can judge, a considerable quantity of rubbish
passed through their shop along with a great deal that
was good, and much that was splendid, and which will
be referred to under the actual makers.
BOQUAY, J., Paris, 1705 1735. This maker was
famous in his day, and many people like him yet. His
model is high, and his varnish is not bad, of a reddish
brown, tending to yellow. I do not think much of the tone.
BACHMANN, C. L., Berlin. Born 1716. Died 1800.
One of the best German copyists in Amati and Stainer
models. He was a professional musician at the
Prussian court, a distinguished connoisseur of his time
and the inventor of the system of screwing the double
bass pegs, which led to the adoption of machine heads.
His instruments are soundly made, and covered with a
kind of oil varnish.
BRETON, F. " Brevete de S. A. R. Me La Duchesse
D'Angouleme a Mirecourt," so runs the ticket of this
maker who seems to have worked in Mirecourt from
about 1800 to 1830, or later. His instruments frequently
have a light brownish yellow varnish, not unpleasant
to look at, though of rather common type, and such as
one might expect to see on a good class of trade instru-
44 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
ment. The tone is not without breadth, and is, to a
certain degree, sympathetic. The arching is flat, and
altogether the work is by no means bad, but is what
people think common-looking, no fault at all in a good
violin.
BRIGGS, JAMES W., Leeds. Contemporary. A pupil
of William Tarr of Manchester. Violins, violas, and
basses.
COLLINGWOOD, JOSEPH, London, 1760. A fine old
English maker of considerable originality. Fine wood,
and pleasing, light yellow varnish. His sound holes are
well designed, but very wide Amati-Stainer model, with
remarkably good quality of tone.
CAMILLUS, CAMILLI, Mantua, about 1740. A maker
who copied Stradivari to a certain extent, and employed
good wood and fairly good varnish.
CAPPA, JOFFRIDUS, Saluzzo. This was a Piedmontese
maker, about whom a good deal has been written without
much foundation. Fetis had authoritatively said that he
was born in Cremona, and had been a pupil of A. and
H. Amati, giving other apparently well ascertained
particulars regarding him which very naturally led
people to suppose that he had acquired them in some
specifically authentic fashion. An Italian connoisseur
of much distinction also took some trouble to find out a
little about this maker, but failed. Conjecture appears
to have been very busy with him and his work. It now
seems that he was at work in Saluzzo and in Turin
during the first half of the seventeenth century, and this
information is derived solely from tickets found in
instruments claiming to be by him. Anything that I
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 45
have seen which I could be persuaded to admit might
possibly belong to the period in which he is supposed to
have lived, although of fairly good style, showed poor
care in the wood, a generally tubby look, and rather
tasteless sound holes. Other examples equally claimant
for the honour of his parentage showed discrepancies in
style, varnish, model, and everything else, which were so
palpably absurd, that I think him one of those dummies
in regard to whom the fiddle-fancier should be particularly
cautious. There are some very fine instruments bearing
this name, whether they are by Cappa or not. He had
sons who followed the business, but whose work is of
little importance.
CARCASSI, LORENZO and TOMASSO, Florence, 1738
1758. I have seen a number of instruments professing to
be by these makers. A few of them were fairly good.
This is a name which is, unfortunately, largely used to
put into any kind of absurd rubbish which it is thought
may be got rid of in a sale room.
CASTAGNERI, GIAN PAOLO. An Italian maker who
settled in Paris, and whose violins appear to be remark-
ably rare and of mediocre quality to boot.
CASTAGNERI, ANDREA, Paris, 1735 1741. This maker
was a son of above, and made somewhat better instru-
ments than his father. The dates given are those found
on two of his instruments.
CASTRO, Venice, 1680-7-1720. Poor work.
CASTELLO, PAOLO, Genoa, 1750. Poor work.
CERUTI, GIOVAMBATISTA, Cremona, 1755 1817. This
maker is, in Italy, supposed to have been a pupil
of Storioni, on what ground it is difficult to guess. He
46 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
succeeded to Storioni's business in 1790, or, at least,
removed into the premises previously occupied by
Storioni at No. 3, Contrada Coltellai, near the square of
Saint Domenic. Perhaps this circumstance may have
given rise to the notion, for there is very little in common
between Ceruti and Storioni. The instruments of Ceruti
are very good, chiefly of the Amati model, but having a
tone quite French in style. The varnish is of a soft and
elastic character, but not particularly spirited in appear-
ance, and not very transparent. It is frequently of a
dull, cherry colour, rather scumbly. Guiseppe and
Enrico were son and grandson of Giovambatista, and
carried on the traditions of the house with credit.
Enrico, the last of the Cerutis, died on 2Oth October,
1883 his father, Guiseppe, having predeceased him in
1860 and thus the direct line of communication which
had subsisted between makers of modern times, and the
last of the more important Cremonese artistes was
severed, as Giovambatista was the depository, through
Storioni, of much of the traditionary lore regarding the
greatest of the Cremonese School. As the irresponsible
talk to which that kind of information gives rise has
something to do with the confusion of knowledge
regarding the subject, the drying up of such a stream of
gossip is not so much to be regretted as the disappearance
of the firm of Ceruti itself from the contemporary annals
of fiddle lore.
CHANOT, FRANCIS. Born at Mirecourt, 1788. Died
at Rochefort, 1828. He was a naval engineer, and a
scientist who distinguished himself greatly in the study
of violin acoustics and construction. He invented
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 47
a new violin which did not succeed permanently,
although it made a considerable sensation at the time.
He continued to make and sell specimens of it for
about seven years from 1817. They differed almost
wholly from the classical shape and in their principles
of construction, but are now interesting in many ways.
Guitar-shaped, they had no protruding margins, no
blocks ; back and front were in single pieces, sound
holes parallel, bass bar in the centre, and so on. A
specimen was tested by a commission of distinguished
musicians, and pronounced superior to the best known
Stradivaris.
CHANOT, GEORGE. Brother of preceeding, was born
at Mirecourt in 1801. Learnt violin-making there and
went to Paris in 1819. Became one of the finest makers
of his time, and worked first for his brother, then on
the regular fiddle with Clement, a Paris maker. Then
in 1821, with Gand for two years. In 1823 he began on
his own account, and continued until 1872, when he
retired. He was reputed the finest connoisseur in
Europe, and his instruments have a very high reputa-
tion. He died in January, 1883. His son, George, learnt
his business with his father in Paris, and afterwards
came to London, where he has been a maker and dealer
for upwards of forty years. One of the finest modern
copies of Joseph Guarnerius that I have seen as far as
outward look and wood goes was made by this latter
George, who has also sons (F. and G. A.), worthily
carrying on the family name and reputation in London
and Manchester.
COMBLE, AMBROISE DE, Tournay, 1720 1755. This
48 THE F1DDLH FANCIER'S GUIDE.
maker has undoubtedly high claims to acknowledg-
ment. He has the reputation of having been actually
at Cremona under Stradivari. His work is of a very
high character. The outline of his larger instruments is
extremely beautiful, and bears quite recognisable
evidence of having been guided by a Stradivari motif,
but his sound holes are cut much lower than in Stradivari
instruments, which is a curious circumstance in a maker
who came so directly under the influence of the great
Cremonese. Oddly enough, they do not detract much
from the fine feeling of the ensemble. There is not
that sense of entire compactness with which a Stradivari
'cello inspires one, but that is all. De Comble's scrolls
are very beautiful specimens of sculpture. Varnish a
fine brownish red, pretty closely resembling Italian.
COMINS, JOHN, London, about 1800. A very good
worker who, it is said, was a pupil of Forster. Made
instruments pretty deep in the ribs. Light yellow-brown
varnish. Fine wood.
CONTRERAS, JOSEPH, Madrid, 1745. Very good style
and work. Not very many specimens about.
CROSS, NATHANIEL, London, 1700 1750. I cannot
say that I greatly admire this maker's work. Somewhat
large and deepsided, his violins have rather tasteless
sound holes, very short corners, and common outline.
They are covered with a light yellow varnish. He
worked in conjunction with Barak Norman. His
scrolls are certainly fine.
DERAZEY, H., Mirecourt. From about 1820. A good
copier of J. B. Vuillaume in outward appearance,
especially in the figures of the backs of some of his
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKKRS. 49
violins. The varnish on the back is a little crackly
sometimes, more like that of the elder Gand than of
Vuillaume. His scrolls are also not unlike those of Gand
pere, but not nearly so powerful looking, and not so wide
at the bottom. His varnish is a red, slightly inclining to
purple. Tone fairly good, but decidedly nasal.
DUKE, RICHARD, London, 1754 1780. This is a
magnificent maker. His outline is very pure Amati or
Stainer. The sound holes in the Stainer models are,
curiously enough, not particularly fine, but those in
Amati copies are better. The latter are cut a little
narrower at the top than at the bottom turn, which
gives them a slightly quaint look. His scrolls are very
fine, and the tone of his instruments is of a most exquisite
character. I consider that he is quite entitled to w r alk
in line with the Italians of importance in everything
except his varnish, and that chiefly excepted with regard
to its colour, but not in regard to its pate. It is of a
beautiful soft, but dull brown, with little or no life in it.
Richard Duke violins are, it hardly need be said to-
experienced fanciers, very rare indeed.
DODD, THOMAS, London, 1786 1823. This was a
clever man who did not make violins himself, like so
many others, about his time. He employed first-class
men to deliver them to him unvarnished. Among these
workers were such as Bernard Fendt and John Lott,
both men of the highest skill. Dodd varnished the
instruments himself. It is a nice oil varnish, but nothing
to set the temse on fire. The instruments, such at
least as were made by Fendt, are splendid examples of
violin making. Dodd professed to be " the only
50 THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
possessor of the recipe for preparing the original Cremona
varnish." This statement appears on his tickets, and
may be quite true, but he certainly never seems to have
used the recipe.
DUIFFOPRUGCAR, CASPAR, Bologna, Paris, Lyons,
1510 1540. This is an early lute and viol maker, who,
having once got into books about violins, seems destined
never to get out of them. Every now and again some
person starts the discussion as to whether or not he
made violins. The latest fight was in May, 1891, in a
Leipsic paper, where a writer took the trouble to review
the whole question, because a Mr. F. Niderheitmann,
of Aix-la-Chapelle, believes that he has discovered three
violins by this splendid old viol maker, although every-
one to whom he has shown them, and who professes to
know anything about the subject, has told him that
they are modern French reproductions that is, modern
in the sense that they are probably some of J. B.
Vuillaume's clever fac-similes as I suppose they
should be called. The whole question has been threshed
out over again, and the fever of battle has spread
to New York, where an esteemed correspondent of my
own has taken the trouble to translate the article and
reproduce it in the form of a small brochure of seven
or eight pages, "Was Caspar Duiffoprugcar really the
First Violin Maker ? " I never saw any violins by the
great Bolognese.
EBERLE, J. U., Prague. About 1750 1759. A
clever maker of the old style ; fine finish, but thin, poor
quality of tone. High model and good quality of
varnish, but somewhat dark in colour. All the Eberles
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 5!
there were several of them appear to have been of
a highly artistic turn. Such work of theirs as I have
seen was of a refined and decorative style.
ERNST, FRANK ANTHONY. Born in Bohemia, was a
musician, writer and violin maker who did good service
to the art in Germany by teaching Jacob Augustus
Otto how to make instruments. I have not seen any
by either master or pupil. Ernst began business in
Gotha about 1778 as a musician at Court, and having
a little leisure he turned his attention to making violins
and succeeded, as is reported, in producing very
good ones.
FENT, Paris, 1763 1780. This maker has the
reputation of being one of the highest class in France
of his day. I have never been able to understand why
his violins have not ranked above those of any French
maker, unless the circumstance that he has been so
unfortunate in the matter of worms has told against
him, and, perhaps, in addition, the darkening down of
his varnish. In all other respects his work is of the
finest. His model was Stradivari. He spelt his name
" Fent " in his tickets and his calling " lutier."
FENDT, BERNHARD. This maker was, it is supposed,
a nephew of the Paris Fent. He was born at Inns-
bruck in 1756 and died in London in 1832. His name
is spelt differently from that of his Parisian relative,
who was not particularly good at spelling either in his
own or in his adopted language, as may be seen by
reference to last article. Bernhard learnt violin making
with this uncle in Paris, and at the time of the French
Revolution came to London, where he found employ-
E2
52 THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
ment with Thomas Dodd already mentioned. His
instruments are beautiful specimens of his art, having
a tone which is exquisite in quality and may quite
truthfully be described as Cremonese in that respect.
The varnish which Dodd put on, although not exactly
what he professes it to be, is a very fine varnish, and
might readily mislead people who have not seen
examples of Cremonese. Bernhard Fendt also worked
for John Betts.
FENDT, BERNARD SIMON, London. Born in 1800,
died 1851. He was a son of the previous maker. He
spells " Bernard," as will be observed, without the
letter " h." Like his father, he was a splendid maker,
and has produced work which will rank with some of
the finest Italian. Indeed, in the prime matter of tone,
his earlier instruments are now almost quite in line with
the best of the Italians for quality. There is a rich
roundness on all the strings which is rarely found in any
instruments other than Cremonese. His work is of fine
Italian style, having a brilliant orange varnish, spacious
margins, full and handsome sides, elegant arching, and
very good and neat purfling, while his scrolls are
exceedingly fine. Altogether his earlier instruments
are splendid productions. He also made a number of
excellent double basses and 'cellos, and in 1851 he
displayed at the great International Exhibition in
London a quartet consisting of violin, viola, violoncello
and double bass, which, in the opinion of almost every
competent judge in the country, surpassed anything
exhibited in that show. The most competent judges
did not, however, happen to be the jury on that occa-
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 53
sion, and although B. S. Fendt got a prize medal, the
one which he should have had the grand council medal
went to J. B. Vuillaume, of Paris. The jury on the
violins in the 1851 Exhibition consisted of Sir H. R.
Bishop, Sigismund Thalberg, W. Sterndale Bennett,
Hector Berlioz, J. R. Black, Chevalier Neukomm,
Cipriani Potter, Dr. Schafthauk, Sir George Smart and
Professor Henry Wylde. They were assisted by the
Rev. W. Cazalet, James Stewart and William Telford.
Only one of these gentlemen could even play the violin
when he was a young man, namely, Sir George Smart.
The others were general musicians, pianists and organ-
ists distinguished, of course, in high degree, but who
knew little more about the question of fiddles than the
man in the moon. One was a pianoforte maker, another
an organ builder, a third a geologist and metallurgist,
a fourth a physician, a fifth a clergyman who happened
to be superintendent of the Royal Academy, and the
rest were professors there, or elsewhere, of the piano
and organ. The very same gentlemen, in fact, who
awarded prize medals to successful competitors in barrel
organs or big drums distributed the honours for the
most wonderful instrument in the world, and it is not,
therefore, surprising that the object rewarded in this
case was, in the words of Sir Henry Bishop, " New
modes of making violins in such a manner that they are
matured and perfected immediately on the completion
of the manufacture, thus avoiding the necessity of
keeping them for considerable periods to develop their
excellencies." That is the deliberate statement of the
chairman of the jury as to the reason why they gave the
54 THE FIUULK FANCIER S GUIDE.
Council medal to J. B Vuillaume. A decision like that
was quite enough to take away any violin maker's
breath for all time, and it is not in the least astonishing
that B. S. Fendt died that same year ! Seriously,
however, that decision will remain a curious comment
on the astonishing ignorance of fiddle matters which
prevailed in distinguished musical circles forty or more
years ago. I yield to none in my admiration of J. B.
Yuillaume's fine violins, and I also know that B. S.
Fendt in his later instruments tried somewhat similar
ways, but to accept an honour for processes of that
kind, argues as much ignorance on Vuillaume's part at
that time as the jury themselves displayed, or else an
unusual amount of hardihood in the arts of self
advertisement.
The instruments of almost every member of the
Fendt family have for years back been steadily advanc-
ing in public favour. The beautiful character of the
tone which they possess is sufficient to account for this,
but apart from tone, there is a style about Bernhard,
Bernard Simon and Jacob, which so forcibly recalls the
finest efforts of the greater Cremonese, as to make one
almost realise, in the latter's absence, what it is to have
a fine Cremona violin. The varnish on his later
instruments is occasionally a little dull. In his tickets
his name is printed " Bernard S. Fendt, Junr."
FENDT, MARTIN, London. Born 1812. This maker
was another son of Bernhard Fendt, and was in the
employment of the Betts firm. I have not seen any
instruments which were made by him, and it is probable
that he was chiefly occupied with repairs.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 55
FENDT, JACOB, London. Born 1815. Died 1849.
Another son of Bernhard Fendt. The whole conception
of his instruments is generally higher than the work of
other members of his family. His wood is generally
very fine and regular, while some of his backs are really,
in regard to figure, most beautiful. In his Guarnerius
copies, the sound holes are rather exaggerated
reproductions of that great maker's style, but in this
respect he is in very good company, as the best
copyists that ever lived have failed in exactly hitting off
the striking peculiarity of Joseph del Jesu's sound holes.
I have heard it urged that these great makers, both
English and foreign, did not try to " slavishly copy " the
individuality of Joseph Guarnerius, but I cannot say that
I have great faith in the validity of this kind of reasoning.
I believe that they tried to copy him and Stradivari, as
well as Nicolas Amati, in the most minute particular,
and that they simply failed to do it perfectly.
When Vuillaume turned out, under stress of circum-
stances, his reproductions of the. old masters, and
put in imitations of the old tickets and very
clever imitations too we may be absolutely certain
that he left nothing undone that he could have
done, and so it is with any maker, who has set himself
to copy the old masters in that fashion. With the
exception of putting in old tickets, discolouring the wood
by artificial means, and otherwise imitating the aged
appearance barring, perhaps, the artistic breaking up
of varnish makers could not do better than " slavishly "
copy such productions as the Cremonese masters have
left us. Like Vuillaume, Jacob Fendt, in order to live,
56 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
was constrained to turn out the modern antique, and
the man's genius is visible in the circumstance that he
could do the latter thing, and at the same time turn out
a splendid violin. In tone, style, and everything, a good
specimen of Jacob Fendt is magnificent.
FENDT, FRANCIS, London. This was another son of
Bernhard, of whom little is known.
FENDT, WILLIAM, London. This maker was a son of
Bernard Simon, and was employed with his father. He
did not make many violins, but was at work with his
father in the making of double basses.
FORD, JACOB, London, 1790. A very clever maker,
who imitated in a remarkable manner the great favourite
of most 1 8th century workers, Jacob Stainer. His scrolls
are a little stiff-looking, and in other respects, the model
is not really Stainer, but borders very closely on it.
For example, Stainer's margins, which few English, or
even Continental makers, have copied well, are very
faithfully reproduced by Ford. Stainer's margins,
though not so large as the Italians, are much less
niggardly than the great majority of his imitators would
have us believe, and although there is no great credit,
perhaps, in the mere reproduction of the design of a
fiddle, when we find a man doing this in a faithful
manner we have reason to cherish the hope that he may
have his head screwed on properly with regard to other
things. The sound holes are not Stainer, nor is the
arching, and one may well ask, " What is there about
the work that is Stainer ? " Just the general look and
tone feeling, the finish of the work, which is great, and
the choice of wood. Varnish a deepish tinted yellow.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 57
FORSTER, JOHN, Brampton. Born 1688. Of interest
chiefly because it is supposed that he was the father
of William Forster, who follows. It is understood that
John Forster made one violin.
FORSTER, WILLIAM, Brampton. Born 1713 4. Died
1801. He is chiefly of interest because he was the
father of the next Forster.
FORSTER, WILLIAM, Brampton. Born about 1738.
He was a spinningwheel maker, violin maker, and
violinist, celebrated throughout the country side in
Cumberland for his performance of Scotch reels. He
also composed and published reels. He came to London
in 1759, and tried spinningwheel making in Commercial
Road, East, but not successfully. Then he manu-
factured gun stocks, and occasionally a violin for the
music shops. By-and-by, after some hardship, he
entered the service of a maker in Tower Hill named
Beck. There is no trace of this Beck anywhere except
in the biography of the Forsters. W T illiam Forster was
successful with Beck, and asked an advance of wages,
was refused, and left. In 1762 he began business on
his own account in Duke's Court, St. Martin's Lane.
Success came there in the form of aristocratic patronage,
and between last date and 1782, he added music
publishing to his business, and at this time used the
title page of one of these works as a label. In 1781, he
was in St. Martin's Lane, and three years later in the
Strand No. 348. Royal patronage now came, and the
climax of his success was attained. He negotiated with
Haydn for the publication of his works, and among his
customers were the famous engraver, Bartolozzi, and the
58 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S
no less famous litterateur, Peter Pindar (Dr. Walcot).
This William Forster (called in the trade " old Forster")
died in 1807. That he made instruments of high
quality goes without saying. His violoncellos are very
good, and much coveted. I confess I do not altogether
admire the style of his tenors and violins that is, of
course, judging them by the highest standard, and his
violoncellos do not always appear to me to be very
graceful instruments as far as outline goes, but rather
broad at bottom, and narrow at top ; but their tone is
decidedly good. His varnish is dull, staid, but of a
refined character, if one may employ such expressions
with regard to varnish. The colour of much of it is like
a reddish brown, not too dark, with an almost entire
absence of polish on its surface, but having an air of
eminent respectability, like the surface of a well-worn
piece of dull grain goatskin leather. His wood is
always fine. About 1762 he adopted the Stainer model,
and worked on it for ten years, when he turned to
Amati (A. and H. and Nicolas). What I have said
about his varnish refers to his later work, from about
1780, or a year or two before that. In the early work
he appears to have stained the wood before varnishing.
On these it is dark red with a blackish tinge. He made
only four double basses. His commoner violins, etc.,
had no purfling. Labels, William Forster, Violin
Maker, in St. Martin's Lane, London.
FORSTER, WILLIAM, London. Born 1764. Son of
above. He began to make violins early, his first one
being entered when he was fifteen. His work is generally
highly finished, but is not of equal merit in other respects,
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 59
and is inferior to that of his father. He only made two
or three violins of any worth, and about a dozen common
ones. His varnish is same as his father's best. He
died in 1824. Added "Junior" to his name in his
labels, and " Music Seller to the Prince of Wales and
Duke of Cumberland."
FORSTER, WILLIAM, London. Born 1788. Died 1824.
Son of above. Made very few violins. I have not seen
any.
FORSTER, SIMON ANDREW, London. Born 1781.
Died 1869. Made few instruments personally, and not
of great merit, as far as I can learn. He is best known
as the joint author, along with Mr. Sandys, of a " History
of the Violin " which contains a deal of valuable
information regarding the English School of Makers.
He states in this work that he made fifteen violins, four
violas, thirty-eight violoncellos, and five double basses,
all of the best class, and that he also made other forty
instruments, of all classes, of an inferior quality. That
would be in all over a hundred instruments. I have
only seen two or three claiming to be by him, and they
were violins of rather poor quality. But I am not in a
position to say that I recognised his work in these.
FURBER, London. A family of violin makers regarding
the early members of which very little is known. They
have been chiefly employed making for others. The
first was David, of whom nothing appears to be known.
His son, Matthew, died in 1790. A subsequent Matthew
and a John Furber worked for the Betts' firm, and Mr.
Hart states that this John made fine copies of the
" Betts' " Stradivari, while that instrument remained
<6o THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
with the firm. There should therefore be some excellent
copies of this famous fiddle about, and for which time
will have done some service all other things being
equal. The last-mentioned Matthew died about 1830,
and John sometime after 1841. The present representa-
tive of the family is Henry John Furber.
GABRIELLI. A Florentine family of violin makers
from about the beginning of last century. Christoforo,
Bartolomeo, Gian-Battista, and Antonio. Gian-Battista
is the best known, and has sometimes attractive looking
wood in his instruments. Of second and third rate
quality, but carefully made. Yellowish varnish, and
somewhat tubby model.
GAGLIANO, ALESSANDRO, Naples. Born about 1640.
The biographical details regarding this maker corruscate
.around a duel, which he is said to have fought, and
which drove him to the manufacture of violins. The
story has taken various shapes, the most recent being
that from his youngest days he studied music, and
amused himself by making mandolines and lutes. That
in his time the Kingdom of Naples, being under Spanish
Dominion, was affected by an unusual disregard of the
value of life. That duelling was constantly practised
which is quite correct- and that the inhabitants, in order
to be able to defend themselves, or from a love of fighting,
learnt and taught their children assiduously the art of
fencing, and the general management of lethal weapons.
Alexander Gagliano, in this way, acquired consummate
skill in the art of duelling while yet he was young, and
one evening he had a quarrel with a Neapolitan gentle-
man, a member of a family called Mayo. They had no
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 6l
sooner crossed swords, when Gagliano's opponent
received his death wound. The duel occurred in the-
little square of New St. Mary's, near the Church of the
Franciscan's, which was sacrilege according to the bull
of Pope Gregory XIV. The friends of the murdered
man were sufficiently powerful with the viceroy of the
Kingdom, and Gagliano, alarmed at the possible conse-
quences of the deed, sought asylum with the brotherhood,
and put himself under their protection. The viceroy
one Count Penneranda was vehemently opposed to
the practice of duelling, and missed no opportunity of
treating offenders with the greatest rigour. The
murdered man was, in this case, one of his most
intimate friends, and naturally, his resentment was
considerably accentuated. The Spanish Government
made determined efforts to upset the privileges of the
monastical establishments, the inmates of which had
more than once, however, shown themselves to
be powerful defenders of their rights, and Penneranda
had, at last, to retire repulsed. This, of course.,
increased his anger, and he at length threatened to
assault the convent if, within a given date, the culprit
were not delivered up to him. In the meantime, the
Neapolitan Cardinal, Ascanio Filomorino, had mixed
himself up in the affair, and supported the brotherhood
in their efforts to keep Gagliano safe by getting him out
of the way. He arranged all the means, and by night
and accompanied by a well-armed escort, he dispatched
him to Mignamillo, in one of his districts, from whence
he sent him off to Rome. Gagliano, from this point,
directed his steps northwards, and it -is not unlikely that
62 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
his thoughts turned to Cremona. At any rate, he
travelled from town to town until he arrived there, and
came to know Stradivari, and arranged to enter his
shop as a pupil. He worked, it is said, with Stradivari
for about thirty years, and, having received intimation
of a pardon, returned to his native place at the end of
1695. The chief point of interest in this narrative is
that it places Gagliano as pupil of Stradivari at a date
when that great maker was himself working with Nicolas
Amati, or had, at least, just begun business on his own
account, namely, in 1664 or 1665. Now the violins of
Alessandro Gagliano are of a type totally different from
those which Stradivari is supposed to have been working
at during the period intervening these two dates.
Gagliano's violins are of a flat model, much flatter, and
indeed, larger, than anything Stradivari is supposed to
have made, until long after his pupil was peacefully
settled in his native town. The varnish on his instru-
ments is generally of a sickly-looking yellow tint, but is
also of reddish brown. His wood is of a fine quality,
and his general proportions are also good. The figure
shown in his wood is usually of a large kind
the sides being of ordinary height, and his purfling and
corners careful. The tone of his violins is very good,
and of a pure and silvery quality in the upper strings,
and fairly round and full in the lower. He died in
Naples in 1725. He seldom used labels.
GAGLIANO, NICOLAS, Naples. Born about 1665, just
about the time his father had to flee from Naples. He
was rather a finer workman than his father, and had a
decorative turn as well, some of his violins being orna-
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 63
mented round the line of purfling. His instruments are
of an altogether different type, more graceful, and softer
in outline, and somewhat more highly arched. The
varnish is also different, being of a darker yellow, and
very transparent. The tone is altogether very beautiful
in a fine example. He made a large number of violins,
violas, and 'cellos, and into some of them, he, or some-
body after him, put Stradivari tickets. His own tickets
run " Nicolaus Gagliano filius Alexandri fecit Neap,"
then date. He died in 1740.
GAGLIANO, GENNARO, Naples. He was second son of
Allessandro. He was probably born about 1696, and
was the finest maker of this name. His works are very
rare. He seems to have used Stradivari tickets chiefly,
and when he did use his own, he never put a date in
them. They simply ran " Gennaro Gagliano fecit
Neapoli, 17 " the two figures which would have located
the instrument in point of time being omitted. He had a
fine varnish, and a recipe for varnish in his own hand-
writing still remains with the Gagliano family, but it is
very likely not for that which he used, as his successors
have never been able to reproduce it. He employed
beautiful wood, and his style is not unlike that of his
father, Alessandro, except that his sound holes are shorter
and wider. He died in 1750.
GAGLIANO, FERDINANDO, Naples. Born 1706. Died
1781. This maker was eldest son of Nicolas Gagliano,
and grandson of Alessandro. His instruments are in
some respects like his father's, but more arched.
Indeed the arch is a very long one, and rises somewhat
suddenly at the top, continuing at about an equal height
64 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
as far as the notch of the sound holes, where it appears
to begin to fall away gradually to the lower margin.
The arching of the back is not so pronounced, and is
more equally distributed. His outline cannot be called
graceful, but rather heavy-looking. The sound holes are
well cut and very well designed, long and open. Fine
wood and well finished work. Varnish a warmish
yellow, of a common-looking character. Scroll not very
artistic in design, but well cut. Looking at it from
front, volute spreads rapidly out at bottom turn.
Altogether very good violins. Tone a little thin, but
penetrating.
GAGLIANO, GuiSEPPEand ANTONIO, Naples. Brothers
of Ferdinand, made instruments of no great importance
so far as concerns violins, but made fairly good
mandolines and guitars. An early ticket of theirs is
dated 1707, and Guiseppe died in 1793, while Antonio
lived on to the end of that century.
GAGLIANO, GIOVANNI, Naples. Another brother of
Ferdinand. He was rather better as a violin maker
than the previous firm, but has left nothing of importance
as far as I know. He died in 1806.
GAGLIANO, RAFFAELE and ANTONIO, Naples. Sons of
Giovanni. They worked in partnership, but appear to
have made nothing worth remembering. Raffaele died
gth December, 1857, and Antonio 27th June, 1860.
GAGLIANO, VINCENZO, Naples, is the last of this
numerous fiddle family. He is not a violin maker, but a
maker of strings. His first strings have a high reputa-
tion in Italy. As he has neither wife nor children, I
suppose the name will die out with him.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 65
GAND, MICHEL, Versailles. This maker was the first
of the famous family of this name. He was born in
Mirecourt, and went to Versailles in 1780. His instru-
ments are not much appreciated. He had two sons.
GAND, CHARLES FRANCOIS, Versailles. Born 5th
August, 1787. Died loth May, 1845. He first began
business in his native place in 1807 and continued there
till 1810. He then removed to Paris, where he died.
He was taught partly by his father, but chiefly by
Lupot of whom he was an acknowledged pupil. He
became Lupot's son-in-law and succeeded him in
business. The violins of C. F. Gand, or, as he is
called in the trade, Gand pere, have a majestic outline.
They are distinctly individual. The scroll is a most
powerful piece of cutting. Viewed at the back, it has
a broad, massive appearance not found in the work of
any other at least not to such a pronounced degree.
The varnish is a strong red brown, tending to red, on a
yellow ground. He was in the habit of leaving patches
of yellow near the margins where the hands are
supposed to catch a violin in handling it. It is a kind
of family mark, which has been modified by his
successor slightly, and, of course, imitated by all who
wished their instruments to pass as having been made
by him. It is generally left on each shoulder and also
at the bottom on each side. The tone of his instruments
is very fine.
GAND, GUILLAUME, Paris. Born 22nd July, 1792.
Died at Versailles 3ist May, 1858. This maker was a
brother of C. F. Gand, and was also a pupil of Lupot,
after leaving whom he returned to Versailles and
F
66 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
became successor to his father. His instruments are
well appreciated in France. I have not seen any of
them.
GAND, CHARLES ADOLPHE, Paris. Born nth
December, 1812. Died 24th January, 1866. This
maker was a son of C. F. Gand and succeeded to his
father's business in 1845, and also to the appointment
of maker to the King's musicians and to the conserva-
toire and later to the Emperor's Chapel. The two
first appointments had been continued to the firm
since the time of Lupot, to whom they were first
granted. C. A. Gand did not make many new
instruments. In 1855 he took as partner his brother,
Eugene Gand.
GAND, EUGENE, Paris. Born on 5th June, 1825.
Died at Boulogne sur Seine on the 5th February, 1892.
This maker the brother above referred to as associated
with C. A. Gand has played a somewhat important
part in the history of this famous house. While he
studied violin making under his father and brother he
also studied violin playing under the celebrated
Baillot at the Conservatoire, and left it only at the
death of that great violinist in 1842. On the death of
his brother in 1866, the two brothers Bernardel already
referred to became his partners and the firm then
became Gand and Bernardel Freres. For a number of
years the instruments of this firm had ceased, to be
personal works. Their business extended considerably,
and could only be done in that fashion, namely, in
employing clever workers to do what their fathers
were supposed to have carried out with their own
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 67
hands. Of course all violins were understood to
be subjected to the supervision of the masters
during their progress. A supervision quite sufficient,
no doubt, to ensure that the instruments would
sustain the reputation of the concern for style,
finish, and tone. One gigantic order which the firm
had was for the orchestras in the Trocadero at the
International Exhibition of 1878. My recollection of
that is sufficiently vivid. This firm alone furnished
51 violins, 1 8 altos, 18 'cellos, and 18 double basses.
The greater number of these were bought by the
Conservatoire. In the violin department of that
Exhibition the jury awarded the grand gold medal to the
firm. An award of this kind does not always mean
much, but instruments of theirs which I have seen are
decidedly good violins of exquisite outline, and fine
Stradivari model. They are covered with a kind of
traditional family red varnish, and have a powerful,
ringing tone, which when it settles down will doubtless
be highly appreciated. Eugene Gand received a good
many decorations. He was an officer of the Legion of
Honour, a commander of the order of Isabella the
Catholic, a chevalier of the order of Leopold of Belgium,
a chevalier of Nircham whatever that may be
president of the Association of Artiste Musicians, an
officer of the French Academy, violin maker to the
Conservatoire, to the Opera, and to the Opera Comique.
He was also a good judge of old violins, although his
opinions occasionally required confirmation. His
recent death will certainly leave a great gap in the
ranks of the trade. He was a man of culture and
F2
68 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
judgment, and had seen almost all the fine violins in the
world at least, almost all the fine Stradivari violins.
GASPARO DA SALO, or, to give him what has now been
discovered to be his proper name, Gaspare di Bertolotti,
was a violin maker in Brescia who has hitherto had the
honour accorded to him of being the inventor or de-
signer of the violin in its present form. It now appears
that not only was his father, Francesco di Bertolotti, a
violin maker before him, but that others such as one
Gio. Battista D'Oneda in 1529 were also makers of
similar instruments. The origin of these important
discoveries is as follows : On the i2th of January, 1890,
Professor D. Angelo Berenzi delivered a very interest-
ing lecture in the Athenaeum of Brescia on the subject
of the ancient Brescian violin makers, and at the
conclusion of his lecture he expressed a hope that
Brescia might be induced to follow the example of
Cremona, and seek to commemorate in some permanent
manner the fame of her most distinguished workers in
this art industry, namely Gasparo da Salo and G. P.
Maggini, and suggested that it might conveniently be
done in the form of a memorial stone with their names
inscribed upon it. Some of those present advised that
if he w r ould make investigations in the State archives,
and in those of the municipality and suburban parishes
for the purpose of finding out where these two dis-
tinguished violin makers lived, or had their shops, it
would be all the easier to obtain from the authorities
permission to place the stones in the most suitable
localities. He at once set about his task, and after the
most laborious researches, in a few months laid before
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 69
the public the results of his investigations. These were
published in October, 1890, and consist of a great many
valuable facts connected with Maggini, his father, wife,
family, house, business, &c., &c., and which will be noted
under the maker's name. Professor Berenzi was unques-
tionably the pioneer in these investigations. He, and no
other, initiated and carried them out cleared the jungle
in fact, and made a path through the wood, so that
whoever might follow him would have little or nothing
to do beyond verifying for themselves the discoveries
which he had made, and acquainting themselves with
the facts which he had already brought to light.
Having accomplished this for Maggini, his friend,
Cavalier Livi, who is the keeper of the State Archives
in Brescia and had greatly assisted him in his investi-
gations, entered the now cleared path on his own
account and penetrated farther in search of Gasparo
da Salo. His journey was also successful and resulted
in the discovery of some very interesting particulars
concerning this maker, of whom so little was previously
known. Cavalier Livi published these particulars in
August, 1891, in the " Nuova Antalogia." They are
in substance as follows : Gasparo di Bertolotti known
to us hitherto as Gasparo da Salo was the son of
Francesco di Santino Bertolotti of Salo, and was born
there in 1542. The exact dates cannot be ascertained
because two pages 224 and 225 of the register in
which the birth entry should have appeared are missing.
But subsequent documents prove that he was born in
the year mentioned. These are income tax returns for
the years 1568 and 1588, in the first of which Caspar
7O THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
declares that he is twenty-six years old, and forty-five
in the second. There is no mention of him before 1565,
but he then appears to have acquired the title of
maestro, and may have had a shop. There is some
reason for supposing that Gasparo was a pupil of one
Girolamo Virchi, a maker in Brescia, who was sponsor
at the baptism of one of Gaspare's children a son
named Francesco. In 1568 the rent of his house and
shop was about ^"20 per annum, and he had a stock of
musical instruments which he valued at close on ^"60.
Twenty years after that his stock had increased con-
siderably. He says then that he had violins finished
and unfinished which he valued at about ^"200. In
1599 he bought another house in Brescia in a street
called St. Peter the Martyr, and from 1581 to 1607, a
few small places situated chiefly in Calvagese near
Salo. This maker died in Brescia on the 1/j.th April,
1609, and was buried in Santo Joseffo.
The work of Gasparo da Salo (di Bertolotti) is the
work of an artist. His violins are arched rather full,
but the contour of the arch is as if the instrument were
blown out like a silken bag under certain specified
restraints. There is a fine large feeling about his
sound holes, which are pretty nearly parallel throughout.
That is to say, their width is pretty nearly the same
until the stem approaches both top and bottom circles.
They are not parallel in the sense of being in line with
the long axis of the fiddle. The corners are very short,
and the margins rather narrow. His varnish has, in
some cases, been a golden red, passing through brown,
and in others a beautiful rich brown a toast brown.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. Jl
His sound holes are remarkably expressive and are seen
to great perfection in his violas. In the matter of outline,
his instruments are exquisite. The purfling has been
double in those violins and violas which I have seen, and
the scrolls beautifully cut. In his violins I have observed
the grain of the front wood to be as wide almost as in
many a 'cello, and the arching to rise from the margins
almost equal to the style of Stradivari. In face of
these works of this early master, it is quite surprising that
the later Amati School should have departed from his
type. His instruments are of the greatest possible rarity.
GEDLER, J. A., Fiissen, 1750 1757. His instruments
are certainly original in outline, and are intended to be
of Stainer model. The arching is, as usual, much
exaggerated, and the groove around the contour of the
instrument is very deep. The outline is flattened at top
and bottom, and gives a peculiarly square look to the violin,
and is accentuated by the upper portion being consider-
ably nearer the dimension of the lower part than is usual,
The sound holes are rather stiff-looking in consequence
of being pretty long, and cut almost quite parallel to the
long axis of the fiddle. The upper turns are not exactly
circular as the great majority of the imitators of Stainer
try to make them nor are the bottom turns either, and
although they are fairly well cut, they have not a very
graceful appearance. Varnish reddish brown. Tone
thin and clear.
GEDLER, J. B., Fiissen, about 1790 96. Probably a
son or other relative of above. Work same in type, but
commoner.
GOFFRILLER, MATTHEUS, Venice, 1700 1740. This
y2 THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
maker was a fine workman, especially in his violoncellos.
These are decidedly original to a certain extent. The
upper portion is a little narrower than is usual, and
shorter, which gives to the part between the middle bouts
an appearance of being wider. His model in his best
'cellos seems to have been A. and H. Amati, only his
curves are not so flowing as we find them in instruments
by this famous Cremonese firm. The curves of Goffriller's
C's are also different, their cutting in being like that of
Stradivari in some cases, and the C's themselves look
very long an appearance produced by the shortness of
the upper portion of the 'cello. The sound holes are
quite beautifully cut, and are evidently based on
Stradivari instead of A. and H. Amati. The design of
the whole is, in fact, a congeries of one or two styles, the
result of which is by no means unpleasing. The sound
holes, though beautifully designed, as I have said, are a
little wider than usual, and have the appearance of being
long, also because of the stunted look of the upper portion
of the instrument. His varnish is a very transparent and
rather deep orange, with fine golden flashes here and there.
It is sometimes cracklied all over those parts near the
corners and middle sides. They have a very fine tone,
and Goffriller rarely put labels in his work. When he did,
it ran as follows: "Mattheus Goffriller, faciebat anno ."
It is not yet known when he was born, nor when he died.
GOFFRILLER, FRANCESCO, Venice. Brother of above and
worked for him. The instruments which he made for him -
self have very rarely anything in the shape of a ticket.
Like his brother's, they are pure in tone and strong. Indeed ,
great sonority is a distinguishing characteristic in them.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 73
GILKES, SAMUEL, London. Born 1787. Died 1827.
He was born at Morton Pinkney, Northamptonshire,
and was taught violin-making by Charles Harris, who
was a relative. After leaving Harris, he was employed
by Forster. In 1810, he began business on his own
account in James Street, Buckingham Gate. The
outline of his violins is exceedingly fine, the upper part
being beautifully proportioned to the lower, so that there
is not that excessive disparity between the two, which
is not uncommon, even with very good makers. He
copied Amati chiefly, but his Stradivari instruments are
really excellent, the sound holes being remarkably well
designed, although cut just a little wide. Very hand-
some scrolls. Yellowish brown varnish.
GILKES, WILLIAM, London. Born 1811. Died 1875.
A son of above maker, and a more varied worker than
his father, but not so good. He chiefly made double
basses. These are excellent.
GOBETTI, FRANCISCUS, Venice, 1690 1720. A so-
called pupil of Stradivari, in whose work, so far as I
have seen, it is difficult to trace any influence of the
great maker. The outline is of the Amati type, but
large in style. Short corners, deep middle bouts, and
rather highly arched. Tone, however, very good.
Scroll cleanly cut, but somewhat monotonous looking,
and of same width almost to the first turn. Sound
holes much more like Amati or Rugerius than Stradivari,
and slightly gaping. Varnish transparent and weak-
looking red, but of fine quality. His tickets run
" Franciscus Gobetti fecit Venetiis," and date.
GOSSELIN, Paris. 1814 to about 1830. An amateur
74 THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
maker so-called who has considerably surpassed in
style and finish, many a professional with a high reputation.
His instruments are, undoubtedly, of a high class, and
have a superior quality of tone. His choice in wood
was original and felicitous, the figure of his backs
running in an extremely picturesque manner in the
direction of the long axis. The belly wood of exquisite
selection, and the varnish a fine red. He may be called
a pupil of Kolliker, the famous Parisian maker and
restorer towards the end of the eighteenth, and beginning
of the nineteenth century. Gosselin's instruments have
a splendid outline, and .the design of his sound holes is
good and original, based on Stradivari, and a little longer.
The finish of the work is of a high class, and his scrolls
very handsome. His tickets run " Fait par Gosselin,
amateur, Paris, annee ."
GRAGNANI, ANTONIO, Livorno, 1741 1785. Coarse
work, but a sympathetic and sweet tone. Poor quality
of varnish, and not particularly fine wood. His initials
sometimes branded on the ribs below tail pin. His
tickets run " Antonius Gragnani, fecit Liburni anno ."
GRAGNANI, ONORATO, Livorno. A son of above and
inferior work.
GRANCINO, PAOLO, Milan, 1665 1690. A fine maker in
many respects. Supposed to be a pupil of Nicolas Amati,
whose style he has followed in most particulars except the
scroll. His violoncellos are his best works, and are of high
character in the matter of tone. Varnish lightish yellow.
GRANCINO, GIOVANNI, Milan, 1694 1730. Son of
above. A superior maker to his father. Sometimes has
very handsome wood in back, unlike the majority of
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 75
Milanese makers, and his belly wood is often distinguished
for being remarkably fine and straight. It is also some-
times pretty wide. Light varnish almost colourless.
The outline of his instruments is occasionally a little shaky,
but the tone is good. Tickets " Giovanni Grancino in
contrada largha di Milano al segno della Corona ."
GRANCINO, GIAMBATTISTA e FRANCESCO, 1710 1750.
They are, perhaps, the best of this name. Their violon-
cellos and double basses are very good. Roughish work
and ordinary wood, but good tone. Transparent yellow
spirit varnish. Tickets " Giov. Battista and Francesco,,
fra. Grancino in contrada larga di Milano ."
GUADAGNINI, LORENZO, Piacenza, 1695 1760. This
maker worked for a number of years with Stradivari so
it is said and returned to Piacenza about 1730. His
violins are grand instruments, and, curiously enough, a
goodly mimber of them bear Nicolas Amati labels. They
are highly finished. Their quality of tone is exceed-
ingly fine, though not always equal all over. The fourth
string is sometimes a little weak. His varnish is a deep
yellowish red, and of very fine quality. Tickets " Lauren-
tius Guadganini Pater et alumnus Antonij Stradivari
fecit Placentia? anno ." This ticket is probably the
foundation for the notion that he worked with Stradivari.
At any rate the work is well worthy of such a master.
76 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
GUADAGNINI, GIAMBATTISTA. Son of above. Is said
to have been born in Cremona during his father's stay
there, and to have also been a pupil of Stradivari. His
instruments are valued as highly as his father's, although
they are not so powerful. He went to Piacenza after
his parent, and worked there a long time, then went to
Turin, where he died in 1780. His instruments are
covered with a slightly yellowish red varnish, and his
tickets run " Joannes Baptista Guadagnini Cremonensis
fecit Taurini (or Placentiae) Alumnus Antonij Stradivari.''
GUADAGNINI, GIOVANNI BATTISTA, Milan, from about
1695 to 1750. This maker was a brother of Lorenzo
Guadagnini, and he is sometimes confounded with his
nephew, the preceeding maker. Although he was not
always so good a maker as his brother or nephew,
he certainly made some magnificent instruments,
sometimes of Stradivari type, and sometimes of Amati.
Middle bouts pretty deep, fine, equally-balanced outline.
Excellent wood, and finely-designed sound holes.
Varnish frequently of a very deep orange red. Tickets
" Joannes Baptista Guadagnini Placentinus fecit
mediolani." His arching is of a rather flat character
and his sound holes a little longer than usuaLv.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 77
GUADAGNINI, GUISEPPE. Son of the preceeding. Was a
violin maker in Milan, Como, and Parma, and employed
his father's tickets. His instruments have a fairly good
tone.
GUADAGNINI. There were a number of this name,
subsequent to above, and settled in Turin. Almost all
the Guadagnini violins have good tone.
GUARNERIUS, ANDREAS, Cremona. The first maker
of this celebrated name is supposed to have been born
there about 1626. He was married on 3ist December,
1652, to Anna Maria Orcelli, and had seven children
born to him. He died at Cremona on 7th December,
1698. When he was fifteen years old he was working in
the shop of Nicolas Amati, and four years afterwards he
was one of the witnesses mentioned in the register as
being present at the marriage of his master. His
instruments are of beautiful workmanship, and of the early
Amati model in many cases, and also of the later style of
his master. His varnish is of a golden yellow, bright
orange, with a brownish tint, and is occasionally of a
fine brown. It is sometimes thickly laid on, but is
always of the finest quality.
GUARNERIUS, PIETRO GIOVANNI, Cremona. Eldest
son of above. Born i8th February, 1655, and remained
at home until about 1680, when he went to Mantua.
Three years before this he had married Caterina Sussagni.
About 1698, he returned to Cremona, and appears to
have remained there until after the death of his father in
that year. He went back to Mantua after this event,
and lived there a long time, going late in life to Venice,
where he died at an advanced age. His violins are very
78 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
beautiful specimens of work, of exquisite tone and style,
and covered with lovely varnish. He varied a good
deal, however, and there are examples of his which do
not command the same unstinted admiration. His
sound holes are often lower than usual, and their cutting
parallel for a certain distance on each side of notch.
They also have the appearance of being placed 'straight
with the long axis of the fiddle. His outline also looks
somewhat full, and just a little heavier than in his greater
contemporaries ; but there are occasions when he sur-
passes himself. The tone of his instruments is very fine.
The ribs often have very pretty figuration, and his varnish
is a beautiful golden amber, occasionally passing to a rich
brown. His 'cellos have a superb tone, but are often
plainly wooded, and have a slightly reddened brown
varnish. He also used spirit varnish of similar colours
to his oil varnish. Although his baptismal name was
Pietro Giovanni Guarnieri, he always calls himself simply
Petrus Guarnerius as under.
GUARNERIUS, GUISEPPE GIAN BATTiSTA, Cremona.
Second son of Andreas was born 25th November, 1666.
Died about 1739. He apparently lived with his father
all his life, and when his brother Peter was back at home
waiting, seemingly, on the death of the old man, Peter
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 79.
made some fiddles and put his brother's name in them.
This maker is called " Joseph son of Andrew " from the
inscription found in his tickets. He was the cleverest
of that family. He chose very handsome wood which,
for figure, has rarely been surpassed. His margins are
generally small, and his purfling sometimes close. His
varnish is superb golden red. The corners of his in-
struments, when perfect, show with what extreme care
he finished his work, as they come out quite pronounced
and sharp. His sound holes have not the vigour of his
greater brethren. His tickets run " Joseph Guarnerius
filius Andreae fecit Cremonae sub titulo Sanctae
Teresiae ."
GUARNERIUS, JOSEPH (called del Jesu), Cremona. Born
October i6th, 1687. Date of death unknown. This
was the greatest of all the artistes called Guarnerius.
He was only a very distant relative of the family, his
grandfather having been a cousin of Andreas Guarnerius.
It is not known where he learnt his business, nor where
he carried it on. His tickets date from Cremona, but
there is no trace of him there after 1702. The earliest
known tickets date from 1725, and the latest about 1745.
The story that he died in prison was founded on the
circumstance that a person named Giacomo Guarnieri
died there in the year 1715. This tradition was indus-
triously circulated, and a great many inferior Italian
fiddles were called " prison Joseph's " and sold as
genuine. All that sort of thing is now exploded. The
man was an artiste of the highest class, and never made
these inferior fiddles. His instruments are very flat, the
arch rising gently from the purfling, one might say. His
8O THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
outline is very perfect and restful. Many of his instru-
ments are small, and do not exceed fourteen inches in
length, but the peculiarity which will strike most people
will be found in the sound holes. These are of an early
type, and designed in a most masterly way. At the top
the circle has the appearance of a miniature arch of
Gothic type. That is to say, the impression made on
the mind of an ordinary observer is of that character.
They then slope away a little towards the margins and
are fairly wide at the middle, the notch being cut at
an angle of about forty-five degrees to the longer axis.
His margins are large and massive, his edges round and
solid. His ribs are about i-| at the top, i x 3 ^ at the
corners, and about i| at the tail pin. In a good many
of his violins there is a peculiarity which indicates that he
possessed at one time a goodly piece of pine. It is a streak
of what is called grey wood, and runs down from the top
on the left of the fingerboard. I have also seen it on the
right of the fingerboard. It can easily be seen through the
varnish. This grey strip looks just as if the wood under
the varnish at that point were dirty. It is about an
inch in the width, sometimes less, and travels in certain
instances as far down as the top of the left sound hole.
The backs of his fiddles are often of the finest figure,
broad, medium, and in a few instances, extremely fine
and complex. His tone is grand, round, and sonorous,
and if there is a difference between him and Stradivari
in that respect it is, perhaps, because there are fewer
Josephs than Strads to choose from. His varnish is a
golden, and a golden red, in tints of the most entrancing
loveliness, and of a quality not surpassed by any other
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 8l
maker. The middle bouts are generally cut in at the
top without any tendency to travel upward, and sweep
out towards the lower corner in a beautiful curve which
leaves the indention quite shallow by the time the
curve is ended. The grain of a Guarnerius belly is
usually of a fairly wide guage. He made no violon-
cellos that I know of, and I have only heard of one
tenor, but never saw it.
GUERSAN, Louis, Paris, 1735 1766. Many of his
instruments are attractive looking. They vary consider-
ably in style, but tone rather deficient. He made a
number of 'cellos, and employed a varnish which in some
cases might be called " golden." There is no doubt he
could make very beautiful instruments when he chose
to do so. He was a pupil of Claude Pierray.
HARDIE, MATTHEW, Edinburgh, about 1800 1825.
This maker has produced singularly fine copies of
Nicolas Amati. I question if he has been surpassed in
that respect by any one of our native makers. His
wood is of first class quality. His outline is
a very accurate reproduction. His sound holes
slightly err, where almost every maker who copies N.
Amati does err, in being just the least bit knockkneed,
but in his case it is so trifling as to be scarcely perceptible.
He has caught the general proportions of the N. Amati
model with great felicity. His varnish is a yellow not
of the finest degree of rather light tint, but not unpleas-
ing. The tone of his instruments, when in proper
condition, is quite of a high class.
HARDIE, THOMAS, Edinburgh. Born 1804. Died 1856.
Son of above. Worked in his father's shop. He has
G
82 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
not the same reputation as his father, but I am not in a
position to say anything about him.
HARRIS, CHARLES, London, about 1800 to 1815. This
is another splendid native maker, whose work is entitled to
rank with that of the best Continental copyists. His out.
lines and modelling are beautiful, and the design of his
sound holes exceedingly graceful. The cutting of his
scrolls is also most satisfactory. The sides of his violins
are somewhat low, but in almost all other respects, his
conceptions are of the best. His varnish is of fine quality
and of a good, yellowish brown.
HART, JOHN THOMAS, London. Born 1805. Died
1874. This is a famous name in fiddle lore. He was
articled to Samuel Gilkes previously mentioned, and
duly learnt the art of violin making. Just at the time he
started business the fever for Italians became accentuated
and he turned his attention to the study of the classical
instruments. His opportunities were great, and by-and-
by he became a judge of violins of quite a European
reputation. Some of the finest collections of the time
were formed by him, including the celebrated Coding
Cabinet, and also that of Plowden. He also supplied a
large number of the fine instruments for the Gillott
collection the largest ever made by one private
individual.
HART AXD Sox. This became the style of the
preceeding firm, when the late Mr. George Hart
became a partner of his father. Mr. George Hart
also acquired a world-wide reputation as a connoisseur
and dealer forming many beautiful collections, and
becoming acquainted like his father with almost every
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 83
known instrument of importance. He was entrusted
with the arrangement of the Gillott collection, and the
cataloguing of it when it came under the hammer of
Messrs. Christie and Manson, and numberless other
important commissions with respect to the finest instru-
ments in the world were placed in his hands. He is
known wherever a fiddle-fancier has his habitat, as the
author of what is, perhaps, the most reliable work
on the violin that has ever been written, and he is,
besides, the author of a work on " The Violin and its
Music," which, for interest in that branch of musical
literature, can hardly be surpassed. He was born in
1839, and died on April 25th, 1891. His son, the present
Mr. George Hart, carries on the business under the
same style, and the name has become a household word
in the vocabulary of fiddle-fanciers.
HEL, PIERRE-JOSEPH, Lille. This maker was born
near Mirecourt in 1842. He learnt violin-making there
in thorough fashion, and afterwards went to Paris, where
he worked with Sebastien Vuillaume. He also was
at Aix-la-Chapelle with Darche, and started on his own
account in Lille in 1865. He is a good restorer, and
claims to have a means of aging wood without using
acid or heat. He is also the inventor of a system
of tuning which can be applied to existing violin
heads, and which is said to permit the player to tune
easily.
HENRY. A family of violin makers of this name has
existed in Paris for about a hundred and fifty years.
The work is good in regard to several members of the
family, such as Jean-Baptiste, born in Mirecourt, 1757,
G2
84 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
his son, Jean-Baptiste-Felix, born in Paris, 1793, and
died in 1858, and one of his grandsons, Charles, born
1803, and died 1859. Eugene Henry, son of the last-
mentioned, was born in 1843, and is a good restorer.
HILL. A family of English violin-makers, which
has existed in London for about as long a period as the
Henry's existed in Paris. The first of the name appears
to have been
HILL, JOSEPH. A pupil of Peter Wamsley. The
only instruments of this maker which I have seen were
a tenor and a 'cello. The tenor was in the exhibition of
1885, and deserved, in my opinion, high commendation
for its finish and the appearance of the varnish. The
sound holes might have been more artistically designed,
but the style of the instrument, and the brilliancy of its
varnish, as it hung in its case, really seemed to be
dangerously near the genuine Italian article.
HILL, LOCKEY, London, about 1720. A violin by this
maker was exhibited at the same exhibition, and had,
I remember, a very beautiful back.
HILL, JOSEPH AND SON. 1770. This firm was repre-
sented at the same show by a very clever-looking
violin, and I have seen a fine 'cello by them of
Ruggerius model, with ornamental purfling, and of
excellent tone, especially on the two lower strings.
HILL, LOCKEY. About 1810. There must have been
two Lockey Hills, I should think, if the dates in two
violins bearing this name are correct, or correctly printed in
the catalogue of the exhibition in which they were shown.
The 1720 violin was a very clever looking instrument, but
the 1810 specimen was quite a little gem, in a plain
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 85
varnish, and with wood of the most exquisite regularity.
The sound holes were almost perfect, the corners charm-
ing, and the margins fine and full. Of the subsequent
work of this family I know nothing. The present firm is
HILL AND SONS, W. E. The senior member of this
firm is Mr. William Ebsworth Hill, a practical violin
maker, and for many years known as a highly competent
judge of classical instruments. He is assisted by his
sons, William, Arthur, and Alfred Hill, and, in addition
to their ordinary business, the firm have brought out
several highly interesting monographs on fine violins in
which they have embodied the results of the most recent
research.
JACOBS, PEETER, Amsterdam, 1690 1740. This maker
copied Nicholas Amati with remarkable fidelity in almost
every point. In the choice of his wood even, he sought
to reproduce the figure generally associated with the
name of the Cremonese master. He is very successful
with the outline and arching. His work is, however,
easily recognised by the purfling. He always used
whalebone for this instead of the black stopping, and
where the varnish has been worn off the purfling, a little
rubbing will bring up on the whalebone a most glassy
surface if one cannot detect the maker in any other way.
It glistens in a way unknown in any other case. His
instruments are very good. Varnish, a red brown.
JACOBS, Amsterdam. I do not know anything of this
maker, who was perhaps related to the above Peeter.
His instruments are reported to be coarse, but of good
tone, and having a deep red varnish transparent.
JACQUOT, CHARLES, Paris. Born at Mirecourt, 1808.
86 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
He was a pupil of Nicolas Aine and Breton, and began
to learn his business when quite a child. When he was
fifteen years old he went to Nancy, where he worked for
the trade in co-operation with a few others. In 1827, he
began in Nancy on his own account, and continued
there until 1853, wnen ne went to Paris, where he
remained until his death in 1880. His workmanship
was of a good character. Varnish of a common red
on orange type. Tone of the twangy, nasal kind,
but instruments soundly made, and of a quality to
improve in the course of time.
JACQUOT, PIERRE CHARLES. Son of preceeding, and
born 1828, in Nancy, where he succeeded to his parent's
business after the latter went to Paris. His instruments
are of a type similar to his father's.
JEANDEL, PIERRE NAPOLEON. Born at Courcelles sous
Vaudmont in 1812, he w r as taught at Mirecourt by
Charotte. He went to Rouen in 1835, where he worked
for the brother of his Mirecourt master. His employer
died in 1836, and Jeandel arid another took the business.
These partners ultimately separated, and Jeandel
carried on on his own account from 1848 to 1878.
Infirmities then obliged him to relinquish active work on
any extended scale. He fell into poor circumstances,
and the sudden death of his daughter, in whose place he
stayed, withdrew his only shelter, and he was admitted
to the hospital at Rouen, where he died in 1879, some
five months after admission. He made very good
violins, and received prize medals from three different
exhibition juries. His work is of a type similar to that
of the previous maker.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 87
JAY,. HENRY, London, 1744 1777. Made a number
of instruments for dealers among which are some good
'cellos.
JOHNSON, JOHN, London. About 1750 1758. This
maker seems to have confined himself largely to Stainer
models, and he does not appear to have been personally
a maker. His instruments are frequently large and
heavy looking, although of good outline. Very narrow
margins, and pitched up from the groove which goes
quite round the outline. The edges are flat, or rather
elliptical, and the corners mean-looking. Frequently
unpurfled, but having painted lines instead. Altogether,
work of rather a common type. Varnish, light brown.
Tone fairly good.
KENNEDY. A family of violin makers for a very long
time since about 1700. The best known of the name
was Thomas, who made a great many instruments of no
great value. Dark coloured varnish.
KERLINO, J., Brescia. A maker of little interest to the
modern fiddle-fancier, except from his connection with
the early Brescian school. I used to think he was an
imaginary character, but in a work published in 1890,
entitled " La Musica in Mantova," by A. Bertolotti, and
issued by Ricordi of Milan, a reference to him dating in
1493 has been found, and appears to prove con-
clusively that he was a celebrated maker of viols at
that date.
KIAPOSSE, S., St. Petersburg. 1748 50. This
maker's instruments are of the " odd " character.
Fairly well made and proportioned, they are of the usual
size but perhaps a little thin in the wood. The back
88 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
and front are worked off straight to the margins, and
rounded with the sides. That is, the usual violin edges
are wanting. The ribs or sides are of considerable
thickness. Everything is " rounded " off. The sound
holes are not badly designed. The general result is not
distasteful in appearance, but a mistake technically.
The varnish is of a commonplace character. The tone
is of a thin nasal quality.
KLOTZ, EDGIDIUS, Absam and Mittenwald, 1675.
This maker's instruments are very finished performances,
both inside and out. When they are in good condition,
they are extremely attractive looking, but they are very
rarely in condition.
KLOTZ, GEORGE, Mittenwald. About 1754. Another
good maker of this family. His instruments are of larger
style, but sound holes not very pretty, and poor varnish.
KLOTZ, SEBASTIEN, Mittenwald, 1700 1760. Also
good when in genuine condition. A large number
of Klotz' instruments are not worth carrying away.
LANDOLFI, C. F., Milan. 1735 1775. This is a fine
Italian maker, who made some very good 'cellos of small
size. The outline of his violins is good, but the middle
bouts are long and deeply cut in, giving a somewhat
gaunt look to the instrument, the lower portion of which
seems to spread out a deal in consequence, and cause
the upper portion to appear smaller than it really is. His
sound holes are not badly designed. His varnishes, as
well as the details of his instruments, vary a good deal,
some are a brilliant red, and others a dark red,
while others again tend to a yellowish orange. Much of
his work certainly does not look very pretty, but the
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 89
tone is by no means bad. He has often narrow
margins.
LENZ, J. N., London. 1803 1807. I have little to
say in favour of this maker. Anything I have seen of
his was of a very tasteless description. Very " scoopy '*
and unequal.
LENZ, JACOB, London. I suppose this maker was a
son of the preceeding. His work was of a superior kind,
and he was a fine maker of double basses. He made, I
believe, only two violins, one of which I have seen. It
is a copy of Joseph Guarnerius, arid is, in many ways, a
very clever copy, except that the sound holes are far too
wide. In other respects of arching and scroll, he has
caught the points of Joseph very well. The wood in
this instrument is fine.
LOTT, G. F., London. Born 1800. Died 1868. Was
a son of the famous John Lott, mentioned below. He
was a clever maker of old fiddles.
LOTT, JOHN FREDERICK, London. 1775 1853. This
was father of the preceeding, and following maker of
same name. He was a German, and originally a
cabinet maker, whom Bernard Fendt induced to take to
fiddle making under Thomas Dodd, already mentioned.
All his work is of a high character, especially his double
basses, which are really chefs d'ceuvres.
LOTT, JOHN FREDERICK, London. Son of above, and
hero of Charles Reade's Romance, " Jack of All Trades."
He certainly was a clever violin maker, and took a long
time to get up those imitations, with which, I daresay,
a good many people were atone time hoaxed. There is
for example, an appearance of a kind of brutal hardihood,
90 THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
in the seeming recklessness with which he copied, and,
in some cases, travestied, the salient points of Joseph del
Jesu, and yet he may have laboured over the instrument
for months, getting up those antique fractures, indenta-
tions, scratchings, and rubbings, which give an air of
genuine age to some of his productions. He was a
man of many adventures, which have been duly recorded
in Mr. Reade's novels. He died about 1871.
LUPOT, NICOLAS. The greatest of a French family of
violin makers which has flourished for about two
centuries. The first was a Jean Lupot in Mirecourt,
whose son Laurent was born there in 1696, and became
a violin maker also. Travelling about a little, he settled
in Orleans, and about 1762, disappears from fiddle history.
This son, Fra^ois Lupot, also violin maker, after moving
.about in similar fashion, settled temporarily in Orleans,
and then in Paris, where he died in 1804. The last
mentioned had two sons, the above Nicolas born in
Stuttgard in 1758, and Fra^ois born in Orleans in 1774.
Nicolas was the great maker of the family, and was
trained by his father in Orleans, where he continued to
work until he was about forty years of age, and then
went to Paris, where he started business in 1794, and
died in 1824. The violins of this maker are undoubtedly
of the highest character. There is great variety in his
style, and many of those hailing from Orleans, one would
hardly recognise, if placed side by side with some of those
which he made in Paris later on. This is chiefly, but
not wholly, seen in his varnish, however, for there is
the same masterly, solid style about all his instruments.
A great many of his early violins are covered with a dull,
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 9!
brown varnish, which looks very well when a considerable
portion of it has been worn away. His Paris instru-
ments are covered with much variety of varnish, from
brown, through orange to a red that would almost knock
one down. Those covered with the red upon orange are
splendid instruments of massive style, and tone clear
and pure, and of rocklike firmness. Some of his
varnishes have gone very nearly black, and here and
there are specimens which have it so thickly laid on, that
one might say there is almost as much varnish as wood.
Some of his Paris instruments are slightly smaller than
those large orange instruments, and these, as indeed all
his violins, are finished most exquisitely. Stradivari was
his favourite model, but he also copied Guarnerius, and
succeeded with the sound holes remarkably well. But
the manner in which he has caught the " grand " out-
line of Stradivari is quite exceptional. His sides and
margins are full, and there is a fine feeling of solidity,
even in the handling of his best instruments, which does
not escape one's notice when a nice specimen is en-
countered. Some of his very fine work is really entrancing
in the matter of finish and style. His father, Fra^ois,
was also a splendid maker, and the fitting instructor of
his son.
LUPOT, FRANCOIS. The brother of Nicolas, the only
other distinguished member of the family, was a bow-
maker, and is referred to in the chapter on bows.
MAGGINI, GIOVANNI PAOLO, Brescia. This distinguished
early Italian maker was born in Botticino Sera on the
25th August, 1580, and the precise date of his death
is not yet known, but in an income tax return of the
92 THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
year 1632, his son, Carlo Maggini, is spoken of as
" filius quondam Johannis Pauli," son of the late
Giovanni Paolo. As already stated in the article, Gasparo
da Salo, Professor D. Angelo Berenzi delivered a lecture
in Brescia in the month of January, 1890, on distinguished
Brescian violin makers, and at its conclusion, it was
mooted that a search should be made by him in the
Municipal and State archives for the purpose of
discovering what could be known about these great
early artistes. Professor Berenzi set about his task at
once, and, as I have already said, in a few months he
was able to publish the results of his researches, namely,
in October, 1890. Nothing whatever had been previously
known about Maggini, except what was based upon
tradition if that can be called knowledge and observa-
tion of his work. There was not a scrap of documen-
tary evidence known to exist, either regarding him or
the other great maker, Gasparo da Salo, of whom he was
conjectured to be a pupil. All was guess work, com-
bined, of course, with the traditionary gossip to which I
have alluded. But the researches of Professor Berenzi,
have now set all these matters at rest in the case of
Maggini. In a little pamphlet entitled " Di Giovanni
Paolo Maggini," and published in Brescia in 1890, he
gave to the world his discoveries in a separate form,
although they had appeared previously in his first
communication to " II Bibliofilo " in October of the
same year. This communication related that he had
found mention made of Magginis during the first half of
the sixteenth century in the returns of Gerola and West
Botticino two small places in the vicinity of Brescia
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 93
and during the second half of the same century in those
of West Botticino, and of Brescia. And later, in other
returns of Brescia, Bagnolo, and Manerbio. All this
means a considerable amount of very patient labour, and
when he had thoroughly examined these various
sources of information regarding people of the name of
Maggini, he fixed on those of Botticino Sera or West
Botticino and Brescia as being what concerned his quest.
He unearthed from the archives two returns, one dated
1568, and the other, 1588. The first relates to the father of
G. P. Maggini, and begins " Boticino de Sera. Poliza
de mi Zovan q Bertolino di Magini," etc., and gives
particulars of the ages of himself, his wife, son, and
daughter, and his brother. The second (dated 1588)
beginning " Brescia, 300, p Johannis Polizza de mi
Giovanni f. q. Ser Bertolino Magini, cittadino et
habitante in Bressa," etc., and gives his own age, and
that of his wife erroneously apparently and then
continues with that of a son, and son's wife, followed
by the mention of " Gio Paolo, mio figliolo, d'eta d'anni 7."
This is the first official documentary reference found in
Brescia having regard to the existence of G. P. Maggini.
A later search by the same cultured writer at Botticino
Sera revealed an earlier one the baptismal entry. In the
Book of Leaseholds, or Rent Book of St. Agatha in
Brescia, and among the entries between the years 1500 and
1636, Professor Berenzi found that Gian Paolo Maggini
bought from Ser Ludovico Serina, the house which
stands opposite the Old Mayor's Palace, (or, as we would
call it, the Old Mansion House) and that the said
" Gio Pavolo Magini, che fa k ceteve" as proprietor of the
94 THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
said house began to pay to the parish of St. Agatha
about two pounds, sixteen arid sevenpence per annum
for the perpetual lease. He then discovered a return
dated September loth, 1614, and another dated 1617,
which confirmed the purchase of property, and gave
particulars of ages, debts, and assets. This begins,
" Polizza del estimo di M. Gio Paolo Maggini, maestro
di violini in contrada del Palazzo Vecchio del Podesta,"
and gives his age as thirty-six, his wife's age as twenty-
two, and his son, Gio Pietro's, as one year. The return
finishes up after giving particulars referred to with the
following estimate of his stock in hand at that date.
" Item mi ritrovo in mercantia di violini, lignami et
cordi di essi violini lire cento pi. ^"100." Item. I
have stock in violins,. furnishings, and strings for these
violins, ^"43 6s. 8d. If we strike a balance at this
time, Maggini was in debt to the extent of ^"24 55.
But the next return which Professor Berenzi discovered,
tells a very different tale. It is dated 1626 and
1627, and begins, " Pollizza del estimo di me
Gio Paolo Maggini che fa violini in contrada delle
Bombasarie a Santa Agatha," and gives his age as forty-
six, that of his wife as thirty-two, that of his daughter
Cecilia as five, another daughter, Veronicha, two, and a
son, Carlo, six months. During the ten years which
elapsed between the dates of these two returns, Maggini
could show a balance to his credit of about two thousand,
three hundred and ninety-six pounds, and a few shillings.
For those days, this was undoubtedly good progress. He
had become the owner of property in the country, and it
will be observed, he had changed his place of business.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 95
The next important discovery which Professor Berenzi
made, was the marriage entry of January 2oth, 1615,
from which we see that Maggini was married to Anna,
daughter of Fausto Foresto on that day. Continuing
his investigations, Professor Berenzi made out a list of
Maggini's children ten with the dates of birth and
death, and, further, the approximate date of the violin-
maker's death, from the return made by the son Carlo,
and already referred to. The Professor's next discovery
was the entry recording the date of the widow's death,
namely, November 24th, 1651, and he concludes his
very interesting article by speculating as to the identity
of the maker whom we have hitherto called Pietro Santo
Maggini. All these particulars were published in detail
in the year 1890, in a periodical published in Brescia,
and called " II Bibliofilo." After this very satisfactory
search, Professor Berenzi continued his investigations
for the purpose of bringing to light, if possible, the place
and date of Maggini's birth. After a deal of patient
searching in the parishes in the neighbourhood of Brescia,
he discovered the entry in the records of the small parish
of Botticino Sera (West), and published it in a little
pamphlet entitled, " La Patria di Giovanni Paolo
Maggini," in 1891. The credit of these discoveries from
first to last, and almost verbatim et literatim, belongs to
Professor Berenzi, and apparently to no other person
whatever, with the exception of Cavalier Livi, whose
counsels and assistance he gratefully acknowledges as
well as the services of Messrs. A. Coen, and D. L.
Corbolani.
The instruments by G. P. Maggini which I have seen
96 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
were all of the highest type in finish and style. The
most striking peculiarities which they show in contrast
to great violins of a later make are their sound holes,
their corners, and their arching. The highest point of
Maggini's arching is, as far as I have been able to ascer-
tain, always as near as possible fifteen thirty-seconds of
an inch above the upper plane of the sides that is, above
what is called the symmetrical plane. If my readers will
suppose that, instead of the upper table, a flat sheet of
glass is placed absolutely level on the rims of a fiddle,
the lower surface of the glass will represent the symmetri-
cal plane, and Magini's arch at its highest point would
be the above height from it. This height does not de-
crease at once, but is maintained for about two inches
and three-eights on the long axis, and on each side of
the central point, after which it gradually and steadily
decreases to the margins. Doubtless no one who has
seen a fine work by Maggini can help wondering why
the Amatis or anybody else kept on arching fiddles to
such an extent, and for so long a time, after his name
and fame were so widely spread as to make people curious
to see his work. But so it was, and the reason is not
far to seek. It can be found at almost any stage in the
history of fiddle-making, and is more closely associated
with individuality and opinionativeness than with tech-
nical skill. Maggini never seems to have varied in his
arching from the time when he was twenty years of age
until he laid down his tools, and it would be, beyond
question, a serious blunder to disguise from oneself that
nowhere can be seen anything grander or more majestic
than the lines which are visible in his work. The
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 97
strength of his broad arching seems to claim for him a
place side by side with Stradivari. Another peculiarity
is seen in his sound holes, which are intensely Gothic in
feeling. They are wide, and inclined at such an angle,
that two straight lines, one drawn through the middle of
each opening, parallel to, and equi-distant from their
edges, would, if produced, intersect each other at the centre
of the top edge of the violin. The corners in the upper
and lower circles of the sound holes have not the broad
terminals of later and Cremonese makers. They are
finished square, but narrow, and in many cases, appear
almost pointed, but that is more the result of wear, and,
perhaps, interference, than design. His varnish is a
yellow, having a slightly red 'tint, and is chiefly spirit
varnish, but he also used oil varnish of similar colour,
and sometimes it is a brownish red. A great many of
his backs are slab backs. The outline corners of the
middle bouts are very short and stunted, but not on
that account ungraceful, while the middle bouts them-
selves are rather shallow, and formed by a simple curve,
which almost looks like part of a circle, except towards
the lower corners, where the curve is slightly elongated.
A great number of Maggini's instruments are double
purfled, and have also decorations in purfling on the
back, some at top and bottom, and some in the centre.
These decorations take the form of a conventional
trefoil, finishing off the limbs of a St. Andrew's Cross in
the centre, and are all done with purfling. The decora-
tion varies. Sometimes a lozenge is projected between the
limbs of the cross, and sometimes the trefoil gives place
to three small squares. Of course these decorations
98 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
have been copied, and reproduced in the imitations more
or less accurately. Some of his violins have only a
single line of purfling, like ordinary instruments. It is
supposed that he never dated his tickets.
MEDARD, NICOLAS, Nancy and Paris, about 1655.
One of the finest of French copyists of Amati so far
as appearance goes. Beautiful wood, and fine, rich,
golden red varnish. The reproductions by this maker
are really as faithful as one could wish. The sound holes
are finely imitated, and the choice of wood quite of a
high class. There were a number of makers of this
name from early in 1600. Toussaint-Medard, Antoine
Medard, Fra^ois, and Nicolas. Their instruments are
very rare.
MONTAGNANA, DoMENico, Cremona and Venice.
This maker is supposed to have been a fellow pupil or
workman in Nicolas Amati's shop, along with Stradivari.
There is no doubt about the quality of his work. It stands
in line with the finest. The outlines of his violins are
almost identical with those of Nicolas Amati's best
model, except that at the upper and lower bouts they
are slightly fuller, while the inclination of his sound
holes is distinctly outward towards the lower corners.
The middle bouts are also deeper and longer, and the
corners fine and full. The arching is of the Amati type.
There are very . few specimens known to exist. His
'cellos are really grand, the outline sometimes in
contrast to that of his violins appearing to droop some-
what from the shoulders, and in other instances, being
fuller and finer. There is a certain feeling of parsimoni-
ousness in the outline of his bigger instruments, with
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 99
regard to which the character of the wood may have had
something to do. His varnish is magnificent of a
beautiful red orange, or deep golden red. His wood is
always of the very finest, and his instruments are so
scarce, that they are probably unobtainable except at
prices for which one could get very good specimens of
the greater Cremonese.
NICOLAS, DIDIER (Aine). The best of a family of
Mirecourt violin makers. He was born in Mirecourt,
1757, and died there in 1833. His genuine instruments
are very good violins by this time. He copied Stradivari.
Varnish a fine, lively, yellowish brown, .sometimes
slightly red. He has good margins, but rather irregular
purfling. Tone very good. This maker was in fashion
at one time, and his own violins are fashionable yet for
that matter, but one result of his vogue is that a ver)'
large number of instruments are branded with his mark,
although he had nothing to do with them. His brand,
" A la ville de Cremonne D. Nicolas aine " is formed
into a triangle, with a small circle having D. N. and a
small cross inside, placed in the middle of the triangle.
He was succeeded by his son Joseph, who signed his own
violins " J. Nicolas fils," and the widow of the latter
sold the business, and the right to use the brands to
H. Derazy, a Mirecourt maker already mentioned.
H2
100 THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
NORMAN, BARAK, London. 1683 1740. A highly
artistic maker of viols, violas, violoncellos, and violins.
His work is often of a very refined character, with
fruity decorations of a tasteful description. The style
of his violins deserves the highest commendation except
in the cutting of ^the sound holes, which are very much
below'par in the matter of design. But in other respects,
the lines on which the instruments are built are exceedingly
fine. His varnish is really nowhere by this time in point of
colour, but it is of good quality. He was a partner of
Nathaniel Cross, already mentioned, at " The Bass Viol-
in St. Paul's Church Yard, London."
OTTO, JACOB AUGUSTUS, Halle and Jena. This maker
was a pupil of Ernst, already mentioned, and is chiefly
known for his work on the violin. I never saw any of his
instruments. He had also four sons, who carried on the
business or businesses, which were established by one or
two of them in above and other places, but their work is
hardly known, apparently, except by their father.
PANORMO. A family of violin makers, about the
earlier members of whom there is a great amount of
confusion. Vincent, the first bearer of the cognomen, is
supposed to have been a native of Palermo, in Sicily,
where he is said to have been born in the beginning of
the eighteenth century, and to have gone to Paris about
1735, where he attained a splendid reputation. His
tickets there date from 1738 to about 1/78, namely forty
years, according to one authority, while, according to
another, he was only a few years in Paris, and only a
few violins are dated from it. He visited Ireland also,
it is said, and made instruments there from an old
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. IOI
billiard table (maple) which he bought. At any rate,
he appears to have been a maker working under stress
of canvas, and from hand to mouth. He made magni-
ficent double basses, some of which, are, however, of
very poor wood. But his workmanship is always fine.
The appearance of his instruments varies much. Some-
times his varnish is a splendid rich amber, almost
worthy of Cremona, and at other times, as if he had
chosen altogether different materials to make it. The
style of his work is splendid ; very full margins one
might almost say too full. His favourite model is
Stradivari, but he copied Guarnerius and Amati as well.
Indeed, he did pretty nearly anything he was asked to
do, and, it is quite evident, he changed about a good
deal. As I have said, tickets in Paris fiddles are found
from 1738 to 1778, and I have seen fiddles having
Palermo tickets and London tickets between these
dates, and to crown all, it is said that he died in 1813.
If all these dates refer to the same Vincent Panormo, he
appears to have attained a ripe old age. There were
also a number of Panormos after him three sons,
Joseph, George Louis, and Edward, the first and second
being good violin makers. George Louis also for bows
and guitars. The last of the Panormos died a few
months ago, at Brighton, in very poor circumstances.
PARKER, DANIEL, London, 1715 1785. This is one
of our fine English makers. His tone is pure and clear,
and in his varnish he has caught a great deal of the
brightness of the Italians, although he has not caught
the pate. It is very rich and pulpy-looking. His violins
show very full margins, which is a characteristic of the
IO2 THE FIDDLE FAN'CIER S GUIDE.
better class of Italians, and his sound holes are cut in a
very masterly way. His choice of wood also displays great
judgment -and a fine eye for Italian style. In some
instances, his varnish is of a dull red, and a great many of
his instruments appear to have been made for the music
shops, and to have been sold under other names.
PERRY, THOMAS, Dublin, 1767 1800. This maker has
certainly turned out many good violins and some of them
merit high praise in every respect. The tone is sweet and
clear. Workmanship generally most excellent. Scrolls
very fine. Varnish usually almost colourless, but of good
quality, and quite transparent. Copied Amati largely,
but, like many a good copyist of the same school, the
droop in the top part of his outlines shows pretty clearly
where his model came from namely from some of the
finest German copyists, but not from an original Amati.
About 1820 he became a partner with William Wilkinson,
and the firm was Perry and Wilkinson for a period of
about ten or fifteen years.
PIERRAY, CLAUDE, Paris, 1714 1730. Well made,
but somewhat thin-wooded violins were produced by
this maker. Red varnish of fairly good appearance.
Tone of rather poor quality.
PIQUE, F. L., Paris, 1788 1822. A fine maker, whose
instruments are of remarkably good style. His favourite
model was Stradivari, and he certainly made exceedingly
correct copies. Tone very fine. The wood is all excel-
lent in such instruments as I have seen. His margins
are beautifully full, and his corners and sound holes
exceedingly well designed. The varnish, although some-
times somewhat " gummy " in appearance, is often of
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 103
good quality and transparency, and of a colour which
may be described as of a nice brown.
PLANE, WALTER, Glasgow, 1820 1860 or later. A
very fair Scotch maker who turned out neat and taste-
ful work, and who could, with a model before him, copy
an old master with considerable skill, but who never
was in a position to be particularly choice about his
wood. I have known very good Amati copies by him.
Light yellow varnish.
ROMBOUTS, P., Amsterdam, 1720 1740. I cannot say
that I admire this maker's work, although it may be called
good in its way. It might be described as "fat and fine,"
but his purfling is very careless. I have not, however,
seen much of his work, but in what I have seen the
varnish had a dry resinous look which was not pleasant.
RAYMAN, JACOB, London. 1620 1650. This maker's
large work merits the highest praise. Some of his
'cellos for the excellence of the wood and dignified char-
acter of the design deserve to be placed in line with the
best. I cannot say so much for his violins. They are
pretty enough in some respects, but the outline of such
as I have seen is very poor, as is also the design of his
sound holes. These might, indeed, be called disastrous.
The workmanship is good, but had his reputation
depended on the appearance of his violins it would never
have reached the point to which it attained. Fortu-
nately, his big instruments show us, beyond a possibility
of error, what he really could do, and raise him to the
rank of an artiste in his calling, while some of the wood
which he uses in this large work is as fine as anything
to be seen.
104 THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
ROGERI, GIAMBATTISTA, (commonly called G. B.
Rugerius) was a native of Bologna but it is not known
when he was born. He was a pupil of, or, at least, a
workman with, Nicolas Amati about the same time as
Stradivari, and made remarkably fine violins on his own
account when he started business. It is not known
precisely when he began in Cremona after leaving the
service of Amati, but after 1660 he was established in
Brescia and continued in business there until after 1730.
His instruments are very fine, have the finest wood, and
the finest varnish, and it is said that many of the in-
struments which we now call Nicolas Amati's were
made by him a very likely thing no doubt the same
may be said of all the great pupils of Nicolas. G. B's
instruments are modelled very much after the style of
Amati, of exceedingly fine wood, and highly finished in
all but the purfling, which often looks as if carelessly
done. The figure of his backs is often quite striking.
His margins are full and flat. There is a charming look
about his sound holes which it is not very easy to describe.
They are of the N. Amati style, but the inner edge looks
like a beautiful, clean, straight cut for a considerable
distance before it merges into the lower curve, or turns
round to the top corner. His varnish is fine and not
unlike that of his master. His 'cellos are magnificent
instruments, and his varnish on them is not always so
transparent, besides leaning to brown.
ROGERI, PIETRO, GIACOMO. A son of the proceeding
whose special excellence lay in tenors, 'cellos, and double
basses. His work is said to be very little, if at all, inferior
to his father's, but I am not in a position to speak of it.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 105
RUGIKRI, FRANCESCO, Cremona. This maker was a
pupil of Hieronymus Amati and no relative of the above
Bolognese family. He was thus of a somewhat earlier
school namely that in which Nicholas Amati was him-
self trained. His violins are very beautiful, of the A.
and H. Amati type, with the pretty, ridgy arch, the
beautiful finish, fine varnish, and pure tone. But he
did not always make like his master, and gradually
crept away from the model until as we get on to 1690,
or a little before, we find him leaving it almost entirely
becoming flatter in his arching, enlarging his model,
and changing and lengthening the design of his sound
holes. Then later a year or two back he goes in his
violins to the old, beautiful, sweet toned arch. His scrolls
have large-headed volutes. His outline is not quite so
graceful and complete as that of his master or of his fellow
pupil, and his middle bouts are pretty deep and long,
but they are exceedingly handsome instruments for all
that, and very rare indeed. Many of his backs are cut
on the slab. His varnish is of a somewhat dull golden
brown. His tickets run, " Francesco Rugier detto il
Per in Cremona."
RUGIER, VINCENZO, Cremona. Son of preceding.
He also used the phrase " detto il Per " in his tickets to
distinguish his work, presumably, from that of the
Rogerius family. So, at least, it is thought. His work
is not reckoned so good as his father's, and is called
coarse by some, but anything that I have seen was of
quite a refined style, and displayed a most excellent
judgment in the selection of wood. I have seen wood in
his instruments not in the least unworthy of even the
106 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
finest grained examples of the Amati, who was his
father's master, and with a varnish for colour and
quality not second to the same distinguished makers.
There were other members of these two families of
whose work I do not know anything. One is named
Giacinto, and he calls himself in his ticket a son of
Francesco, and there is another called Giambattista
Ruggeri, who also calls himself " il Per," but whether he
was a scion of the Bolognese Rogerius, or of the
Cremonese Rugier, is not known. They are both credited
with good work, but there has been considerable confu-
sion with regard to these two families in consequence of
the names having been similarly spelt, and their precise
relations to the two have not yet been denned.
SAUNIER, Paris. About 1770. This maker is chiefly
known because he is credited with being the instructor
of F. L. Pique.
SANCTUS, SERAPHIN, Venice, 1710 1748. Santo Sera-
fino was an exquisite maker in many ways. The artistic
and picturesque functions of the violin maker were un-
doubtedly exercised by him to a considerable extent, and
anything more lovely so far as regards out ward appearance
than some of his work both big and little could scarcely
be found. His double basses are most magnificent, but
adjectives of that kind are not quite fine enough to de-
scribe his other classes. His basses are his best for tone,
the smaller instruments not being quite equal in that
respect to the hopes their splendid appearance raises.
For beautiful wood, finished work, splendid varnish a
rich and brilliant golden brown if Santo Serafino does
not rival Stradivari, it is difficult to say who does. His
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. IOy
margins and corners are exquisitely finished the
margins, being rather narrow and, altogether, he makes
bright and beautiful instruments such as even Stradivari
might have been proud of had they only possessed the
proper tone. In the latter respect they are considerably
behind, but not in any other. His instruments are some-
what rare, and his tickets run " Sanctus Seraphin
Utinensis fecit Venetijs anno." He was born in Udine,
a town of considerable size in the extreme north-east of
Italy, and far enough from Cremona where the two
famous men lived whose works he made his models.
Where he learnt his business is not known. He
went from Udine to Venice. " Utinensis " means
" Udinese" just as " Cremonensis " means " Cremonese."
He copied Amati and Stradivari.
SILVESTRE, PIERRE, Lyons. Born 1801. Died 1859.
This maker was born at Somerwiller. He was taught
violin making by Blaise of Mirecourt. He afterwards
went to Paris, and worked first for Nicolas Lupot, and
afterwards for Gand. He is a splendid maker, using
magnificent wood, and very good varnish. His outlines
are of surpassing beauty, and the finish of his work
beyond reproach. The fluting of his heads is bounded
at the bottom by a quaint line which slightly squares off
the corners. The corners of the middle bouts are full
and perfect, his sound holes most graceful, and the tone
of his instruments is of exceedingly fine quality. He
had a brother who was taught by the same Mirecourt
maker, and who went to Paris also, and entered the
service of J. B. Vuillaume. This brother, Hippolyte,
and Pierre became partners, and started business in
IO8 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
Lyons in 1829. In 1848 Hippolyte retired, and Pierre
continued until his death. When the brothers were
together, the tickets ran in Latin, " Petrus et Hippolytus
Silvestre fratres, fecerunt Lugdun," and when Pierre
was by himself he used his native tongue, " Pierre
Silvestre a Lyon." Pierre made a goodly number of
violins himself, but they appear to have been picked up
rapidly, as they are now somewhat rare. The firm's
instruments are not quite so good.
STAINER, JACOBUS, Absam near Inspruck. This great
maker was born on July I4th, 1621, at Hall a short
distance from Absam where he settled, and where he
died in 1683. He was ^ rst P u * to work with an organ
builder in Inspruck named Daniel Herz who appears
to have been also an organ player. It is said that
Stainer's constitution was not robust enough for this
calling although the work is not particularly heavy
and that Herz recommended him to try violin making.
We are next informed that the parish priest of Absam
was instrumental in getting Stainer placed at work in
Cremona, and with Nicolas Amati. This incident in
Stainer's life is supposed to be an apocryphal interpola-
tion, because no particular resemblance to Cremonese has
been found by the doubters in what they considered to be his
work when theyplaced it along side of that of the Cremonese
makers. Those who are not inclined wholly to discredit
the story, suggest that it is just possible the doubters
never really saw Stainer's finest work, and have come
to their conclusions from observations of instruments
which were not his at all. This is not an unlikely
explanation of the matter, for a fine, genuine Stainer
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN.' MAKERS. log
violin is almost the rarest thing in riddles. People who
talk about Stainers as if they were familiar with them
to their finger tips are generally talking about instru-
ments which have never had the impress of his tools. I am
not now referring to the tubby, or even to the wtubby,
violins, which are usually called Stainers all over the
country, but to good, well made, and really old, instru-
ments of considerable merit sometimes Italian, some-
times German, sometimes English, and sometimes
French, which responsible people often accept, and speak
of, as Stainer's. The pampered instrument, which has
been in one family for over a hundred years, is not the
only guilty thing in this connection ; and even if it were,
its pretensions would be quite lost on a London dealer,
and perhaps as completely on a provincial dealer, if
he happen to have had a little real experience. But
there is another, and much more dangerous candidate
for Bavarian honours, wearing the remains of a nice
golden-tinted sizing, and a suspicion of cherry-coloured
varnish you can almost see the bloom of it hiding away
in the shadow of the corners and had the details of
Stainer's life only been known to us a little earlier,
together with the knowledge that he was a kind of
peripatetic wholesale maker, who attended fairs, etc.,
for the purpose of disposing of his stock, we might have
had this instrument handed down to us as the " Market
Stainer " a fitting companion to the " Prison Joseph,"
and the " Early Maggini." Though a finely-finished
violin, however, it is generally too delicate about the
edges, too narrow in the margins, and having sound
holes too much of all sorts. It has little or no resem-
IIO THE FIDDLE FANCIERS GUIDE.
blance to Cremonese work, and just as little to Stainer's,
and is, I fancy, the kind of violin which makes people
imagine that Stainers are by no means uncommon, and
which clearly proves to them the absence of Italian
influence in his work. It appears to me that the Italian
influence in his work is very evident, and I should not
be greatly surprised if the old tradition that he did
business in Cremona at one time, had some foundation in
fact. It seems a far cry from Absam, but it is really little
more than a journey from Liverpool to London would be
to us. In those days there was considerable traffic from
market to market, and fair to fair, and had he even
started on foot on the old road over the Brenner pass, he
could have done the whole distance merely as a tourist
in three or four days, but in such intervening towns as
Schonberg, Sterzing, Brixen, Klausen, Botzen, Neu-
markt, Trent, there would be lots of opportunities for
such business as he appears to have cultivated. The
Albanis were in Botzen even in his own day, and there
are traces of a large fiddle trade between the Tyrol and
Cremona, of which a maker, such as he was, would not
be slow to take advantage, whether he made all the
instruments himself or not. Trent half way was
one of the busiest and gayest towns in the Tyrol.
Roveredo, was another lively, commercial place, and
when there, one is within hearing of the heartbeat of the
classical fiddle country. Many a bit of fine Tyrol wood
has, no doubt, gone down to Brescia and Cremona, and
throughout Lombardy, and elsewhere in Italy, over that
old post road, across the Brenner. In some such
fashion, one might link Absam with Cremona ; but it is
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. Ill
not a very satisfactory way of dealing with the subject.
There is not, however, the slightest doubt that on his
finest work, the varnish is of exactly the same character
as is found on Cremonese instruments. The violins
which were formerly called " Elector " Stainer's, because
it was supposed that he made one for each of the German
Electors, are magnificent instruments. The story about
them is a bit of romantic rubbish, woven into the old
biographical accounts of him, and has been exploded
for a few years now. But there is no mistake about the
violins. They are really grand, about 14^ inches
from margin to margin lengthways. Width across the
bottom about 8 inches, across the top, about 6. The
margins are of good width, and gracefully thrown up a
little from the purfling. The edges are circular. The
corners are not so pronounced as those of Nicolas Amati,
and the purfling is rather wider than usual with Stainer.
It is not, however, so very neat as in many an inferior
maker, but of an entirely satisfactory character for all
that. There is a perceptible groove running round the
margins of both back and front. The tops of the sound
holes are circular, and so are the lower turns, but larger.
The arching is greater on the front than on the back.
It starts to fall longitudinally at the same points from upper
and lower margins, but as the arch below the sound
holes is perceptibly higher than it is above them, the
fall at the former point seems more sudden than
appears above, where it seems to occupy about a third
more of the distance in falling. The tone is of a lovely
quality ; full, round, and resonant. He made magni-
ficent double basses. He was married on yth October,
112 THE FIDDLK FANCIERS GUIDE.
1645, to a Margaretha Holzhammer, and had nine
children. He was unfortunate in his business, fell into
debt, and died, out of his mind, in 1683. His house is
pointed out in Absam, and the bench to which he was
bound when he died mad. His label is written.
STORIONI, Lorenzo, 1751 1798. A Cremonese maker
who is generally called the last of the fine school. His
instruments cannot be called pretty, but the wood is very
fine, and gives a most excellent tone. He employed a
spirit varnish which sometimes appears to have actually
sunk into the wood. Many of his instruments are of
very broad grain in the upper table, and he certainly is
not graceful in his outline, as, frequently, his work looks
almost shapeless. Many instruments having this broad
grain and unattractive appearance are called Storioni
work. His model is Joseph Guarnerius. He made
some magnificent double basses, and the tickets
" Laurentius Storioni fecit Cremonae " are not so often
genuine as one could wish.
STRADIVARI, ANTONIO, Cremona. This maker is, as
every one probably knows, the greatest artiste in the
matter of violins that has ever lived. The year of his
birth is supposed to be 1644, and the place Cremona.
The interest which his work has aroused regarding him
has been so keen that people, for lack of information
directly concerning himself, have taken to hunting up
the name in old registers in Cremona for the purpose of
finding, presumably, how far back they can trace it.
Up to the present the year 1213 is the earliest recorded
date concerning an entry of a name bearing a likeness
to that of our great fiddle maker. In a practical work
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. IIJ
like this, lucubration of that kind may be limited
to the statement that bearers of the name ot
Stradivari have occupied honourable positions in
Cremonese history from very early times, but no direct
relationship has been traced between Antonio, the
violin maker, and these distinguished people. His
fame is not much in need of it, having spread
far enough and wide enough in all conscience
through the merits of his own work. Indeed, those
lawyers, doctors, etc., etc., of old times have had their
names rescued from oblivion solely because of Antonio-
Stradivari, the violin maker, and we may therefore in a
brief work like this leave them in peace. Stradivari's-
father and mother were Allesandro Stradivari and Anna
Moroni, and they had another son, Joseph Julius Caesar,,
whose birth in Cremona has been found registered.
The entry of Antonio's has not been found. Stradivari
was twice married, first to a widow lady, a Signora
Capra in 1667, who died in 1698. The lady had a
daughter before her marriage with Stradivari, and there
were six children born to them. . On the 3rd June, 1680,
Stradivari had bought the house in the square of St..
Domenic and it remained in the possession of his heirs
for forty years after his death, when it was sold to some
persons called Ancina, and in 1801 changed hands,
again, this time becoming the property of a Signer
Bono. Fifty years after this it was purchased from his
heirs by one Vigani, then in 1862 by a draper called
d'Orleans. It is at present No. i, Piazza. Roma and is
a modest house of three floors looking over the square.
The shop floor has two windows at one side and the
114 THE FIDDLE FANCIERS GUIDE.
door at the other. The upper floors have, each, three
windows. In these unpretending premises the great
violin maker resided and worked for nearly fifty-eight
years, having on the 24th August, 1699, married his
second wife, Antonia Zambelli. Five children were
born of this second union, of whom only two followed
their father's calling. These were Francesco, born ist
July, 1671, and Omobono, born i4th Nov. 1679. The
exact date of Stradivari's death is not known, but he
was carried out of his house on the igth December, 1737,
and laid, not in the family tomb he had prepared for
himself, but in one Francesco Vitani's vault in the
Chapel of the Rosary Church of St. Domenic. His
second wife had preceeded him in death by nine months.
Stradivari is supposed to have been a pupil of Nicolas
Amati. His name has not been found entered in any
return as an inmate of Nicolas Amati's as is the case
with Andreas Guarnerius that other pupil of his. But
observation of his work reveals the fact that he made
violins which bear Amati's name, that is as early as
1666, at which date he also began to put in his own
name. If we place implicit reliance on the integrity of
these tickets -a matter which, by the way, it is im-
possible to decide and if we believe that they have
remained in the violins in which they were originally
placed, we are thrown into the utmost confusion in
attempting to trace any gradual development in his
work. Since his death, no person has shown himself
possessed of any specially authentic data from which
could be deduced the theories regarding his various
models which have for so long a time prevailed. When
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 115
probed to the bottom these theories are found to be,
very largely, guess-work. It is very reasonable guess-
work in a great many cases, but it never is more than
that. It is, of course, highly reasonable to suppose that
while he was if he was in the employment of Nicolas
Amati, he made violins as Nicolas Amati liked them to
be made, and that after he left his employer he would
probably continue to make them somewhat after the
same style, unless, or until, he discovered something
better. It is not however a very profitable subject of
discussion, and is now largely confined to one or two
authorities on the subject, and to those who do not
yet know very much about it. What chiefly concerns
the fiddle fancier is that Stradivari had several models,
but when, during his active working life on his own
account, he began, interrupted, renewed, or finally dis-
continued, the use of any one of them is more than any
person can now tell.
What is considered to be his earliest style after he
ceased working for N. Amati if he ever did work for
him is the amatise model. That is, an instrument
having, to a certain extent, the long, and somewhat
ridgy, but graceful arch, which is characteristic of Amati
style. This model he is supposed to have used until
about 1690, or a year or so after. Then from 1690 or so
until 1700, he is supposed to have made what are called
" long " Strads. That is, a model having a total length
of about 14^ inches. From about 1700 onwards what
is called his " grand " period prevails, in which the
length is generally somewhat less, while the widths of the
upper and lower portions are slightly greater. These
I 2
Il6 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
are the general appearances of what are known as his
three periods, but whether the instruments were actually
made in this succession or not is a matter which cannot
now be decided. In some of his so-called early instru-
ments, he employed a kind of poplar for the back. There
are very few examples of the amatise model in this
country, and the " long " pattern is quite as great a
rarity. The distance from corner to corner of the
middle bouts in the " long " model is about 3^-in. rather
under than over and in the " grand " pattern it is 3 in.
The sound holes in both " long" and "grand " are the same,
and it is very difficult to give any indication in writing of
their perfect beauty. The grain of the wood in the upper
table of a Stradivari violin is generally of a medium
width, but it is frequently very close and regular. I
have, now and again, seen it as wide as is found in
Joseph del Jesu's violins. Throughout all these styles
there is great variety in individual instruments, and
solidity of construction, combined with refined finish is
characteristic of them all. In the "long" pattern the
middle bouts are cut in very sweetly. The top curve of
these does not, as in the case of the "grand " pattern,
appear to almost rise a little into the upper portion of
the violin before it turns down. In the " grand " pattern
this gives these bouts somewhat of the appearance of an
ellipse of more pronounced character, and as an instance
of how Stradivari reverted to what is called a previous
style, the middle bouts of the " grand " pattern of, say
1716, or thereabout, may be found in instruments of 1690,
of distinctly amatise model. The outline of a " grand "
pattern is fuller than that of a " long," and gives to the
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 117
instrument the appearance of having what it really has
a greater approach to equality of dimension between
the upper and lower portions of the body. The top
curve of a " grand " does not droop so quickly from the
level of its start at the neck as that of a " long," but,
though constantly falling, keeps travelling out a bit, so to
speak, nearer the level of its start. The result of this is
that fulness already referred to.
The varnish of Stradivari is of various colours. That
of his so-called early work is often of a beautiful *golden
brown, golden yellow, and also a kind of cherry brown,
The " long " has much the same range of tint in golden
brown tinged with red. The " grand," as far as I have
seen, has a wider range of colour, from a clear straw
tint (almost) through toast brown to golden brown,
orange, red orange, and golden red. All these are
extremely transparent and beautiful, and soft to the
touch like velvet. Such descriptions can, however, only
apply in a general sense, for I have seen them in all
styles, just as I have seen a highly arched back which
might, indeed, almost be called amitise dating from the
very heart of the " grand " period, while I have also
seen a model of about 1680, repeated line for line more
than forty years afterwards so far as tickets are con-
cerned. The quality of the varnish is almost always
fine. Sometimes it is of a dull, scumbly character, and
it is barely possible that the few instruments where I
observed it of this appearance, had been treated to some
cleansing process which might easily cause the dis-
. appearance of the polish. There is also some variety
in the pate of the varnish. On many instruments it is
n8 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
thin, soft, and gleaming, on others, thick and luscious,
like a flaming ruby gum. On a back which has been
treated by Stradivari himself to imitate the picturesque
appearance of age, it can be seen vanishing away in
thinnest scales at the borders of wear. In one of the
earliest instruments I ever saw, the margins were large,
and that appears to have been in almost all cases, a sine
qua non, but not in all. Fourteen years later, they grew
small, while in the immediately proceeding year they
were large and magnificent. They are generally of a
handsome width, and, when not worn away, there is
present a fine sense of solidity, combined with lightness
of construction. The scrolls are of the finest and most
artistic contour, having broad and full sides for the peg
box, and they are usually of the same material apparently
as that employed for the back. But the grafting of new
necks has given opportunities of changing scrolls in earlier
times which are now well past recall in a great many
instances. These changes have been made for the
purpose, sometimes, of supplying a well preserved scroll
to a violin whose head had been either lost, broken, or
worn down. A great many of them are worn down on
the side of the fourth string because of the habit, not
yet extinct, of placing that side of the volute against
some firm support while tuning up. In some cases that
wear has been so excessive as to tempt makers and
owners to have a fresh piece inserted, and the contour
in some measure restored. When the wood is well
matched, and the work accomplished in an artistic
manner, it is quite a right thing to do. Stradivari
scrolls vary a little in appearance, early ones having
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. IIQ
deeper fluting at the back than later work but their
dimensions do not vary much. From the bottom of the
fluting at the back to the apex of the volute,
they measure about four inches. Their width across
from boss-edge to boss-edge is about if inches. The
" boss " is the protuberant terminal of the volute,
which sticks out on each side. It is sometimes called
the " ear," and at other times the "eye," and it would
be just as rational to call it the " nose," or the " mouth."
The width of the widest part of the fluting is about an
inch, and that of the narrowest part of the volute at the
top is about ^ of an inch. Width of the first curl of the
volute, measuring, as it were, right through from boss-
edge to boss-edge, and along their tops is about i^g- in.
Width of second curl across top, and in same direction,
i- in. Depth of sculpture of first curl, at boss, about
^ in. Width of under turn of volute at its junction
withpegbox i in. Greatest width ofpegbox, at the nut,
f- in., and then diminishes to f in. at top. Width of fluting
at back, opposite bosses, f in. Depth of side of pegbox
across second peghole from top about i in. Depth from
back of second curl at level of boss tops to fluting about
i^in., and then diminishing gradually, as it turns round
to where it overhangs pegbox at same level to Jin., and
further diminishing until lost in the boss on the up cut,
the sculpture widening from the front until it is flush
with the boss end. In some the cutting is hollow from
about J of an inch above the A peghole. The
thickness of the pegbox sides is about /^ f an i ncn -
These measurements may be of service to the fancier,
although, of course, they must not be understood to be
I2O THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
an unvarying standard. Viewed sideways a Stradivari
scroll looks very perfect, curling in towards the boss in
ever lessening depth until the cutting ends just as it
reaches the top. The undercut where the pegbox joins
the volute is as highly finished as any other portion, and
comes slightly out to meet the under turn in a most
graceful manner. The wood is usually very well marked
and the whole appearance of very refined, and strong
character. Of course in those cases where the splicing
of a scroll has been carelessly done, and the pegbox
sides, or cheeks, thinned away on the inside to conceal
a poor job, the front view of that portion will not
harmonise with what is said of their thicknesses, and
where the joint has been made too high up, it will
often destroy in a distressing manner the beautiful
appearance one expects to fine even there.
STRADIVARI, FRANCESCO, Cremona. Born the ist
February, 1671. Died nth May, 1743. This maker was
a son of Antonio, and the elder of the only two members
of his large family who followed their father's calling.
As a maker Francesco did not attain to the level of his
father, which is not saying very much in his dispraise,
seeing that none of the other great Cremonese makers
permanently attained to that level. What I have seen
of Francisco's work was heavier in style, but it had
exactly the same quality of varnish as is found on his
father's instruments. There, however, the resemblance
may be said to cease, although that circumstance will
not, as the fancier knows, lessen the interest in
Francesco's work, for he has qualities which are personal
to himself. His margins for instance are relieved in the
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 121
most beautiful manner like a thickish cord rising up
from the marginal groove and his edges are rounded
very sweetly. His arching is somewhat after that of
his father in the earlier style of the "grand" pattern
not so graceful in any point, but having a little of the
paternal feeling for all that. The cutting in of his
middle bouts betrays the same influence, but they are
not so artistic and have the appearence of being deeper
and longer which they really are except in regard to
the father's model, which is called the "long" pattern.
His varnish in what I have seen is of a reddish,
golden brown, soft and transparent like his father's, but
not so brilliant. His sound holes appear more straightly
cut than his father's, and have their terminal wings not
so square or broad. They are also placed a little
lower. The corners of his middle bouts are also more
pointed. His scrolls are slightly different, the volute
appearing to be rather long, but not ungraceful, in front,
and narrowing steadily towards the top. He made very
few instruments, and they are exceedingly rare. His
tickets run " Franciscus Stradivarius Cremonensis
Filius. Antonii faciebat anno."
STRADIVARI, OMOBONO, Cremona. Born i4th Novem-
ber, 1679. Died gth June, 1742. This maker is the
only other son of Antonio who became a violin maker.
I am not acquainted with his work. He appears to
have been chiefly employed in making repairs. There
is a ticket which, it is said, he used, and which runs
" Omobonus Stradiuarius figlij Antonij Cremone," etc.
I should very much doubt that he ever was such a
donkey, or at least, that he used such an inscription
122 THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
twice. The clerical patrons of the family were too
numerous to permit such a thing, I should say.
TECCHLER, DAVID, Rome. This was a fine maker,
who if we may trust to the accuracy of inscriptions on
tickets was born in Salzburg in 1666. Anything that
I have seen of his work was of very high character and
altogether Italian in style. It is said, however, that he
made highly arched instruments when he was in
Salzburg, which is very likely. He certainly was in
Rome when he was about thirty years old, and his work
was Italian in character then. It displays finely and
massively moulded corners and margins, and altogether
a noble and grand appearance. The wood is of the
finest kind and beautifully figured, back and sides. His
violoncellos are superb instruments. His varnish is a
golden brown of somewhat scumbly appearance. How
long he lasted I cannot say. It is generally supposed
until about 1742 or 3. It is also said that he worked in
Venice and had a quarrel there with the other makers,
who threatened him in some way, so that he removed
to Rome. I am only acquainted with his Roman
work.
TESTORE, C. G., Milan, 1690 1715. Well finished
instruments of Guarnerius model. Brown varnish.
TESTORE, C. A., Milan, 1720 1745. Eldest son of
preceeding. He made very good copies of Guarnerius,
Amati, and Stradivari. Good tone. Varnish of a some-
what thickish brown pate. He made fine 'cellos and
tenors.
TESTORE, P. A., Milan, 1720 1759. Similar work
to preceding. Varnish yellow, and yellowish brown.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 123
THIBOUT, J. P., Paris. Born at Caen, 1777. Died
near Paris, 1856. This was an excellent French maker
who started business in Paris in 1807. His workman-
ship is very fine, and distinctive in many instances by his
corners, where the joinings of the sides are not made in
the usual way, but square, through carrying out the
corner blocks, and facing apex of these until about an
eighth of inch surface appears. His margins are quiet
and finished looking, and fall over, so to say, on the
sides, not greatly projecting over these. His sound
holes have something of the straight inner cut of Rogerius.
His arching is flat, and his varnish a red mahogany,
with a very slight tinge of brilliant brick red. His
scrolls are beautiful, not so deep nor so long as other
French or Italian specimens, but of exquisite line and
curve in profile. Strong pegbox, and most finished
volute. His tone is French, powerful, and good.
Altogether his style is restrained, strong, and artistic,
and his finish very fine.
THOMPSON. Name of a number of London violin
makers beginning with " Charles and Samuel Thompson
in St. Paul's Church Yard, London," as the tickets run.
None of the work is very good, that of Charles and
Samuel being of poor outline, poor wood, poor, tasteless
sound holes. Everything about it, indeed, more or less,
mean. Thin tone, and weak, inartistic scroll. Their
instruments have generally a pronounced groove round
margins both back and front, and the varnish is of a
lifeless, maple stain tint. This firm carried on business
about 1720 48. Other firms of the name are Jno.
Thompson, 1753 9, and thereabout. R. Thompson
124 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
about 1749, Thompson and Son (S. and P.) about 1764.
Some of the work of these firms is rather better than the
founders', but none of it calls for particular mention so
far as I have known it.
TOBIN, RICHARD, London, 1800 36. This was a
fairly good maker, who worked at one time for John
Betts. He died in poverty in Shoreditch. His instru-
ments are good-looking, and well varnished. He was a
pupil of Perry and Wilkinson, Dublin, and he had the
reputation of being the finest scroll cutter ever known in
this country. His scrolls are certainly very good.
TODINI, MICHELE, Rome. About 1620 1676. A
native of Saluzzo, who used to be credited with the
invention of the four-stringed contra basso, a notion
some time ago exploded.
TONONI, FELICE and GUIDO, Bologna. They made
very fine violoncellos of exquisite work and considerable
power. Their tickets run " Tononi di Bologna fecero
1 68 "
TONONI, GIOVANNI, Bologna. Son of Felice. A
better maker than preceding firm. He made large
'cellos and tenors, which are very fine, and of Nicolas
Amati model. His tickets run " Joannes de Tononi's
fecit Bononice in Platea Paviglionis anno 17 "
TONONI, CARLO, Venice, 1716 1768. Son of pre-
ceding. His violins are well shaped instruments, and
have a very good quality of varnish.
URQUHART, THOMAS, London, 1648 1666. This
maker is one of the finest of the early English school.
His work is that of an artist in all points, from
the quaint, pure cutting of the sound holes, to the
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 125.
beautiful golden varnish, which hardly can be named
second to even the best Italian.
VAILLANT, F., Paris. About 1738. This was a very
good maker, who produced some fine instruments on the
lines of Nicolas Amati. His outline is very pure, with
somewhat long middle bouts. His tickets run " Frangois
Vaillant rue de la Juiverie a Paris.' 1
VUILLAUME, J. B., Paris, 1798 1875. In some
respects this distinguished maker is the greatest that
France has ever had. In other respects he is not. He
certainly had the capacity to be the greatest in all
points, had he so chosen, but he did not so choose, with
the result that he never gained on Lupot except in one
or two points of comparatively slight importance. He
was born in Mirecourt on the yth October, 1798, and
all his biographers, without exception, state that his
father, Claude Vuillaume, was a violin maker there. I
have, myself, adopted that statement in making reference
to him elsewhere, and even the late highly esteemed
Gustave Chouquet, keeper of the museum of the
Conservatoire at Paris, has apparently drawn his
information from the same source, namely, Antoine
Vidal. It has even been recently stated that his grand-
father was a violin maker, although he does not appear
to have gone quite so far as that himself. In 1874, when
M. Vidal was writing his book, he asked Vuillaume to>
make some researches in his native town, in order to
ascertain the history of his family. What came of these
searches will be referred to presently, but long previous
to that date, namely, about 1856, when M. F. J. Fetis,
Chapel Master to the King of the Belgians, and Director
126 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
of the Brussels Conservatoire, was compiling his mono-
graph on Antonio Stradivari, mainly from material
supplied to him by Vuillaume, we find incorporated in
this work a statement that there was a Jean Vuillaume,
who had been employed in the establishment of Stradivari,
and who had made good violins from about 1700 to
1740. The only known specimen of a violin by this
maker appears to have been one which was in the
possession of J. B. Vuillaume, and which was seen by M.
Vidal, who describes it as a very common piece of work,
with painted purfling, narrow edges, and yellow varnish,
and in which no connoisseur could find the slightest
trace of the magnificent example and tuition of Stradivari.
When the researches as above referred to were made, no
trace of relationship between the two families could be
found. It is not even said that this Jean Vuillaume had
been discovered to be a real personage. However that
may be, the most remote ancestor of the family then
reported was Vuillaume's own father, Claude, who is
called a violin maker, and the 'prentice master of his
four sons, Jean Baptiste, Nicolas, Nicolas-Francis, and
Claude Fra^ois. It does not appear that the informa-
tion supplied in this way to M. Vidal was verified by
him when he published it in the year following
Vuillaume's death, namely, in 1876, and I am beginning
to fancy that J. B. Vuillaume, however clever he was as
a violin maker and dealer, was a practical joker of a some-
what serious turn of mind, or else that those to whom he
conveyed such details had failed to comprehend their
precise significance. At all events, the biographical
account of the family which is at present current from
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 11J
the pens of the late Gustave Chouquet and Antoine
Vidal, and which is adopted by all others with the
addition of a grandfather, whom these gentlemen do not
mention, is to the effect that Claude Vuillaume, born in
Mirecourt in 1771, according to Chouquet, and in 1772,
according to Vidal, was a violin maker in that town, and
the first known member of the family ; that he trained
his four sons in the business, who continued it under his
direction ; that he was a maker of trade instruments,
etc., etc., and had used as his trade mark, " Au roi
David, Paris," branded in the backs. I am now
informed that this Claude Vuillaume was not a violin
maker at all, but was what we would call the " carrier,"
between Mirecourt and Nancy. There may be people
alive in both places at the present time who will
remember the old man quite well he died in 1834 an ^
who could confirm this, I daresay, if it were necessary.
Assuming, for the nonce, that he was even a dealer in
cheap instruments in Mirecourt, what a strange fancy it
was to start a " violin " ancestry in this way ! And if
he was not a violin dealer, and had nothing whatever to
do with the business, except as the carrier of the goods from
one town to the other, what a lurid light the circumstance
throws on the eagerness to establish by some means a
connection if even only 'a nominal one between an
undoubtedly talented personality, and the glorious old
shop in Cremona. It is very unpleasant to have one's
confidence in the accuracy of biographical detail shaken
in this fashion, and although it appears that his brother,
Claude Vuillaume, never made any such pretensions and
laughed at the idea when the subject was broached in
128 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
his presence, the matter has really a much graver aspect
than that of a practical joke. If the late J. B. Vuillaume
led Vidal to believe that his father was a violin maker,
who himself trained his four sons in the art, and this
information has no foundation in fact, the circumstance
is sure to cast discredit on anything he ever said. And
further, if he, more than a quarter of a century before
that, supplied Fetis with the story of the " Jean
Vuillaume " violin and its maker's supposed connection
with Stradivari, without having any foundation for his
statements, then he certainly would be called an untrust-
worthy authority, who did not scruple to divert with the
most unpardonable audacity, the ordinary channel of
musical history in a direction which it would not other-
wise have taken in that particular respect, and people in
such an event would not be slow to believe that he did
this for purposes of self advertisement as a violin maker
and dealer.
Whether his father was a violin maker or not, he him-
self was one, and a great one, without any doubt what-
ever, and had he not descended to very reprehensible
practices in the treatment of the wood, etc., in such a
manner as could only aid in deception, he would have
occupied even a higher position than he at present holds.
In 1818 he went to Paris and began work with Francis
Chanot, who was then making his guitar-shaped violins.
Remaining there for two years, he next went to an
organ-builder named Lete, who kept a fiddle shop as
well. In four years' time he became a partner there,
and the firm was Lete and Vuillaume. Three years later
he separated from Lete and started on his own account.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 129
In 1826 he had married a lady named Adele Guesnet,
through whose acquaintances he came to know Savart.
the acousticien. Vuillaume is made to explain that when
he began business he tried to sell carefully made new
instruments instruments made with all the skill of which
he was capable but that he found they sold very cheaply
and slowly, and that the rage for old Italian violins had
set in. He suited himself to the times, and produced
old instruments, placed sham tickets in them, and found
his customers. In order to produce a prematurely old
tone, he destroyed its capacity for endurance. In order
to produce an old appearance he destroyed the wood to
a certain extent with acid. He is not the only maker
who has done this sort of thing, and his excuse is the
same as that of others, namely, "he had to live." All
things considered, this excuse does not appear to be, in
his case, quite valid. In 1825, when he was only
twenty-seven years of age, his ability procured for him a
partnership in an old established concern. In 1826, he
had married into a good family. In 1827, he had gained
a silver medal at an exhibition in Paris at a time when
Aldric, Chanot pere, C. F. Gand, and many other high
class makers were alive and working. In 1828, he had made
over one hundred and thirty violins, exclusive of tenors,
'cellos, and double basses, and in that year he started on
his own account with an excellent reputation. He was
then only twenty-nine, and I certainly cannot see that
he had much to complain of, yet in that very year he
began making those imitations of old instruments to
which I have already referred, and he confessedly made
them to satisfy the demand for " old Italians." I put it
13 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
that in view of the progress indicated above, to say that
it was with him a question of either " living by imitations
or starving by the fabrication of new violins " is simple
nonsense, unworthy of a serious historian. The true
secret of those clever productions is probably that
Vuillaume was in a hurry to make money, and it is
admitted that they were the origin of his fortune.
These instruments he sold at 12 the violins and the
'cellos at 20. He clearly does not appear to me to
have laid the foundation of his fortune in a legitimate
manner. Many people profess to believe that he did
not sell those instruments as genuine old Italian violins.
He may not always have so sold them we know al
about that nevertheless he does not occupy a higher
position in this particular respect than many a man to
whom we apply names which sound really quite harsh.
It is also said on his behalf that he was no worse than
the people who expected old Italians at such prices. I
do not think so. He did not confine himself to Strad.
and Guarnerius imitations, and in those days, and for
long after, 12 was not a small price for outside Italian
makers. Had he limited his skill to external imitation
only there would have been no ground of complaint, but
the colouring of the wood inside and out with acid, has
simply made a great many of these instruments almost
useless when combined with the thinning away in parts
which is also characteristic of them. In 1834 he had
another silver medal, and in 1839 and 1844 he had gold
medals. These were for Paris exhibits, but in 1851 he
sent to the Great Exhibition here two quartets and the
great octobasse which he had previously invented and
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 13!
which gave four notes lower than the ordinary double
bass. In this Exhibition he carried away the only
grand council medal that was given. But the grounds
upon which he got it are so curious, and display so
much ignorance on the part of the jury, that the
distinction was a very questionable one indeed.
Although I have quoted this award already in the article
Bernard Simon Fendt (which see), it will be as well to
reproduce it here. " New modes of making violins, in
such a manner that they are matured and perfected
immediately on the completion of the manufacture, thus
avoiding the necessity of keeping them for considerable
periods to develop their excellencies." It has all the
air of a splendid trade advertisement and, no doubt,
served as one. Fortunately, Vuillaume also made
violins in an absolutely legitimate manner not by any
" new mode," but by the old mode. These had all to be
developed and perfected in the usual way, namely, by
careful playing and the flight of time. These are grand
instruments of which any man might well be proud, and
they are what place him in the front rank of French
makers. His favourite model was Stradivari, but he
made copies of all the great makers, almost without
exception, and these instruments may one and all be
called chefs d'ceuvre in the highest significance of the
phrase. If they have a fault it is that the upper table
is not always strong enough to resist the pressure where
it should be able to do so. In all other respects they
are superb. His edges are properly massive and the
margins always right with the model he might be
copying. Every point of his work is of an artistic
K2
132 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
character, and he must have been a most indefatigable
worker, as he says himself that he made 3000 violins.
That does not mean that he personally made all. In
his early days he undoubtedly did so, but I imagine
that after 1829 or 30 he must have had people constantly
working for him besides his own brothers, although
every now and then he turned out a violin made entirely
by himself, or almost wholly. His early instruments are
spirit varnished, generally of a deep, red orange, and
later, he used a kind of covering which is neither spirit
varnish nor oil varnish, as we understand the terms
now-a-days. It is a sort of nondescript production
which can hardly be called a varnish at all. At this
period the colour becomes a rich red brown, appears
exceedingly well, and feels quite elastic. It has the
look of a kind of paint. His sound holes in the
Stradivari models of early days are very good, but they
are not reproductions of Stradivari fs. They are too
round in the upper curve, and too wide in the middle.
His Guarnerius models are also clever, but the sound
holes are exaggerated. The tone, however, of the latter
model is powerful and very suitable for orchestral work.
With the exception of those doctored violins, his instru-
ments are very fine specimens of violin making, and
when they are perfect, will be much sought after. He
was an inventor of one or two things which have never
come into extensive use, and was a large dealer in old
violins. He died igth February, 1875. One of his
daughters was married to the famous French violinist,
Delphin Alard. His brother Nicholas worked with
Vuillaume in Paris for about ten years and then returned
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL VIOLIN MAKERS. 133
to Mirecourt and the making of cheap instruments.
Nicolas-Francois, also worked with his brother in
Paris until he was about twenty-eight, when he went to
Brussels, and started on his own account there, and was
a good maker. He died in 1876. Claude Francois, the
fourth brother, became an organ builder, and then a
fiddle case maker. There was a nephew of J. B.
Vuillaume called Sebastien a son of Claude's who
began business in Paris but died in the same year as
his uncle. He was not a particularly good maker.
The name then disappeared from the trade.
WAMSLEY, PETER, London, 1727 1740. This was
a good old English maker, some of whose work is of a
fine class. The wood is, however, left far too thin. He
made copies of Stainer of a somewhat tubby style. His
sound holes are not particularly tasteful, and those
instruments which have a kind of dull brown varnish
inclining to black are reckoned his best.
WISE, CHRISTOPHER, London, 1650 56. This
maker was undoubtedly an artist in his way, and
occasionally indulged in decorative purfling, sometimes
all over the back. His ribs or sides are of a good
height. He was an East End London artist like some
of the best makers of his time and after. His place was
in Vine Court, Halfmoon Alley, Bishopsgate Without,
and has only recently been cleared away.
WIDHALM, L., Nuremberg, 1765 1788. A very good
maker, who copied Stainer well, but, as usual, in
exaggerated fashion. His instruments are, nevertheless,
of fine quality and finish. Brownish red and pale
varnish.
134 THE FIDDLE FANCIERS GUIDE.
WITHERS, EDWARD, London. This was a capital
maker, whose instruments are gradually rising in value.
He succeeded W. Davis of Coventry Street, who flourished
about the first half of the present century. There are
two branches of the firm now existing. Edward Withers,
in Wardour Street, and George Withers in Leicester
Square.
CHAPTER VI.
Scconb Scries of Classical anb flast-Classical
Jttakets.
Many of the following are mere names and dates
which have simply been carried on from one treatise
to another. Wherever it has been possible, information
is given. Where none is found it is to be understood
that nothing further than the names, etc., has hitherto
been known.
AACHNER, PHILIP, Mittenwald, about 1772.
ABSAM, THOMAS, Wakefield, 1810 1849. His tickets
are in English " Made by Thomas Absam, Wakefield,"
and he appears to have been particular enough to put
in the date to the very day.
ABBATI, GIANBATTISTA, Modena, 1775 1793. A
fine maker of double basses and other large instruments.
He was trained in the establishment of Antonio Casini,
another Modenese maker or, at least, followed his
style. His model is good, his work careful, capital
wood and brown varnish.
ADAMS, C., Garmouth, Scotland, about 1800.
ADDISON, WILLIAM, London, 1670.
ADLER, Paris. A Swiss maker who settled in Paris
beginning of present century.
AGLIO, GUISEPPE DALL, Mantua, 1800 1840.
ALBANESI, SEBASTIANO, Cremona. About the middle
36 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
of the 1 8th century. Said to be a pupil of Carlo
Bergonzi.
ALBERTI, FERDINANDO, Milan, 17491760. Fairly
good work. Light yellow varnish.
ALDRED, London. An old English viol maker of
1 6th or 1 7th century.
ALDROVANDI, EMILIO, Bologna, 1850 80.
ALESSANDRO (called the Venetian), i6th century. A
violin of this maker's was shown in an exhibition in
Turin in 1880.
ALVANI, Cremona. Said to be an imitator of Joseph
Guarnerius. I have never seen any of his instruments.
ALLEGRETTI, Massimiliano, Soliera, 1870.
AMELOT, Lorient, 1829. The only reminiscence of
this maker appears to be a ticket.
ANCIAUME, BERNARD. A French maker of whom
nothing is left but the name.
ANDREA, Venice, about 1640.
AIRAGHI, CESARE, Milan. Modern.
ANTOGNATI, GIAN-FRANCESO, Brescia, 1533.
ANTONIO (called the Sicilian). An old viol maker of
whose work a specimen exists in the museum of
Bologna (Philharmonic).
ANTONIO (called the Bolognese). Another old viol
maker.
ANTONIAZZI, GREGORIO, Colle (Bergamo), i8th century.
ANTONY, GIROLAMO, Cremona, about 1751. A fairly
good maker. Good arching and model. Good finish
and nice yellow varnish.
ARTMANN, Weimar. :8th century. Amati model.
Good work. Golden varnish.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 137
ASKEY, SAMUEL, London. About 1825 40.
ASSALONE, GASPARE, Rome, i8th century. Said to
be good work.
AUBRY, NEVEU, Paris. Nephew and successor of
Aldric, whose business he took over in 1840.
BACHELIER, Paris. About 1788.
BAFFO, GIAN-ANTONIO, Venice. 1630.
BAGOLETTO, ANTONIO, Padua. 1782.
BAINES, London. 1780.
BAJONI, LUIGI, Milan, igth century.
BAKER, F., London, 1696. An old viol maker, whose
instrument bearing above date, at present owned in
Paris, is described as possessing a ravishing quality of
tone.
BAKER, JOHN, Oxford, 1648 88. Another old viol
maker.
BALCAINI. An Italian maker about 1760 who copied
Amati.
BALDANTONI, GUISEPPE, Ancona. igth century.
BALLANTINE, Edinburgh. About 1850. Compara-
tively poor work.
BANDL, JOSEPH, Oiffern. 1765.
BANTIS, JEAN, Mirecourt. About 1730. Fairly good
work.
BARBANTI-SILVA, FRANCESCO, Correggio, 1850. Violins.
Made also a number of double basses.
BARBE PRE, J. An old French maker of no great
merit. He also made 'cellos.
BARBEY, GUILLAUME, Paris. i8th century. Viol
maker.
BARNES, ROBERT, London. About 1780 1823.
138 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
Became partner in the firm Norris and Barnes, which
subsequently became R. and W. Davies and is now
Withers.
BARTON, G., London. About 1810.
BARBIERI, PIETRO, Mantua, 1864.
BARBIERI, GUISEPPE, Mantua, 1879.
BARALDI, ALFONSO, Modena, 1879. Violins.
BARALDI, GIOVANNI, S. Felice, 1766. 'Cellos.
BARACCHI, V., S. Martino. igth century. Violins.
BARBIERI, FRANCESCO, Verona, 1695. After the style
of Andreas Guarnerius.
BASSI, A., Scandiano. igth century. Chiefly a
maker of 'cellos.
BASTOGI, GAETANO, Leghorn. i8th century. Chiefly
lutes and guitars.
BATTANI, ANTONIO, Frassinoro. igth century.
Chiefly repairs, but also makes violins.
BAUD, Versailles, 1796 1810.
BAUR, CARL ALEXIS, Tours, 1789 1810. This maker
tried to abolish the tail pin.
BAUSCH, C. A. LUDWIG, Leipsic. Born 1815, died
1873. Pupil of Fritsche, Dresden. Had also two sons,
Ludwig and Otto, who carried on the business.
BECKMANN, S., Stockholm, 1706.
BEDLER, NORBERT, Wurtzburg. 1723 50. Chiefly
viols.
BELLON, J. F., Paris, 1832. Invented a new mute.
The one for the 'cello was adjusted by a pedal.
BELCIONI, ANTONIO, Italian, 1663.
BELLONE, PIERANTONIO, Milan, 1690. Old viol
maker.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 139
BELLVILLE, Paris, 1828. Violins. Tried new forms
unsuccessfully.
BELVIGLIERI, GREGORIO, Bologna, 1742. Violins very
well made.
BENTE, MATTEO, Brescia, 1570 1600. Lutes and
guitars chiefly.
BENDINI, G. B., Italian, 1668. Violins.
BENECKE, S., Stockholm, igth century. Violins
BERATTI, Imola. igth century. Violins.
BERGE, Toulouse. 1771. Viols.
BERETTA, FELICE, Como, 1784. Calls himself a pupil
of " Joseph Guadagnino." Poor work. Yellow varnish.
Wretched w T ood.
BERTASIO, LUIGI, Piadena. i8th century.
BERTI, G., Fiumalbo. igth century.
BERTRAND, N., Paris, 1701 35. Viols.
BESANCENOL, Dijon, 1776. Violins.
BESSARD, Louis, Paris, 1753. Dean of the Violin
Makers' Guild for that year.
BEVERIDGE, W., Craigh, Aberdeen. Modern.
BIANCHI, N., Nice. Modern. Native of Genoa.
Formerly in Paris. Chiefly repairs, but also new
violins. Died in Nice.
BINDERNAGEL, Gotha and Weimar. Associated with
Otto and Ernst in Gotha. Subsequently with Otto in
Weimar. Ordinary workman.
BITTNER, DAVID. Another modern Viennese restorer.
BIRMETTI, G. B., Florence. About 1770. Employed
fairly good wood and varnish. Stradivari model.
BIZAN, Brussels, 1749.
BLAIR, J., Edinburgh, 1820.
140 THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
BLAISE, Mirecourt, 1820.
BLANCHARD, P. F., Lyons. Born at Mirecourt, 1851,
where he learnt his calling. Afterwards worked with the
Silvestres in Lyons. Began on his own account 1876.
Red oil varnish and well made.
BOCQUAY, Lyons. i6th and iyth century. Not to be
confounded with Jacques Boquay, Paris.
BODIO, G. B., Venice, 1792.
BOFILL, S., Barcelona. About 1720. Good maker
who copied J. Guarnerius.
BOIVIN, CLAUDE, Paris, 1744 52. A good maker who
was Dean of Makers' Guild for the latter year.
BOLELLI, Bologna, igth century.
BOLLES, London. An early viol maker. i6th or i7th
century (1675).
BOMBERGHI, LORENZO, Florence. i7th century.
BONO, G., Venice. i8th century.
BONORIS, C., Mantua, 1568. School of Dardelli.
BONVICINI, Phillip, Spilamberto, 1790. Chiefly a
repairer.
BOOM, PIERRE, Brussels, 1758 73.
BOOTH, WILLIAM, Leeds, 1779 1857.
BOOTH, W., Junr., Leeds, 1838 1856.
BORBON, CASPER, Brussels, 1689. Viol maker, and
also violin, tenor, and double basses, very early style.
Yellow varnish.
BORELLI, ANDREA, Parma, 1746. Violins, Guadagnini
style.
BORGOGNONI, Senigallia, igth century. An amateur
maker of double basses who had some success in Italy.
BORLON. (See Porlon).
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 14!
BORTOLOTTI, (or Bertolotti) LUIGI. Careful, modern
Milanese style of work. ' Yellow varnish inclining to
orange. Time about 1810 or 1820.
BOTTE, D. I. B., Brescia, 1770.
Boussu, Eterbeck-les-Bruxelles, 1750 1780. Good
work. Amati style. Yellow orange varnish.
BOUCHER, London, 1764.
BOULLANGIER, London. Modern.
BOUMEESTER, JEAN, Amsterdam, 1637. Good maker.
Yellow varnish.
BOURBON, CASPAR, Brussels, 1601 1692. Chiefly
repairs.
BOURBON, PIERRE, Brussels, i7th century. Made a
very large number of violins, tenors, and double basses.
BOURDET, JACQUES, Paris. Another Dean of the
Parisian Violin Makers' Guild for 1751.
BOURDET, SEBASTIEN, Mirecourt. Early i8th century.
A good maker.
BOURGARD, Nancy. A maker after the style of
Medard.
BOURLIER, LAURENT, Mirecourt. Born 1737. Died 1780.
BRAGLIA, ANTONIO, Modena, i8th century. Violins
and bows.
BRANDIGLIONI, Brescia, i8th century.
BRANDL, K., Pesth. Modern.
BRANZO-BARBARO, FRANCESCO, Padua, 1660.
BRELIN, N., Grum, 1690 1753.
BRENSIUS, GIROLAMO, Bologna, i6th century. Viol
maker.
BRESA, FRANCESCO, Milan. About 1708. Not particu-
larly good work.
142 THE FIDDLE FANCIERS GUIDE.
BROSCHI, CARLO, Parma. End of i8th, beginning of
igih centuries. (1744.)
BROWN, JAMES, London. Born 1770. Died 1834.
Style of Kennedy.
BROWN, JAS., London. Son of preceding. Born 1786.
Died 1860. Ordinary work.
BROWNE, JOHN, London. Middle of i8th century.
Amati style. Good work, but poor varnish.
BROWN, A., London, 1855.
BRUGERE, FRANCOIS, Mirecourt. Born 1822. Died
1874.
BUCHSTADTER, Ratisbon, i8th century. Stainer copies,
not particularly fine.
BUDIANI, G., Brescia, i5th and i6th century. Lutes
and viols.
BUONFIGLINOLI, P. F. di L., Florence, 1653.
BUSAS, DOMENICO, Venice, 1740.
BUSSETO, G. M. del, Cremona, 1540 1583. Viols
and perhaps violins.
BUTHOT, Mirecourt. Modern.
CABROLI, LORENZO, Milan, 1716.
CABROLY, Toulouse. About 1747.
CABASSE, Paris. Ordinary class of work.
CAESTE, GAETANO, Cremona, 1677.
CAHUSAC, London. About 1788. Common work.
Varnish frequently gone almost black.
CALCAGNO, BERNARDO, Genoa, 1720 1750. A fine
maker. Varnish of a reddish amber tint. Model
Stradivari. Tickets run, " Bernardus Calcanius fecit
Genuse, anno ."
CALONARDI, MARCO, Cremona. i7th century.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 143
CALOT. A native of Mirecourt, who worked in
Paris for Clement, and in 1830 entered into partnership
with Augiere, already mentioned. He was a finished
workman.
CALVAROLA, BARTOLOMMEO, of Torre Baldone
(Bergamo), 1753 1767. Of the early Cremonese type,
with the Amati style of arching. Medium work. It is
said that he also dates from Bologna. Small scrolls.
CAMILLIO, D., Cremona, 1755.
CAMPLOY, J., Verona. Modern.
CAPO, Milan, 1717. His work is marked with a
" spread-eagle."
CAPRARI, FRANCESCO, Rolo, 1846.
CARCANIUS, Cremona. i6th century. His tickets are
printed on parchment.
CARDI, LUIGI, Verona, igth century.
CARRE, ANTOINE, Arras. i8th century. An old
viol maker.
CARLO, J., Milan, 1769.
CARLOMORDI, CARLO, Verona, 1654.
CARL-!SSEP, Milan, 1800.
CARON, Versailles, 1777 85. He was a court maker,
in the reign of Louis XVI., and was patronised by the
ill-starred Marie Antoinette. At least, his tickets lead
one to suppose so. Three years after this unfortunate
lady's husband succeeded to the throne, Caron was in
the Rue Royale, Versailles, and he calls himself
" Luthier de la Reine." He held this position until 1785,
when he was in the Rue Satory. After this date we
hear no more of him. A couple of years later, the pre-
revolutionary troubles began, and by-and-by, the court
144 THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
of Versailles vanished for a time. Caron was _a good
maker. Brown varnish.
GARTER, JOHN, London, 1789. This maker was one of
those whose instruments went into the shop of Betts, and
helped to swell the fame of that dealer, but not greatly.
CARY^ALPHONSE, London. Modern.
CASINI, ANTONIO, Modena, 1630 1690. A maker of
considerable importance, who is celebrated over a large
part of Italy for his work. His model is not unlike that
of Rugier of Cremona, and his varnish of a somewhat
dull, cherry brown. He made a very large number of
'cellos and double basses, which are exceedingly popular
in Italy, and sought after with some eagerness. His
corners are elegant, the sound holes pretty correctly
designed, while the tone of his violins is brilliant and
sweet generally, and in some very full. His inlay is
sometimes a composition which appears to have been
put into his commoner work. The quality of the wood
varies considerably, but on the whole he is a' good maker.
CASSANELLI, GIOVANNI, Ciano, 1777.
CASSINI, ANTONIO, Modena, i8th century. Probably
a descendant of the previously mentioned maker of the
same name. His tickets are printed, and run, " Antonius
Cassinus fecit Mutinae anno." " Muttinae '' or " Mutinae"
is the Latin form of " Modena."
CASTELLANI, PIETRO, Florence. Born about 1760.
Died 1820. A good maker of violins and guitars.
CASTELLANI, LUIGI, Florence. Born 1809. Died 1884.
Son of preceding. He was a fine repairer of violins, and a
restorer. It is not known that he made any, but he made
many firstclass guitars; he was a capital doublebass player.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 145
CASPANI, GIOVAN-PIETRO, Venice. About 1658. A
maker who copied Amati and Andrew Guarnerius.
CASTENDORFER, MELCHIORRE DI STEFANO, Erfurt.
1 5th century. Old viol maker.
CASTENDORFER, MICHELE DI STEFANO, Erfurt. i5th
century. Old viol maker.
CATENAR, ENRICO, Turin. About 1671. This maker is
called a pupil of Cappa.
CATTENARO, Pavia. About 1639. A maker of basses
and viols.
CATIGNOLI, GUISEPPE, Milan, igth century.
CAVALORIO, Genoa, 1725.
CAVALLINI, LUIGI, Arezzo. igth century. Viol makei
CAVANI, GIOVANNI, Spilamberto. igth century.
CAUSSIN, Fi, Neuchatel. 1860 81. Violins of
Italian style.
CELLINI, GIOVANNI, Florence. I5th century. This
was the father of the illustrious Benvenuto Cellini, whose
testimony regarding his parent's skill in the art of
making string instruments is of a very conclusive
character. He says that his father " had the reputation
of making violas of rare beauty and perfection the
finest that had ever been seen." Giovanni Cellini died
in Florence in 1527 or 1528. He was also a musician of
a kind, and in some favour with ecclesiastics in authority.
He was born about the middle of the fifteenth century,
and it does not appear to me'to be unlikely that he was
a professional maker.
CELONIATO, FRANCESCO, Turin. About 1715 25.
CELONIATI, GIAN-FRANCESCO, Turin. About 173 r;
He is said to have been a good copier of Amati, with
146 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
yellow varnish. In Italy they describe his work as of the
school of Cappa. His ticket runs, " Joannes Franciscus
Celoniatus fecit Taurini. Anno 1732," this being the
only known inscription of this maker. It is not unlikely
that he was a son of the preceding.
CERIN, MARCANTONIO, Venice. A pupil of Bellosio in
Venice. This information is derived from a ticket which
runs, " Marcus Antonius Cerin alumnus Anselimi Belosij
fecit Venetiae anno 1793."
CERVELLA, GIOVANNI, Italian. i8th century.
CHALLONER, THOMAS, London. About 1750. High
Stainer model. Brownish yellow varnish.
CHAMPION, RENE, Paris. About 1735. This maker
appears to have been a pupil or imitator of Boquay.
The work is of that style, and well finished. Varnish of
same character as Boquay's. His ticket runs, in one
case, " Rene Champion, rue des Bourdonnois, a Paris."
CHAPPUY, NICOLAS AUGUSTIN, Paris, 1762 94. This
maker made some very excellent instruments, but he is
also responsible for a number of poor specimens. The
initial N. is branded on the button, and nothing else
indicates, in many cases, the maker's name. Some
tickets which he used bear the inscription, luthier to Her
Royal Highness the Duchess of Montpensier in French,
of course, namely, "luthier de S. A. R. la duchesse de
Montpensier." He employed a yellowish spirit varnish
mostly of poor quality.
CHARDON, JOSEPH, Paris. Modern. This maker is a
son-in-law of George Chanot pere of Paris, to whose
business he succeeded in 1872. The firm is known as
Chardon-Chanot.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 147
CHAROTTE. A native of Mirecourt, who worked in
Rouen from 1830 to 1836.
CHASTELAIN, MARTIN, Warwick, Flanders, 1580. Vio
maker.
CHERPITEL, NICOLAS EMILE, Paris. Born in Mire-
court, 1841. He became a workman with Gand Freres
in Paris in 1850, left in 1873, and started on his own
account. His tickets run " Nicolas-Emile Cherpitel, in
Paris, 13, Faubourg Poissonniere, N.E.C." His first
address was in the Rue Saint-Denis.
CHEVRIER, ANDRE AUGUSTIN, Brussels. Born in
Mirecourt, this maker had a good training. His violins
have mostly a good outline ; solid, and not unlike
Lupot's best style, but heavier. The corners are full,
and the sound holes well designed. The scrolls are also
good. Indeed, if the tone were equal to the general
work they would be excellent instruments. The wood
chosen is of fine quality, and nothing seems to be
wanting but fine tone. His varnish is a red orange,
sometimes webbed all over like Vernis-Martin.
CHIARELLI, ANDREA, Messina, 1675 99. An old lute
player, and improver of the instrument to such an
extent as to claim for him a place.
CHIAVELLATI, DOMENICO, Lonigo, 1796. A viol maker.
CHIOCCHI, GAETANO, Padua, 1870. A good maker
and repairer.
CHRISTA, JOSEPH PAUL, Munich, 1730 40. A maker
of whom nothing appears to be known.
CHRISTOFORI, BARTOLOMMEO, Cremona or Padua
claims him. He was living in the Amati house-
hold in Cremona in 1680, and was then thirteen
L2
148 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
years old. This information is from a parish record,,
and is conclusive with regard to the date of his.
birth, namely, 1667. In a musical museum in
Florence, there is a double bass with the following
inscription written on the inside of the back, " Barto-
lommeo Cristofori Firenze, 1715," and it is not
known whether he ever made any other instru-
ments of the violin kind. It seems to me to be in the
highest degree probable. This double bass is not a
particularly fine instrument. It is generally supposed
that this maker invented the piano, and, indeed, this
supposition amounts almost to a certainty. A very
interesting description of this phase of his career will be:
found in Sir George Grove's Dictionary, where the
dates are all wrong, or in " Hipkin's History of the:
Piano," where the dates are equally wrong, as, indeed,
all dating with regard to him prior to 1886 must be,
seeing that the above parish record was only published,
then. It is said, for instance, that Prince Ferdinand,
son of the Grand Duke Cosimo Medici III., visited Padua,
in 1687, and induced Cristofori then, or shortly after,
to remove from Padua to Florence. If this is correct,.
Cristofori must have invented his piano and become:
famous throughout Italy when he was a very young man,
about .twenty years of age, say, not an impossible thing
by any means, but showing that these valuable notices,
of him are now in need of revision. It is said that
Cristofori died at the advanced age of eighty in 1731.
He was really only sixty-four at this period, supposing the:
identity to be established. His name used to be spelt
Christofori. In Italy it is Cristofori, and there they do*
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 149
not appear to know anything definite with reference to
the date of his death.
CINTI, GUISEPPE, Bologna, 1856. A maker and
restorer, or repairer.
CIRCAPA, TOMASSO, Naples, 1735. Another of the
same of no particular distinction.
CLARK, London. A mere name.
CLAUDOT, AUGUSTIN. An old French maker, who
stamped or branded his name on the inside of the backs
of his violins. The work is of a somewhat common
character, with yellow varnish, but has a fairly good
outline. He was also a maker of English guitars.
CLAUDOT, CHARLES. A Mirecourt maker -of an
earlier date than the preceeding, but having similar
characteristics.
CLEMENT, Paris, 1815 to 1840. This was a maker
who, like our John Betts, made comparatively few
violins himself, but employed first class men to do so,
such as Georges Chanot pere, Augiere, Calot, etc.
CLIQUOT, LOUIS-ALEXANDRE, and HENRI. Two
brothers not in partnership, but who were successively
deans of the Paris Violin Makers' Guild for the years
1756 and 1765 respectively. It appears to be their only
distinction.
CLEINMANN, C., Amsterdam, 1671 88. An old viol
maker.
CLUSOLIS, ANTONIO DE, Clausen, 1784. This was a
fine double bass maker of the Tyrolese school, who
worked in Roveredo. He was probably a native of
Clausen, a small town on the Trent, so small, that it
consisted of one narrow street in his time, so narrow,
150 THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
that people could shake hands across it through their
open windows. The wonder is that he ever was able to
make a double bass in such circumscribed surroundings,
or that, having made one, he ever was able to get it out
of the street. Perhaps that was the reason he followed
the course of his native stream, through its magnificent
scenery down to Roveredo, where he was in the society
of a busy, prosperous, commercial people, who, no
doubt, largely bought his instruments. His is, at any
rate, evidently fine work, of a grand model, and he used
the following inscription, " Antonius DeClusolis faciebat
Roboreti opus," then follows the number of the work in
Roman numerals. Although he is of the Tyrolese
schools, his style makes it quite clear that he was
acquainted with the work of Stradivari. His inscription
is a corroboration of this, if there were no other.
Stradivari, as I have elsewhere pointed out, was
the first to use the historical tense, "faciebat." Here
we have Antonio of Clausen copying Antonio of
Cremona, in even this small point. But he copies him
in greater as well.
Cocco, CRISTOFORO, Venice. About 1654. An ^
lute and viol maker.
COLE, T., London, 1690.
COLLICHON, MICHEL, Paris, 1693. An old French
viol maker.
COLLIER, SAMUEL, London, 1750.
COLLIER, THOMAS, London, 1775.
COLLIN, CLAUDE-NICOLAS, Mirecourt. Died in 1865.
The father of the better known maker Collin-Mezin.
COLLIN-MEZIN, CHARLES JEAN BAPTISTS. Born in
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 15!
Mirecourt in 1840. Was taught by his father, the
preceding maker. He went to Paris in 1868. There
appears to be little doubt that he has made a number
of instruments of a high character, and which have been
examined and reported upon by various artistes very
favourably. Those which it has been my good fortune
to see and try, were probably not of the same class.
They were, however, artistically made instruments of
good outline and appearance.
COMUNI, ANTONIO, Piacenza, 1823.
CONTURIER. A French common maker. Yellow
varnish.
CONWAY, WILLIAM, London, 1750.
CORDANO, JACOPO FILIPO, Genoa. A ticket of his
runs, "Jacobus Philippus Cordanus fecit Genuae, anno
sal, 1774."
CORNELLI, CARLO, Cremona. His ticket runs,
" Carolus Cornelli fecit Cremonse, anno 1702."
CORSBY, Northampton. About 1780. Made double
basses. There was George Corsby in London, a dealer
chiefly.
CORTE, DALLA, Naples, 1881.
COSTA, Genoa, igth century.
COSTA, AGOSTINO, Brescia. i7th century.
COSTA, MARCO DALLA, Treviso, 1660. Imitated the
style and varnish of A. and H. Amati.
COSTA, PIERANTONIO DALLA, Treviso and Venice.
He copied Amati also.
COSTA, PIETRO DALLA, Treviso. This member of
the family also copied Amati brothers, using, like the
others, an amber coloured varnish of fine quality.
1^2 THE FIDDLE FANCIERS GUIDE.
CRAMOND, C., Aberdeen, 1821 34.
CRASK, GEORGE, Manchester. A prolific maker of
copies of the classical schools. His period ranges from
about 1826 onwards. He made for the Forsters, Dodd,
and dementi, and generally for any firm to whom he
could sell. Much of his work is said to be very
clever, and in a circular issued by his successor in
business, Mr. Crompton, it is stated that he made
over 2,000 violins, 250 tenors, 250 'cellos, and
20 double basses. It has not been my good fortune
to see one of these to my knowledge, although, I
have no doubt, I have seen many of them in my
ignorance.
CRISTONI, EUSEBIO, Modena, igth century.
CROWTHER, JOHN, London, 1760 1810.
CRUGRASSI, VINCENZO, Florence, 1767.
CUCHET, GASPARD, Grenoble, 1729.
CUNAULT, GEORGES, Paris. Born 1856. Learnt his
business in Paris and worked for Miremont from 1874
to 82, and afterwards for himself.
CUNY, Paris. iSth century. Common work.
Branded inside of back " Cuny a Paris."
CUTHBERT, London. i7th century. Good wood,
flat model, dark varnish.
CUPPIN, GIOVANNI. An old Italian viol maker,
yellow varnish.
CUYPERS (See Kreuppers).
DAITLANST. A maker whose habitat, style and date
are quite unknown.
DANIEL, Antwerp. A famous old maker of double
basses.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 153
DARCHE, Aix-la-Chapelle. Copies of the classical
masters.
DARCHE, C. F., Brussels. Modern.
DARDELLI, FRA' PIETRO, Mantua. This maker was
alive in 1493 1497, and a member of the Franciscan
Convent, Mantua. The latter date was ascertained from
.an instrument of Dardelli's in the possession of a painter
named Richard in Lyons, about 1807. It was a highly
decorated lute. This instrument seems to have dis-
appeared, and all that was known of Dardelli was
founded upon it. A few years ago, however, a document
dated 1493 was found to contain a reference to a magni-
ficent quartet of larger instruments, which excited the
utmost enthusiasm in the writer. Some of these large
viols, etc., are in public and private museums, and in
some cases, they show rather coarse work, which is
accounted for by the supposition that just then there
was a kind of renaissance in this tribe of musical instru-
ments, and a new departure taken to a certain extent.
He also made rebecs, lutes, and viols, which are lovely
works of art, and decorated in gold, silver, enamel,
ivory, and ebony.
DAVID, Paris. About 1730. Ordinary work.
DAVIDSON, HAY, Hantly, 1870.
DAVINI, GIUSTO, Lucca, i9th century.
DAVIS, RICHARD. A workman with Norris and
Barnes, and ultimately became partner with the following.
DAVIS, WILLIAM, London. The firm then became
R. and -W. Davis, Coventry Street, and is now Withers
and Co.
DEARLOVE and FRYER, Leeds. About 1840.
154 THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
DEARLOVE, MARK, Leeds, 1828.
DEARLOVE, MARK, W., Leeds. Modern.
DE CANUS NUNZIO. An old Italian professor who, in
the end of the i8th century, endeavoured to equalise
matters between good and bad fiddles by scraping the
wood out of the fine ones. In this regard he advertised
himself as a kind of public benefactor, and offered his
services to any one who wished them. It is as well to
add, however, that he was under the impression that he
was improving the old ones. How long he had been at
large is not known, and, of course, no estimate can be
formed of the number of instruments which had passed
through his hands, or been scraped by him, but when
last heard of, he was a contributor to the Tuscan Gazette,
and his latest offer appears in the issue of that newspaper
of yth November, 1789, when, fortunately, he was at
" an advanced age."
DECOMBLE, AMBROISE. See " Comble, Ambroise de."
DECONER, MECHAEL, Venice, i8th century.
DECONET, ANDREA, Venice, 1785.
DECONET, MICHELE, Venice, 1769 71.
DECONET, MICHELE, Padua, 1722 69.
DECONETI, M., Venice, 1742.
With regard to these five makers there is really no
information. " Michael Deconer fecit Venetiae, An.
Dom., 17 ," is the supposed ticket of one, and
"_Michele Deconet fecit Venetiis, anno 1754," is the
supposed ticket of another, but I have not seen an
instrument by any one of them, and I am not acquainted
with any person who has. Of course, the tickets may
now and again be seen.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 155,
DECKERT, G. N., Grotbrutenback, iyth century.
DEFRESNE, PIERRE, Rouen. About 1731 1737. This,
maker has recently been included among violin makers,
not because any violins of his have been discovered, but
because he had a dispute with the members of the
Rouen guild of makers. He was a master of the Paris
Guild, and had advertised himself as such when he
settled in Rouen in 1731. This raised the ire of the
local guild, and they prosecuted him. Ultimately the
quarrel was arranged by Defresne paying a sum of
money to be admitted to the Rouen Society.
DECANI, EUGENIC, Montagnani, igth century.
DELANY, JOHN, Dublin, 1808. A maker who used a
curious ticket occasionally, " Made by John Delany in
order to perpetuate his memory in future ages. Dublin,.
1808. Liberty to all the world black and white."
DELAUNAY, Paris, 1775. A vielle maker.
DELANNOIX. A Belgian maker in 1760.
DE LANNOY, H. J., Lille. About 1747. A very good
maker, and probably the same as the preceding, whose
name may have been so mis-spelled.
DELEPLANQUE, GERARD, Lille, 1766 70. An artistic
maker who employed a reddish tinted amber coloured
varnish.
DELLA CORNA, GIOVAN PAOLO, Brescia, i6th century.
A maker mentioned by a writer named Lanfranco, but
who is not known to any other.
DENNIS, JESSIE, London, 1805.
DEROUX, SEBASTIEN AUGUSTS. Born in Mirecourt,
1848. His father was a maker there, and taught his
son, who afterwards worked with Silvestre in Lyons for
156 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
three years. He became a soldier at the outbreak of the
Franco-German war, returning to his business in 1873,
this time with Miremont in Paris, and with whom he
remained for eleven years. In 1884 he started on his
own account. His ticket runs, " S. A. Deroux, 16, Rue
Geoffrey-Marie, Paris " with A. S. D. inscribed over
the date.
DESPONS, ANTOINE, Paris, iyth century.
DESROUSSEAU, Verdun.
DEVEREUX, JOHN, Melbourne. Contemporary. This
is the only maker in Australia whose name I have seen.
He formerly worked for B. S. Fendt. He certainly had
a splendid guide.
DICKESON, JOHN, 1750 80. Born in Stirling. It is
not known where he learnt violin making, but his work
has many of the fine points of Italian style. He was
undoubtedly an artist, and his model was chiefly Amati.
His instruments are dated both from Cambridge and
London.
DICKINSON, EDWARD, London, 1750. An ordinary
maker on Stainer lines, exaggerated as usual.
DIEL. The name of a family of violin makers, the
different members of which date from about 1690 down
to the present day. Nicolas, Martin, Nicolaus, Johann,
Jacob. These all spell the name " Diel." Then Nicolaus,
Louis, Friedrich, Johann, and Heinrich spell it " Diehl."
They severally date from Mayence (Maintz) Prague,
Frankfort, Hamburg, Bremen, and Darmstadt.
DIETZ, CHRISTIAN, Emmerich, 1801.
DIETZ, JOHANN CHRISTIAN, Darmstadt, 1805.
DIEULAFAIT, Paris, 1720. A viol maker.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 157-
DINI, GIAMBATTISTA, Lucignano, 1707. A maker of
double basses chiefly.
DIONELLI, GAETANO, Mantua, 1869.
DITTON, London. About 1700. The " Small Coal
Man " a famous musical London personage of last
century had an instrument by this maker in his
possession. Perhaps the similarity of the two names
may account for the conjunction of maker and owner.
" A fiddle by Ditton,
Possessed by Tom Britton,
Is something to spend a small muse's small wit on."
Ditton was also a harp maker.
DOBRUCKI, MATTIA, Cracow, 1602.
DODI, GIOVANNI, Modena, igth century. A maker of
double basses.
DOLLENZ, GIOVANNI, Trieste, 1841.
DOMANSKI, ALBERTO, Warsaw, 1830 1850.
DOMINCELLI, Brescia, i8th century.
DOMINICELLI, Ferrara, 1695 1715. Amati models.
DOMINICHINI, A. E., Bologna, 1708 66. A maker
and repairer.
DONATO, SERAFINO, Venice, 1411.
DONI, Rocco, Florence, 1600 1660. A Florentine
priest, who worked at instrument making, and was the
father of the illustrious musical writer, Gian Battista
Doni, who died in 1669. Rocco Doni made lutes and
violins, and his son, G. B., invented the lira Barberina.
DOERFFLER, C. F. A German maker about the end
of eighteenth century. A good kind of ordinary work.
DOPFER, NICOLAUS, Maintz. A violin maker who
taught Martin Diel, and whose daughter his pupil
married.
-158 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
DORANT, W., London. 1814.
Dosi, PIETRO, Bologna, igth century.
DRINDA, GIACOMO, Pianzo. i8th century.
DROULOT, Paris. About 1788.
DROUOT, Mirecourt.
DUCHERON, MATHURIN, Paris. A maker in the
early part of the i8th century.
DUIFFOPRUGCAR (or Tieffenbrucher), MAGNUS, Venice.
About 1607 12. A lute and viol maker. This name
appears in a variety of spellings and hails from various
places. There is Dieffenbrucker of Padua, Tieffen-
&>runner of Munich, and Tieffenbrucher of Venice.
Whether they represent the same establishment one
cannot, of course, say. They all made the same class
of instruments, and their dates run from about 1559 to
about 1612.
DULFENN, A., Livorno ( Leghorn ) 1699.
DULIG, M. A Geman maker who copied Stainer
fairly well about the middle of last century.
Du MESNIL, JACQUES, Paris. About 1655. An
exceedingly artistic maker of the decorative class.
"Cherry-red varnish.
DUNCAN, Aberdeen, 1762.
DURAND, Mirecourt. igth century.
DURFEL, Altenburg. i8th century. A maker of
double basses which are highly praised.
DUVRARD, Paris, 1745. A viol maker.
EBERSPACHER, BARTOLOMEO, Florence. 1 7th century.
EBERTI, T. About 1750.
EDLINGER, T., Prague. About 1715. A fine maker.
.His instruments are chiefly on Stainer lines and covered
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 159
with an exceedingly good amber coloured varnish with
a slightly red tinge.
EDLINGER, JOSEPH JOHANN, Prague. Son of the
preceding and a good maker. About 1748.
EDLINGER, T., Augsburg, i8th century.
EESBRCECK, JEAN VAN, Antwerp, 1585. An old lute
maker.
EGLINTON, London. About 1800.
EHLERS, J., Vienna, 1825.
ESLER, J. J., Maintz, i8th century. A good old viol
maker.
EMILIANI, FRANCESCO DE, Rome. Beginning of
1 8th century. Highly arched violins, having a
Hght orange varnish. Very fine wood, and good
finish.
ENGLEDER, A., Carlsruhe, igth century.
ENGLEDER, A., Munich, igth century.
ENGLEDER, L., Bamberg, igth century.
ERTL, CARL, Presburg. Fine quality of varnish.
EVANGELISTI, Florence, i8th century.
EVANS, RICHARD, London, about 1750.
EVE, Paris, about 1788. Model somewhat high,
deeply grooved around borders, good work, orange
spirit varnish.
FABBRIS, LUIGI, Venice, igth century.
FACINI, AGOSTINE, Bologna, 1732 42. This maker
was a monk of the order of St. John of God in Bologna,
and made several violins of good character, with a fine
quality of varnish, Stradivari sound holes, and very
excellent outline.
FALAISE, a French maker who copied Amati and
l6o THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
Stradivari, but where or when is not known. Good
wood and yellow varnish.
FALCO, Cremona, i8th century. A so-called pupil
and follower of Bergonzi.
FARINATO, PAOLO, Venice, i8th century. A fairly good
maker, who followed the style of Santo Serafmo, in
wood and varnish.
FARON, ACHILLE, Ratisbon, about 1701.
FAUSTINO, Lucca and Modena, iyth century.
FEBBRE, Amsterdam, 1762.
FELDEN, MAGNUS, Vienna, 1556. A viol maker.
FELDLEN, MAGNUS, Vienna, 1722. I am inclined to
think this maker has only had a nominal existence on a
ticket fabricated by some one who did not know the
precise date of Magnus Felden's activity, and had not
caught the exact spelling of the name. Still, it is only
an inclination so to think. One can never be quite sure
about these names, apart from conclusive documentary
evidence. A great many of them are much alike, as in
the case of our own nomenclature, and I have, therefore,
preferred to leave them in the list without more than the
present comment.
FERATI, PIETRO, Siena. About 1764. Somewhat
common work, broad purfiing, and thick, brown varnish..
FERET, Paris. About 1708. According to his own
account of himself, this maker was a pupil of Medard,
and the style of his work bears out the statement. He
employed a brown varnish.
FERGUSON, DONALD, Huntly, igth century.
FERGUSON AND SON, Edinburgh, igth century.
FERRARESI, VINCENZO, San Felici, 1869.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. l6l
FERRARI, AGOSTINO, Budrio, i8th century.
FERRARI, ALFONSO, Carpi. About 1738. A maker
of double basses.
FERRARI, CARLO, Siena. About 1740. Violins.
FERRARI, G. B., Modena, igth century. Violins and
guitars.
. FERRI, PRIMO, Mirandola, 1848 51.
FEURY, FRANCOIS, Paris, Dean of the Violin Maker's
Guild for 1757.
FEVROT, Lyons. About 1788.
FEYZEAU, Bordeau, about 1760. The instruments of
this maker are well made. The varnish is a sort of
weak brown, but the work is very good under it, the
sound holes being well designed, and the corners
elegant.
FICHER, GUISEPPE, AND CARLO, Milan. These makers
sometimes spell their name " Fiscer," and both spellings
are found on tickets, namely, " Guiseppe e Carlo fratelli
Ficher fabbricatori di strumenti in Milano vicino alia
Balla," and " Guiseppe, Carlo fratelli Fiscer fabbri-
catori d'instrumenti in Milano Vicino alia balla." They
were German by origin, and it is possible that they may
have modified the spelling to suit Italian pronunciation.
Their work is well made, with varnish of fine, amber
tint, having a light tinge of red.
FICHT, J. U., Mittenwald, i8th century.
FICHTL, MARTIN, Vienna, about 1750. A good
maker.
FICHTHOLD, HANS, about 1612. A lute maker.
FICKER, JOHANN CHRISTIAN, Neukirchen, about 1722.
Highly arched violin, somewhat ordinary looking.
l62 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
PICKER, JOHANN GoTLiEB, probably also Neukirchen.
About 1789.
FILANO, DONATO, Naples. About 1782. A general
maker of violins, mandolines, and guitars of very refined
taste and skill in decorative work.
FILANO, LUIGI, Naples. About 1859. Similar work,
but chiefly guitars.
FILLE, LA, a French maker of the i8th century, whose
scrolls are cut into shapes of animal's heads and human
faces.
FILIPPI, FILIPPO, Rome, igth century.
FINDLAY, J., Padanaram, igth century.
FINER, FRATELLI (Finer Brothers), Milan, 1764.
FIORI, AMILCARE, Casinalbo, igth century.
FIORI, ANTONIO, Modena, igth century.
FIORI, GAETANO, Modena, igth century.
FIORILLO, GEO., Ferrara. About 1780. This maker's
instruments are highly arched, and a little after the style
of Stainer. His basses are good.
FIORINI, RAFFAELLO. Born in Pianoro. This maker
is somewhat interesting. When a child, a friend of the
family named Jadolini, who had a brother a violin
maker, used to make little fiddles for the boy. This
excited his attention, and he began to make them him-
self. As time passed, the interest in the subject
increased, and by and by (1867) he went to Bologna,
and worked and studied there for some years, and finally
opened a shop there. His son is
FIORINI, GUISEPPE, born in 1867. He showed the
same instincts as his father, but the latter gave him a
fairly good education first, and then, when the lad was
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 163
about sixteen, he put him in the shop, and taught him
all he knew. They now enjoy a good repute, and gained
prizes at the exhibitions of Milan and Turin.
FIRTH, G., Leeds, 1836.
FISCHER, J., Landshut, 1722. The solitary relic of
this maker appears to be a specimen of the one-stringed
instrument called the marine trumpet. It is in the
museum of the Society of the Friends of Music in
Vienna, and bears above date.
FISCHER, ZACHARIE, Wurtzburg, 1730 1812. Not
so much a violin maker as he was a violin baker, from a
mistaken notion that it matured the wood.
FLETTE, BENOIST, Paris, 1763. Dean of the Paris
Guild of Violin Makers for this year.
FLEURY, BENOIST, Paris, 1755. Dean of the Violin
Makers' Guild for this year. There is a bass viol
of his of the same year in the museum of the Paris
Conservatoire.
FLORENTIUS, FIORINO, Bologna, 1685 I 7 I 5-
FLORENUS, GUIDANTUS, Bologna, 1716.
FLORENUS, ANTONIO, Bologna.
FLORENUS, GUIDANTUS GIOVANNI, Bologna, 1685
1740.
There is considerable confusion with regard to these
four Bolognese makers. The inscriptions on tickets
vary in the most distracting, and, at the same time,
the most amusing manner. Sometimes it is " Florentus
Florinus," " Florentius Fiorino," " Florenus Florentus,"
" Fiorino Fiorenzo," and so on. The horticultural
variations are very suggestive, and although they may all
be variants of the same name, it will be as well if I confine
M2
164 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
myself to the description of one specimen of work. I have
no doubt, however, that there were three makers of this
name in Bologna. The specimen I refer to is a viola da
gamba of beautiful wood and beautiful carving, and
shows transparent golden varnish, and the most exquisite
workmanship. There may be violins by one or other of
these makers. I cannot say that I have seen any at all
approaching the style or intelligence of the work visible
on the viols bearing the name.
FONTANELLI, Gio. GUISEPPE, Bologna, 1739 72. A
lute maker of exquisite taste in decoration.
FORADORI, GIOVANNI, Verona, 1855. Violin maker.
FOURRIER, FRANCIS NICOLAS, Mirecourt, 1784 1816-
Violins.
FRANCK, GHENT, 1800 1830. This maker was a
sculptor, and a clever repairer of violins, but made few,,
if any, new instruments.
FRANCOIS, Paris, 1755. A viol maker.
FRANKLAND, London, 1785.
FRANZ, JACOB, Havelberg, 1748.
FREBRUNET, JEAN, Paris. About 1760. Well
made instruments. Reddish varnish of fairly good
appearance.
FREDI, FABIO, Todi, 1878.
FREY, (or Frei), HANS, Nuremberg. About 1450. A
lute and viol maker. He was also a splendid performer
on the lute, and was married to a daughter of the famous
Albrecht Durer. His last will and testament is in San
Sebaldo. It is said that he also worked in Bologna.
FRITZ, HANS, Nuremberg. A mere name.
FRITSCHE, Leipsic. End of i8th century. A
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 165
reputedly clever maker, who was a pupil of C. F. Hunger
of the same place.
FRYER, C., London and Leeds. Died about
1840.
Fux, JOHANN JOSEPH, Vienna, lyth century. Maker to
the Austrian Court.
Fux, MATTHIAS, Vienna. A lute maker.
GAFFINO, JOSEPH, Paris, 1755. An Italian maker
settled in Paris. He was dean of the makers' guild in
1766, and made instruments after the style of
Castagnery. The firm was in existence as late as 1789,
but was then carried on by the widow.
GAILLARD-LAJOUE, Mirecourt. About 1855, in which
year he received a medal at Paris exhibition.
GALBANI, JACOPO, Florence. About 1600. An old
viol maker.
GALBANI, PIERO, Florence, 1640. Son of preceding.
GALBICELLIS, G. B., Florence, 1757.
GALBUSERA, CARLO ANTONIO, Milan. About 1832.
He was a retired military officer who attempted some
improvements as they were then called on the
existing shape of the violin. It is said that he had no
knowledge of violin construction at all, but started his
notion in conversation with some friends, and meeting,
probably, with opposition to his views, set about making
a fiddle on the lines which he projected. It turned out
to be nothing new an instrument with the corners
rounded off, and somewhat after the style of the guitare.
He thought it was more elegant, stronger and lighter
than the Stradivari model, etc. This kind of
experiment had been carried out before fifty years
l66 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
before and had been found an idle one so far as
concerned any improvement in either shape or tone.
Nevertheless, just as in the case of previous experiments
and as will likely be the case in many future ones
there was a commitee of professors and connoisseurs
to pronounce a laudatory judgment on the result of
Galbusera's efforts, and the instrument was exhibited in
the town hall of Brera. The Milan Academy of Science
awarded him a silver medal for the invention, and the
Leipsic Musical Gazette published the usual gushing
article filled with amazement that it had taken centuries
to give this perfect form to the violin. In due time the
amazement and the violin subsided, and Galbusera
proceeded to construct others of a different model
and heavier make, and he appears to have succeeded
in improving the quality of tone of his own fiddle
which was, without doubt, a highly meritorious "act, as
they gave him another medal. I fancy I should have
myself condoned an award like that. But Stradivari was
still untouched, and perhaps Galbusera's conscience told
him so, for in spite of his medals he had in all three
he began experiments with chemicals for the purpose of
extracting the gummy substance from the wood.
Facilis est descensus Averni, and from this point we hear
no more of him. He made violas and 'cellos a few
on the same system, and, if he made them himself, he
was no doubt, a handy man, but perhaps he merely
"invented" them as his fellow professionals some-
times invent " flying machines " and got other people
to make them for him. He died in 1846.
GALERZENO, Piedmont, 1790.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 167
GALLAND, JEAN, Paris, 1744. A dean of the Paris
Violin Makers of this year.
GALLIARD, C., Paris. About 1850. Good style. Red
varnish.
GALTANI, Rocco, Florence. i7th century.
GALRAM, JOACHIM JOSEF, Lisbon, 1769.
GANZERLA, LUIGI, San Felice, 1861. Violin maker,
GARANI, M. A., Bologna, 1685 1715. A good maker.
GARANI, N., Naples. Also a good maker of a later
date. Yellow varnish. Somewhat refined style with
light edges, but rather deeply built.
GASPAN. An early viol maker of whom nothing is
known but the name and nationality Italian.
GATTANANI, Piedmont. Another mere name.
GATTINARA, ENRICO, Turin, 1670. Violin maker (?)^
GATTINARA, FRANCESCO, Turin. About 1704. Early
Guarnerius model generally. Well made instruments
but too highly arched. Warm brown varnish.
GAULARD, Troyes. About 1835.
GAUTROT, Mirecourt.
GAVINIES, FRANCOIS, Bordeaux. Some time in the
early part of the i8th century. He removed to Paris
in 1741. He was dean of the Paris Makers' Guild for
the year 1762, although he never made other than
common instruments. His son became one of the
finest of French violinists and is well known among
amateurs for his studies for the instrument.
GAZZOLA, PROSDOCIMO, Crespano. About 1822. A
maker of double basses, and a good repairer.
GEIFFENHAFF, FRANZ, Vienna, 1812. Good work.
Copied Stradivari. Branded F.G. on back.
l68 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
GEMUNDER Senr., GEORGE, Astoria, New York.
Contempory. Born at Ingelfingen in Wurtemburg in
1816. It appears that he learnt violin making early
and had a great desire to work in Vuillaume's shop in
Paris. After knocking about for a while in Presburg,
Vienna, and Munich, he turned his steps towards Paris
and, on the way, got employment in Strasburg, but on
going to the establishment found the man was a maker
of brass instruments. Gemunder had not brass enough
for that, and was for a time a little upset, but one day
while lying asleep in the English Park, he heard a
voice saying to him " Cheer up Sam " or words to that
effect and he cheered up. On the third day after this
dream he received information from a friend who had
written to Vuillaume on Gemiinder's behalf to the
effect that he was to go to Paris and see the great
maker. This he did, and entered his employment,
staying with him for four years, during which time he
says he distinguished himself considerably. He then
went to America where he has since remained. Some
of his copies of the old masters are quite surprising in
external appearance, and recall the work of Vuillaume
himself at certain times when he imitated every little
rift and scratch with such marvellous and questionable
fidelity. Gemunder's two brothers were in America
before him.
GEMUNDER, AUGUST and SONS, New York. Contem-
pory. Another large establishment of violin makers
whose instruments have been highly praised.
GEMUNDER, GEORGE, Junr. A son of George, Senr.
GENTILE, MICHELE, Lucca, 1883. Violins.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 169
GERANS, P., Cremona, 1614.
GERANIE, Turin. About 1750.
GERLES, Nuremberg. Old lute makers. i5th and
1 6th century.
GERONI, DOMENICO, Ostia, 1817.
GERMAIN, JOSEPH Louis, Paris. Born in Mirecourt
1822. Learnt business there. Went to Paris 1840,
where he worked for Gand pere. At his death went
to Vuillaume whom he left in 1850, and returned to the
Gands, where he remained until 1862, when he started
for himself. He returned to Mirecourt in 1870 and
died there same year. It is needless to say that he was
a fine maker and that much of his work is to be found
in Gand's and Vuillaume's.
GERMAIN, EMILE. Son of preceding. Born 1853,
and sent in 1865 to Mirecourt to learn. He returned
to Paris in 1867 to his father. At the death of the
latter he became a partner with a M. Dehommais, an
arrangement which ceased in 1882. Since this date in
business alone.
GHERARDI, GIACOMO, Bologna, 1677. A maker of
double basses of early style.
GIAMBERIN,! GIOVANNI, Florence. About 1700.
Guitars.
GIAMBERINI, ALESSANDRO, Florence. Son of preced-
ing. A maker of violins and guitars.
GIANNOTTI, ACHILLE, Sarsanza, 1872. A repairer.
GIANOLLI, ANTONIO, Milan, 1731.
GIBBS, JAMES, London. A maker who worked for
others, such as Gilkes, etc.
GIBERTINI, ANTONIO, Parma and Genoa, 1830 1845,
170 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
or later. Good maker, who copied Stradivari, and
employed a red varnish of fine quality.
GIBERTONI, GUISEPPE (called Paninino), Modena,
igth century.
GIGLI, JULIUS C^SAR, Rome, 1700 61.
GILBERT, N. L., Metz. About 1701. Viol maker.
GILBERT, SIMON, Metz. About 1737. Viol maker.
GIOFFREDA, B., Turin. About 1860.
GIORDANE, A., Cremona, 173540.
GIORGI, NICOLA, Turin, 1745.
GIRANIANI, Leghorn, 1730. Good maker. Fine
yellow varnish, thin.
GIOVANNETTI, L., Lucca, 1855. Violins.
GIQUELIER, CRISTOFORO, Paris, 1712. Viol maker.
It is said that this maker had his instruments varnished
in Japan.
GIRON, GIROLAMO, Troyes, 1790. Violins.
GINGLIANI. A 'cello maker of the i7th century.
GIULIANI, 1660. An old viol maker Amati school.
GOTTARDI, ANTONIO, Treviso, 1878.
GOUFFE, Paris. A maker of double basses.
GRABENSEE, J. T. Diisseldorf. About 1854.
GRAGNANT, A. A Tyrolese maker. About 1780.
GRAMULO. Italian, about end of i7th century. This
maker's name was first discovered in a novel by Dumas !
It was communicated to Count Valdrighi, who wrote to
the late Gustave Chouquet, and asked if he ever heard
of him. M. Chouquet set up inquiries, and a friend of
his assured him that he had the actual instrument
alluded to in the novel ! The great French writer
makes his character say that Gramulo was highly
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. IJI
esteemed by Tartini, and on these circumstances is
based the supposition that there was a maker of this
name.
GRAND-GERARD. An ordinary French (Mirecourt)
maker, of end of last century.
GRANDSON fils, Mirecourt. A maker who obtained a
medal in 1855.
GRANZINI, Verona, 1620 25. Viol maker.
GRAY, J., Fochabers. About 1870.
GREFFTS, JOHANN, Fussen. About 1622.
GREGORJ, Bologna, 1793. Violins.
GREGORIO, ANTONIAZZI, Colle. About 1738.
GRENADINO, Madrid, i8th century. Violins.
GRIESSER, MATHIAS, Inspruck. About 1727. A viol
maker.
GRIMM, CARL, Berlin, 1792 1855. This firm
originally declined to make more than thirty violins per
annum.
GRIMM, Louis and HELMICH. Same business, later.
GRIMALDI, CARLO, Messina, 1681. Said to be
Cremonese in style.
GRISERI, FILIPPO, Florence. About 1650.
GROBITZ, A., Warsaw, i8th century. An imitator of
Stainer.
GROBLIEZ, Cracow, 1609. A maker of 'cellos, it is said.
GROLL, M., Meran, 1800.
GROSSET, P. F., Paris. About 1757. This maker is
described as a pupil of Claude Pierray, and to be an
ordinary workman, using a bad model with very high
arching, bad thicknesses, etc., and a common orange
spirit varnish. He made 'cellos also.
172 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
GROSSI, GUISEPPE, Bologna. About 1803.
GRULLI, PIETRO, Cremona. Modern.
GUARMANDI, FILIPPO, Bologna, 1795.
GUASANT, F., French. About 1790.
GUDIS, HIERONIMO, Cremona, 1727. A viol maker of
exquisite taste in decorative work. Varnish light golden
orange. Beautiful wood.
GUERRA, GIACOMO, Modena, 1810. Violins, reddish
brown varnish.
GUERRA. A family of this name settled in Cadiz as
guitar makers.
GUGEMOS, Fiissen, i8th century. This maker's name
is spelled in several ways, Guggemos, Gugemmos, #nd
as I have given it. His work is poor.
GUGLIELMI, G. B., Cremona, 1747.
GUIDANTUS, JOANNES FLORENTUS, Bologna. See
<{ Florentis Florentus," etc.
GUIDANTI, GIOVANNI, Bologna. About 1740. I do
not know anything about this maker. He appears to
have been a maker of viols also, and his violins are said
to be very tubby, and inartistic in several points.
GUSETTO, NICOLA, Florence, i8th century. This
maker's instruments are very careful imitations of
Stradivari.
H^ENSEL, JOHANN ANTON, Rochsburg. About 1811.
At this date he invented a violin which he said he had
invented before, namely, in 1801. He was a musician
in the Duke of Schoenburg's band. He wrote an article
in the Leipsic Musical Gazette about his violin, but does
not appear to have made any more of them.
HAFF, Augsburg, 17 .
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 173
HAMBERGER, JOSEPH, Presburg, 1845.
HAMM, JOHANN GOTTFRIED, Rome, i8th century-
His instruments are of the decorated sort. Ivory
borders, etc.
HARBOUR, London, 1785 6.
HARE, JOHN, London, 1700 20. Neat, artistic work.
Somewhat prim-looking sound holes, and fine varnish.
HARE, JOSEPH, London. About 1720. Similarly
good work.
HARHAM, London, 1765 85.
HARTON, MICHELE, Padua, 1602. A lute maker.
HARTMANN, Weimar, i8th century. One of the
pupils of Ernst in Gotha. Poor work.
HASSALWANDER, JOHANN, Munich. About 1855. He
made lutes, violins, zithers and guitars.
H ASSERT, EISENACH, i8th century. Common work.
HASSERT, RUDOLSTADT, i8th century. Common
work.
HAYDEN, JOHANN, Nuremberg, 1610. A sort of
dealer.
HAYNES, FOUCHER and Co., London.- This business
has been in existence for many years, being first
established by W. Haynes in the north of London, about
the year 1859. They produce high class instruments at
exceedingly moderate prices. Their chief model in
violins, violas, and 'cellos is Stradivari, but they have
also Amati, Guarnerius, and Maggini models as well. I
have seen a large number of their instruments, and I
can say that they deserved the highest praise in regard
to tone, style of work, and finish.
HAYNES, JACOB, London. About 1752. An old
174 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
English West End maker, who used the Stainer model.
One of his instruments was highly prized by the late
Samuel Summerhayes, of Taunton. " Jacob Haynes,
in Swallow Street, St. James', London, Fecit " is the
tenor of his ticket.
HEAPS, J. K., Leeds, 1855. A maker of 'cellos chiefly.
HEESOM, E., London. About 1748. Highly arched
violins on the usually exaggerated lines, which were
supposed to be Stainer's.
HEIDEGGER, Passau.
HELD, Beule, near Bonn. Modern.
HELDAHL, ANDREW, Bergen, 1851. Violins.
HEL, FERDINAND, Vienna. Modern.
HELMER, C., Prague, 1740 51. Good instruments.
Varnish a brownish colour, of a warm tint. He was a
pupil of Eberle.
HELMER, CARL, Prague. About 1773. Son of pre-
ceding. He also made lutes and mandolines.
HELMER, CARL, Prague. Later. Son of preceding.
HEMSCH, JEAN HENRI, Paris, 1747. Dean of the
Violin Maker's Guild for this year.
HEMSCH, GUILLAUME, Paris, 1761. Dean of the
Violin Makers' Guild for this year.
HENDERSON, D., Aberdeen. Modern. Very poor
work. Common spirit varnish of a cold character, like
an ordinary maple stain.
HENOC, JEAN, Paris, 1773. Dean of the Paris Violin
Makers' Guild for this year. He also made zithers.
HESEN, GIACOMO, Venice. About 1506. A lute
maker.
HESKETH, T. E., Manchester. Contemporary. A
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 175
pupil of Chanot of Manchester. Violins, violas, and
basses.
HETEL, G., Rome. About 1763. Lutes and guitars.
HENRY EUGENE, Paris, 1855. Violins.
HILDEBRAND, M., Hamburg, 1765 1800. Violins,
violas, 'cellos, and double basses.
HILDEBRANDT, M. C., Hamburg, 1800. A repairer.
HILTZ, Paul, Nuremberg, 1656. A viol maker.
HIRCUTT, London. About 1600.
HOCHA, GASPARO DALL', Ferrara, 1568. A repairer.
HOCHBRUCKER, Donawerth. About 1699. Besides
making some good violins he invented the pedals for
harps.
HOCHBRUCKER, Donawerth, 1732 70. He was a
nephew of the preceding, was a violin maker and also
continued to improve the harp in the direction initiated
by his uncle.
HOFFMANN, MARTIN, Leipsic, 1680 1725. A lute
and viol maker who has become famous not only for his
own special work, but also because he was the first to
make the viola pomposa suggested by John Sebastian Bach.
This was a five-stringed 'cello tuned to C, G, D, A, E.
It did not succeed, although Bach wrote music for it.
HOFFMANN, JOHAN CHRISTIAN, Leipsic. Son of
preceding. A lute maker.
HOFFMANN, IGNAZIO, Wulfelsdorf. About 1748. A
violin, lute, and harp maker.
HOFFMANN, MARTIN, Leipsic. Another lute and viol
maker, probably some relative, about same date as
previously mentioned Martin.
HOFMANS, MATHYS, Antwerp, 1720 50. This
176 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
maker was very clever in imitating the Cremonese
varnish. His instruments are also very well made, and
covered sometimes with a fine golden varnish, and
at other times with a dark red very transparent.
The tone of such violins of his as I have seen,
does not, however, come altogether up to one's
expectations.
HOHNE, Dresden. Modern.
HOLLOWAY, J., London, 1794.
HOMOLKA, F., Kuttenburg. Modern.
HORIL, GIACOMO, Rome. About 1742.
HORENSTAINER, ANDREW.
HORENSTAINER, JOSEPH "|
HORENSTAINER, MATTHIAS ] 1730 to present time.
HORENSTAINER, MARTIN j
This is a trade firm in Mitten wald, Bavaria. For more
than 150 years, there has been a representative,
apparently, in existence. The instruments are in many
cases fairly good.
HOSBORN, TH. ALF., London. About 1629. An old
viol maker, a specimen of whose work was in the Paris
Exhibition of 1878.
HUBER, JOHANN GEORGE, Vienna, 1767. Viol maker.
HULINSKI, Prague, 1760. Good maker. Warm
brown varnish.
HULLER, Aucust, Shosneck, 1775.
HUME, RICHARD, Edinburgh, 1535. The earliest
known viol maker in Great Britain.
HUMEL, CHRISTIAN, Nuremberg, 1709.
HUNGER, C. F., Leipsic. Born in Dresden 1718.
Died in Leipsic 1787. A fine maker. He was a pupil
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 177
of Jauch of Dresden and a worthy one of a worthy
master. His instruments are Italian in style.
INSTRUMENT!, MARCO, DAGLI, Ferrara, 1541. A viol
maker.
INDELAMI, MATTEO. A lute maker. Unknown either
when or where.
JACOBI, Meissen. i8th century. Violins.
JACOBZ, HEINDRIK, Antwerp, 1693 1 74-
JANCK, JOHANN, 1735. An old viol maker.
JASPERS, JAHN, Antwerp, 1568. A lute maker.
JAIS, ANTON, Botzen. About 1760.
JAIS, JOHANN, Botzen. About 1776.
JAUCH, Dresden. i8th century. A fine maker
in the Italian style.
JAUCH, JOHANN, Gratz, 1740. A lute maker.
JORI, LEANDER, Sesso. About' 1819.
JORIO, VINCENZO, Naples, igth century.
JOSEPH, J., Vienna, 1764.
JULIANO, FRANCESCO, Rome. i8th century about
the beginning of it.
JULLIEN, Louis, ANTOINE, 1812 60. This was the
great bandmaster, who, although not a violin maker,
was one of those who invent fiddles. His idea was a
violin tuned a fourth above the usual pitch. It never
came to anything. It was to be the same size as the
ordinary violin, which, probably, made it difficult to
invent the strings.
KAISER, MARTIN, Venice. About 1609. A lute maker,
KAMBL, JOHANN ANDREW, Munich, 1635 40.
KANIGOWSKI, Warsaw. About 1841. Besides being
a violin maker, he also made bows.
N
178 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
KARB, Konigsberg. A viol maker.
KEMBTER, Dibnigen, 1725. Violins of highly arched
model.
KESSEL, ANTON, Breitenfeld. Contemporary. Violins.
KIRCHHOFF, A. W., Lopenaja, 1855. Violin maker.
KIRSCHSCHLAG. A Tyrolese maker. About 1780.
KITTEL, St. Petersburg, igth century. A fine repairer,
and also an exquisite bow maker.
KLEIN, A., Rouen. Modern. This establishment is
under the management of M. Antoine Rubach of
Mirecourt.
KLEINMANN, CORNELIUS, Amsterdam, 1671. Violin
maker.
KLOSS, E., Bernstadt, 1855. Violin maker.
KNITTLE, JOSEPH, Mittenwald, 1791.
KNITTING, P., Mittenwald, 1760.
KNOOP, W., Meiningen. Modern.
KOHL, JOHANN, Munich. About 1599. A lute maker
to the Bavarian court.
K<EUPPERS, JOHANN. The Hague, 1760 80. Has the
reputation of being the finest of the Dutch. Thick
varnish, but well made violins.
KOLB, HANS, Ingolstadt, 1666. A viol maker.
KOLDITZ, JACOB, Ruhmburg. Died 1796. The work
of this maker is highly appreciated in Germany.
KOLDITZ, MATHIAS JOHANN, Munich.
KOLLIKER, H., Paris, 1789 1820. A repairer of
great ability.
KRAMER, H., Vienna. About 1717. A viol maker.
KRINER, J., Mittenwald, 1786 91.
KUGLER, MAX, Munich. A violin maker.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 179
KUNTZEL, Berlin. Modern.
LAFLEUR and Sox, London. Contemporary.
LAGETTO, LUIGI, Paris. About 1753.
LAINE, Paris. About 1773.
LAMBERT, JEAN NICOLAS, Paris, 1745. Dean of the
Paris Violin Makers' Guild for this year. The business
was carried on for a considerable time by his widow for
about half a century after above date. Lambert made
also viols, one of which is in the museum of the Paris
Conservatoire. He branded his name on the side of
this instrument, and used a ticket in his violins which
runs,"]. N. Lambert, rue Michel-le-Comte Paris,"
surrounded with arabesque decoration, supported by a
violin and lute.
LAMBERT, Nancy. About 1750.
LAMBERT, J. A., Berlin. About 1760.
LAMBIN, Ghent, 1800 30. Violin maker and repairer.
LAMY, J. THIBOUVILLE, Mirecourt and London.
Contemporary.
LANCELLOTTI, OTTAVIO, Barigazio. Modern. A
maker of double basses.
LANCILLOTTO, JACOPINO, Modena, 1507 51. One of
the oldest known of makers and dealers in viols and
other musical instruments.
LANDI, PIETRO, Siena, 1774. Violins.
LANZA, ANTONIO MARIA, Brescia, 1650 1715. He
was a contemporary of Stradivari, but copied Maggini,
and other Brescian makers in what has been called a
" slavish " manner. His instruments have not a good
tone. He also made viols.
LAPAIX, Lille. Modern. Violin maker and medallist.
N2
l8o THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
LAPREVOTTE, Paris, 1825 1850. He was an ordinary
Mirecourt maker, and subsequently in Paris. Died
in 1856.
LARNE, P. M., Paris, 1767. Dean of the Makers'
Guild for this year.
LASKA, JOSEPH, Ruhmburg. Born 1738. Died 1805.
He worked with Kolditz in Prague, but chiefly made
mandolines and viols.
LAURENTIUS DETTO PAPIENSIS, Pavia. This was a
distinguished old maker of the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries. He was a maker of all sorts, but his
lutes and viols were highly-decorated musical instru-
ments. He was patronised by Isabella D'Este, and
carried on some correspondence with her in regard to
different instruments, between the years 1496 1515.
LAVAZZA, ANTONIO MARIA, Milan, 1695 1708.
LAVAZZA SANTINO, Milan, 1718.
LEB, Presburg, i8th century.
LEBLANC, Paris. About 1772.
LECLERC, Paris, i8th century (1771). He was
chiefly a repairer.
LECOMPTE, Paris. About 1788.
LEDUC, PIERRE, Paris. One of the most ancient
Parisian makers. About 1646.
LE DHUY. About 1806. A French maker of the
bowed lyre.
LEFEBVRE, Amsterdam, 1720 40. His model was
Amati.
LEFEBVRE, Paris. About 1788.
LEI, DOMENICO, Formigine. About 1848. This was
an amateur repairer of some skill.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. l8l
LE JEUNE, FRANCOIS, Paris, 1764. Dean of the
Makers' Guild for this year. There is a viol by him in
the Museum of the Paris Conservatoire, and the name
was in the trade until 1870, I believe, when it became
extinct.
LEMME, Brunswick, i8th century. A maker, or
dealer, who invented things for the riddle. Among these
was an improvement in working the upper table or belly,
which does not appear to have been of any use. He
also invented a mute. I know nothing about either.
LEMBOCK, G., Vienna, About 1873. He was a
repairer.
L'EMPEREUR, JEAN BAPTISTS. Dean of the Makers'
Guild for 1750.
LE LIEVRE, Paris, about 1754. Made fairly good
instruments. Yellowish orange varnish.
LEONI, FERDINANDO, Parma, 1816.
LEPER, DOMINILO, Rome, igth century.
LE PILEUR, PIERO, Paris. About 1754.
LESCLOP, FRANCOIS HENRI, Paris, 1746. Dean of the
Paris Makers' Guild for this year.
LESSELLIER, Paris, 1640 60. A lute maker of whom
Gustave Chouquet has a good word to say.
LEVIEN-MORDAUNT, Paris, 1825.
LEWIS, EDWARD, London. About 1700. Good work
good wood and varnish.
LIEBICH, JOHAN, Breslau, i8th century. A viol
maker.
LIEBICH, ERNEST, Breslau, 1796 1862. Violins,
harps, and guitars.
LIEBICH, GEOFFREY, Breslau, i8th century. Violins.
l82 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
LIGHT, EDWARD, London. About 1798. A lute and
harp maker.
LIGNAMARO, PIETRO, Mantua (San Martino). Died
1569. Lutes and zithers.
LIGNOLI, ANDREA, Florence. About 1681. Violins.
LIEDOLF, GUISEPPE FERDINANDO, Vienna, i8th
century.
LINAROLO, VENTURA, Venice, 1514 20. An old lute
and viol maker.
LIPP, MITTENWALD. About 1761. Violins.
LIPPETA, J. G., Neukirchen, 1771.
LIVORNO, VINCENZO DA, Leghorn, 1861. Violins.
LOCICERO, LUCIANO, Naples. About 1830. Chiefly
guitars.
LOLIO, GIAMBATTISTA, Voltezza, i8th century.
Violins.
LOLY, . JACOPO, Naples. About 1727. Ordinary
maker. Light yellow varnish.
LORENZI, G. B. DE, Vicenza. About 1878. Violins,
and also organs.
LORENZINI, GASPARO, Piacenza, i8th century.
Violins.
LOUVET, JEAN, Paris. Dean of the Makers' Guild for
1759. One of his viols is in the Paris Conservatoire
Museum.
LOUVET, PIERRE, Paris. Dean of the Makers' Guild
for 1742. One of his viols is also in the Paris Con-
servatoire Museum.
LOVERI, Naples. Modern.
LUCARINI (or Lucatini), Faenza. About 1803. A
repairer.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 183
LUDGE, GERONIMO PIETRO DE, Conegliano, 1709. A
repairer. This maker is also called " Ludici." He was
an amateur, it is supposed, from the ticket he used, a
manuscript one. It runs, " Hieronymus Petrus de
Ludice animi causa fasciebat Conegliani, A.D." The
inscription does not in any way justify such a conclusion.
LUGLONI, GUIESPPE, Venice. About 1777. An
imitator of the Cremonese style.
LUPO, PETER, Antwerp. About 1559. Violins.
LUPPI, GIOVANNI, Mantua, igth century.
MACINTOSH, Dublin. Said to be a pupil of Thomas
Perry, Dublin. Macintosh published a work on the
construction of the violin, and of this book it seems
impossible to obtain a copy. It was issued some-
where about the year 1837. Macintosh is supposed to
have died between that date and 1840.
McGEORGE, Edinburgh. About 1800.
MAFFEOTTO, GUISEPPE, Roveredo, i8th century.
MAFFEI, LORENZO. An Italian repairer about end of
1 8th century.
MAGNO, FERRARA. A lute maker, middle of i6th
century.
MAIER, A. F., Salzburg. 1746 50.
MALAGOLI, FULGENZIO, Modena, 1856.
MALDONNER, Fussen. About 1650. A maker of
double basses.
MALLER, LAUX (or Luca), Bologna, 1415 1475. A
famous old German maker of lutes.
MALLER, SIGISMUND, Bologna and Venice, 1460
1526. Another lute maker, also of German origin
judging, of course, only by the name.
184 THE FIDDLE FANCIER ? S GUIDE.
MANN (or Man), Hans, Naples, i8th century.
MANDOTI, GUISEPPE, Piacenza, 1713. Violins.
MANNI, PIETRO, Modena. About 1827. Guitars,
etc.
MANSIELL, L., Nuremburg. About 1728.
MANSIEDL, L., Wurzburg. About 1724.
MANTEGAZZA, CARLO, Milan, i8th century.
MANTEGAZZA, FRANCESCO, Milan, 1760.
MANTEGAZZA, PIETRO and GIOVANNI, Milan, 1737
800. This family of violin makers and repairers were
distinguished in their day chiefly, however, as repairers
and restorers. There is a quartet of instruments by the
brothers P. and G., which appear to be the only speci-
mens of new instruments known to one or two writers,
and the varnish on them is black. They, however, used
all kinds of varnish, and when they did make fiddles they
copied Amati, Stradivari, and Guarnerius indeed, all
sorts even Stainer arching was not rejected. They
were so famous in their day that all sorts of rubbishy,
dirty fiddles have got ticketed accordingly.
MANTOVANI, Parma, 1850 83. A violin repairer.
MARATTI, Verona. About 1700.
MARCELLI (or MARCELLO), GIOVANNI, Cremona, about
1696. A maker of double basses. Large pattern and
of powerful tone. A decorative maker who used inlay
and carving. Inlay on sides sometimes.
MARCHETTI, ENRICO, Turin, igth century. Violins
MARCHI, GIANNANTONIO, Bologna. About 1806.
Violins. Highly arched. Beautiful wood. Varnish of
a golden orange.
MARCO, ANTONIO, Venice. About 1700.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 185
MARCONCINI, GAETANO, Ferrara. i8th century.
MARCONCINI, GUISEPPE, Ferrara. i8th century.
MARCONCINI, LUIGI, Ferrara and Bologna. It is
said that this maker was a pupil of Omobono Stradivari.
Gaetono and Guiseppe were his sons, and Guiseppe is
reported to have been a pupil of Storioni. The
instruments of the latter have a fair reputation but I
am not in a position to speak of any of them.
MARCONI, ANTONIO, Conegliano. About 1878.
MARCUS, JOHANNES, Busseto, 1540 80. A viol
maker.
MARIA, GIUESPPE DE, Naples. About 1779. Chiefly
.a maker of mandolines, etc.
MARIANI, ANTONIO, Pesaro, 1570 1646. School of
Maggini.
MARINO, BERNARDINO, Rome, 1805. Violins.
MARIS, Ferenzuola. Violins.
MARQUIS, DE LAIR, Mirecourt. A igth century
maker of comparatively small interest. He made very
big riddles, and out of proportion. His sound holes are
not so bad in the matter of design, but they are poorly
cut and far apart. His margins are usually large, but
vulgar. Edges round. Ribs good height and figure.
Scroll tasteless. Varnish of a brown colour with a
slight dull orange greenish tint about it here and there.
" Marquis de Lair d'Oiseau " branded across the back
just under the button.
MARSHALL, JOHN, London, 1750 60. A good maker
who used the Stainer model, and also made flatter
instruments. He inscribed on one of his tickets " Good
Beef id. A pound But trades all very Bad." He seems
l86 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
to have been an observer of the times with a fancy for
big, big B's.
MARTANI, ANTONIO, Reggio-Emil, 1804 66. A
violin repairer.
MARTIN, London, 1790 4.
MARTINELLI (detto il Gobbo called the hunchback),
Modena, igth century. A maker of double basses.
MARTINEZ, ALONZO. A Spanish violin maker.
MARTINO. An Italian maker chiefly of 'cellos.
MASENCER, GIOVANNI DE, Brussels. Violins and
pochettes.
MAST, JEAN LAURENT, Paris. i8th century. A
fairly good maker. Thick, dark spirit varnish. " J.
L. Mast, Paris" branded at the top of the back and
in the inside where the ticket is generally seen.
MAST FILS, Toulouse. Son of above. Worked with
Nicolas aine at Mirecourt and subsequently went to
Toulouse. Branded his violins " Mast fils Toulouse
(date) " in the same places. His instruments are rather
highly arched, and have an orange and a red orange
varnish. They are fairly good violins.
MAUCOTEL, CHARLES ADOLPHE. Born in Mirecourt
in 1820 where he learnt violin making. He went to
Vuillaume in 1839, and five years afterwards began
business on his own account. He committed suicide in
1858. He was a fine maker, and turned out some high
class instruments of all sizes except double basses.
MAUCOTEL, CHARLES. Born in Mirecourt in 1807. He
also learnt in Mirecourt and went to C. F. Gand in
Paris, 1834. Ten years afterwards he came to London
and was employed by R. and W. Davis of Coventry
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 187
Street (now Withers). In a few years he started for
himself and continued in Rupert Street till he went back
to France in 1860. His instruments are also good and
have a fine style about them I do not know whether
he was related to the previous maker or not. It is said
that he was a brother and I suppose that is correct.
He was the first employer of Mr. George Chanot, the
elder (of London).
MANSSEIL, LEONARD, Nuremberg. About 1745. A
good maker of Stainer copies. Light yellow varnish.
MAYERHOFF, ANDREW FERDINAND, Salzburg, 1740 6.
MAYR, ADAM, Munich. i8th century. A viol maker.
MAYR, ANDREW FERDINAND, Salzburg, 1726 77. A
violoncello maker. He was maker to the court in
Salzburg.
MAYSON, WALTER, H. Contempory. Violins, violas
and basses. His better class instruments are excellent.
MEARES, RICHARD, London. About 1677. A viol
maker.
MEIBERI, FRANCESCO, Livorno. About 1750.
MELEGARI, ENRICO CLODOVEO, Turin, 1860. Violins.
MELEGARI, PIETRO, Turin. About same date as
previous maker of same name.
METELLI, LUIGI, Ferrara. igth century. A pupil of
Marconcini, and, consequently, of a good school by
descent and according to report.
MELLINI, GIOVANNI, Guastalla. About 1768.
MELONI, ANTONIO, Milan, 1694.
MENICHETTI, LUIGI, Faenza. About 1851. This
maker was an inventor of a new kind of violin. It was
a combination of wood and metal and was thought to be
l88 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
suitable for military bands. The belly was of brass,
and the tone, although of an abominably diverse
character on the different strings, had a certain amount
of strength. It was exhibited in 1851 at Bologna, but
I don't think it has ever been heard of since.
MENNEGAND, CHARLES. Born at Nancy in 1822.
Like so many other fine makers, he was taught his art
in Mirecourt, and in 1840 went to Paris. There he
worked for Rambaux for five years, and became a first-
class repairer of old instruments. He was a year with
Maucotel, and then went to Amsterdam. In five years
he returned to Paris, and died in 1885. He made good
instruments, but his chief distinction was gained in the
repair of old ones.
MENNESSON, EMILE, Rheims. About 1878. This
maker started a business in a kind of trade instrument
which he called the Guarini violin. I suppose it was a
trade mark. He made violins, tenors, 'cellos, and
double basses. They have a red, transparent varnish.
MENSIDLER, JOHANN, Nuremberg, 1550. A viol
maker.
MERIGHI, ANTONIO, Milan, 1800.
MERIOTTE, Lyons. About 1755. A fairly good
maker. Up to 1770, his tickets are written " Meriotte,
.luthier, sur le pont, pres le change, a Lyon," but after
that date the inscription is Latinised and printed. His
instruments are, at the same time, of improved quality.
MERLIN, JOSEPH, London. About 1780. His instru-
.ments are highly built.
MEROSI, GUISEPPE, Firenzuola. About 1846.
METHFESSEL, GUSTAVE, Berne. About 1883.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 189
METTE, FATHER, Rouen, 1855.
MEZADRI, ALESSANDRO, Ferrara, 1690 1720. A
maker of some little merit, but poor Amati model.
MEZADRI, FRANCESCO, Milan, 1700 1720. A fairly
good maker. Nice golden varnish with a reddish tinge,
transparent and thin.
MICHAUD, Paris. About 1788.
MICHELOT, Paris. About 1788.
MICHIELS, GILLES, Brussels, 1779.
MILANI, FRANCESCO, Milan, 1742. This maker was a
pupil of Lorenzo Guadagnini, and an accurate imitator
of Stradivari.
MIER, London. About 1786.
MILLE. A maker at Aix in the Bouches du Rhone in
the 1 8th century. Violins.
MILLER, London, 1750.
MINELLI, GIOVANNI, Bologna. About 1808 9.
Violins.
MINOZZI, MATTEO, Bologna, i8th century.
MIQUEL, EMILE, Mirecourt. Contemporary.
MIREMOXT, CLAUDE AUGUSTIN. Born at Mirecourt
in 1827. He learnt under his father Sebastien, who
was a maker in Mirecourt, and afterwards worked for
three years with C. N. Collin-Mezin. Miremont went
to Paris in 1844, and was first with Joseph Rene Lafleur,
who was a .bow maker, chiefly. Miremont soon left him
and engaged with Bernardel Pere, with whom he
remained until 1852. He then went to New York for
ten years, and returned to Paris in 1861. He retired
from business in 1884, and died in 1887. He was a fine
maker, and received several medals.
igO THE FIDDLE FANCIERS GUIDE.
MIRANCOURT, JOSEPH, Verdun. About 1749. A viol
maker.
MOITESSIER, Louis. About 1781. Made some good
violins. One was a very curious instrument, having a
belly of maple the same as the back. It is described as
being well made, and of good tone.
MOERS, JEAN HENRI, Paris, 1771. Dean for this
year of the Paris Violin Makers' Guild.
MOHR, P., Hamburg. About 1650. A viol maker.
MOLDONNER, Fiissen, 1756 98.
MOLINARI, ANTONIO, Venice, 1672 1703.
MOLINARI, GUISEPPE, Venice. He made various
stringed instruments, such as mandolines, etc. He also
made violins. There are two of the former in the
museum of the Paris Conservatoire, and bearing dates
1 762 and 1763.
MOLLENHAVER, London. About 1881. This is an
inventor, who proposed to make violins, violas, 'cellos,
and double basses with two bellies, one under the other,
dividing the interior of the instrument into two compart-
ments. He claimed for his suggestion that it would
largely increase the volume and roundness 'of the tone of
the violin tribe, without altering its quality. The
principles of the invention are explained in Musical
Opinion of ist November, 1881.
MOLZA, NICOLA, Modena, 1620. A repairer.
MONCHI, P. de, Lyons, 1633. A viol maker.
MONGENOT, Rouen. About 1763.
MONTADE, GREGORIO, Cremona, 1720 35. A maker
vvho copied Stradivari.
MONTALDI, GREGORIO, Cremona. About 1730. This
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. IQI
maker is said to have used the same model as the
preceding, to have lived in the same place at the same
time, and he has the same Christian name. On the
whole, it may be reasonably supposed that there has
been some error in reading his surname. But a conclusion
of that kind, for the reasons already stated, should only
be of a tentative character. We have Smith, Smyth,
and Smythe ; Brown, Broun, and Browne. These
might all be called John, they might all be anywhere in
this country at the same time, and any two of each
group might be drapers or grocers.
MONTANI, GREGORIO, Cremona, i8th century. This
name may also be another " variant " of " Montade "-
but then again, as Uncle Remus would say, it mightn't.
In the meantime, they are merely names.
MONTICHIARO, ZANETTO, Brescia, 1533. A lute and
viol maker.
MONTRON, Paris. About 1788.
MONTURRI, GUISEPPE, Piumazzo. About 1840.
Violins.
MONZINO, ANTONIO, Milan, igth century. Violins
and violas.
MORELLO, MORGLATO, Mantua, 1540. Lutes and
viols.
MORELLA-ODANI. GUISEPPE, Naples, 1738. Made
good violins, having a very dark-coloured varnish.
MORETTI, ANTONIO, Milan. About 1/30. Chiefly
mandolines.
MORI-COSTA, FELICE, Parma. About 1812. Violins.
MORONA, ANTONIO, Isola. About 1731.
MORRISON, J., London, 1780 1823.
IQ2 THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
MOUDOIT. A maker of viols in the i6th century.
He is said to have reduced the number of the strings.
MUCCHI, ANTONIO (called Bastia), Modena, 1800.
Died 1883. He was a magnificent restorer of old
violins. He was a pupil of a Modenese maker named
Soliani, and his instruments have something of the style
of Guadagnini. Varnish golden amber.
MURDOCH, A., Aberdeen. Modern.
MUSAN, DOMENICO, Venice, 1756. A maker of double
basses.
MUZZARELLI, OSPITALETTO, 1880. Violins.
NADERMANN, JEAN HENRI, Paris, 1774. Dean of the
Paris Violin Makers' Guild for this year. He was not a
violin maker, but one of a family of harp makers.
NADOTTI, GUISEPPE, Piacenza. About 1767.
Violins.
NALDI, ANTONIO, Florence. About 1550. He was a
musician, and is said to have invented the theorbo.
NAMY, Paris, 1772 1806. A famous repairer regard-
ing whose talent in this direction the Abbe Sibire went
into raptures, stating that he could tell at a glance when-
ever he saw a violin repaired by Namy, just as he could
tell at a glance whenever he saw a Cremona violin.
This is a specimen of connoisseurship " unconditioned"
as philosophers would say, and now-a-days is charac-
teristic only of those whose self-confidence has
surmounted the level of their experience. Had the Abbe
just qualified his statement with " sometimes," " often,"
" very frequently," or even " nearly always," one would
have had less inclination to discount his enthusiasm.
NAYLOR, ISAAC, Leeds, 1778 92.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. IQ3
NELLA, RAFFAELLO, Brescia. About 1740. A fine
maker who practised the art of decorating his instru-
ments with inlay after the manner of Maggini and the
earlier Brescian school. On the backs and round the
sides of his instruments he used the legend, " Viva fui in
sylvis : sum dura occisa securi : dum vixi, tacqui,
mortua, dulce cano." Duiffoprugcar had used it before
him.
NEUNER, LUIGI, Berlin, igth century.
NEUNER, MATHIAS, Mittenwald. About 1817.
Like Hornstaner, the name of Neunev occurs frequently
in Bavarian work and the members of the two families
have been in one firm.
NEWSIEDLER, GIOVANNI, Nuremberg. Died 1563.
Lutes and viols.
NEWTON, ISAAC, London, 1775 1825.
NEZOT, Paris. About 1735. There is a six stringed
viol by this maker in the museum of the Paris
Conservatoire.
NIGETTI, FRANCESCO, Florence. About 1645. A viol
maker.
NIGGEL, SIMPERTIUS, Fiissen, 1672 1755. He made
violins on the Stainer model, and employed a dark
coloured varnish. Instruments of a flat model are also-
noted as having been seen with N. S. branded inside.
NORBORN, JOHN, London. About 1723.
NORRIS, JOHN. Born 1739. Died 1818. Trained in
the Wamsley school, having been a pupil of Thomas
Smith. The firm became Norris and Barnes.
NOVELLO, MARGANTONIO, Venice. iSth century.
NOVELLO, VALENTINO, Venice. iSth century,
IQ4 THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
NOVERCI, COSIMO, Florence. About 1662. A lute
maker.
NOVERSI, COSIMO, Florence. lyth century. Looks
very like the same name as preceding written down
from a foreign pronunciation.
OBBO, MARCO, Naples. About 1712. A dealer some-
what after the style of Dodd and others, who had the
instruments made for him and placed his own manu-
script tickets inside. Ordinary work.
OBICI, BARTOLOMEO, Verona. About 1684.
OBICI, PROSPERO, Marano. igth century. A repairer.
ODOARDI, GUISEPPE, Ascoli. Died 1695. He was
only twenty-eight years old when he died. He was a
young man of considerable genius, and is said to have
made upwards of two hundred instruments of exceed-
ingly great merit, into which subsequent dealers have
put Cremonese and Brescian tickets. A writer named
Galeazzi says that he rivalled the finer Cremonese makers.
OHBERG, JOHANN, Stockholm. About 1773. A good
maker. Chiefly yellow varnish.
OLIVERI, FELICE, Turin, 1883. Violins.
OLIVOLA, FRANCESCO DE, Rome (Sarzana), 1667.
Violins.
ONGARO, IGNAZIO, Venice, 1783. Violins.
ORLANDELLI, PAOLO, Codogna. i7th century. A
dealer of the same type as Obbo,
ORZERO, TOMMASSO, Turin, igth century. Violins.
OSTLER, ANDREW, Breslau. About 1730. A viol
maker. Yellow orange varnish. Common work.
OTT, JOHANN, Nuremberg. About 1463. A lute
maker.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 195
OTTO, JACOB, AUGUSTUS. Born at Gotha, 1762.
Died in 1830. He was a pupil of Ernst, and wrote the
work which is popularly known in this country under
the title of " Otto on the Violin." It is, to this day, very
useful. I have never seen any of his own work, nor that
of his numerous sons, who were settled in various parts
of the continent. George August, in Jena. Christian,
in Halle. Heinrich, in Berlin. Carl, in Mecklenburg.
C. U. V., in Stockholm. Ludwig, son of George
August, in Cologne. Louis, son of Carl, in Diisseldorf.
Hermann, son of Ludwig, in St. Petersburg. Thus five
sons and three grandsons all went into the fiddle
business, and judiciously chose to settle in different
towns. Some of them are now dead.
OUMIR, KHOSRO, Punjab, India. About the end of
1 5th century.
OUVRARD, JEAN, Paris, 1743. Dean for this year of
Violin Makers' Guild. Style of Pierray.
PACHERELE, MICHEL, Paris. About 1779- An
ordinary maker, orange varnish, style of Louis Guersan.
Name branded at the top of back.
PACHERELE, PIERRE. Born at Mirecourt 1803.
Died at Nice 1871. He was first at Nice in 1830.
He also worked at Genoa and Turin. At the latter
place with Pressenda. In 1839, he returned to
Nice and settled there. He was a good maker,
and a fine repairer, but employed a thick-looking
style of varnish.
PACQUET, Marseilles. About 1785. He was born in
Aix, and was, besides a violin maker, an inventor of a
harp guitar.
02
196 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
PADEWET, J., Carlsruhe, 1855. Violins, guitars, etc.
PADEWET, CARLO, Munich, 1855. Violins, Stradivari
pattern.
PAGANI, J. B., Cremona, 1747. A fairly good maker.
PAGANI, PIETRO, San Martino, 1836.
PAGANINI, LUIGI, Faenza, igth century.
PAGANONI, ANTONIO, Venice, 1712 50.
PALATE, LIEGE, i8th century. A fair maker who
copied the Italian style.
PALLOTTA, PIETRO, Perugia, 1821. Violins.
PALMA, P., Lucca, i8th century.
PALTRINIERI, GIOVANNI. An Italian maker of 'cellos,
about the year 1840.
PAMPHILON,' EDWARD, London, i7th century. Very
high model, but magnificent varnish.
PANDOLFI, ANTONIO, Venice. About 1719.
PANSANI, ANTONIO, ROME, 1735.
PANZA, ANTONIO, Finale-Emilia, 1873. Violins.
PAQUOTTE FRERES, Paris. A firm of violin makers
founded in 1830.
PARDI, Paris. About 1788.
PARDINI, BASTIANO, Florence.
PARLT, MICHAEL ANDREW, Vienna. About 1764.
A viol maker.
PARTH, A. N., I Vienna, i8th century.
PASCIUTI, FERDINANDO, Bologna, 1882. A maker and
repairer.
PASENALI, GIACOMO. An Italian maker of mandolines
chiefly, i8th century.
PASTA, Venice. About 1661.
PASTA, DOMENICO, Brescia. About 1718.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 197
PASTA, GAETANO, Brescia, 1700 1730. High model.
Good instruments, and nice looking varnish.
PATZELT, J. F., Vienna. Modern.
PAZZINI, GIOVANNI, GAETANO, Florence, 1640 60.
This maker, in one of his tickets, calls himself a pupil of
Maggini.
PEARCE, G., London, 1834 5^-
PEARCE, J., London, i8th century.
PEARCE, J. and T., London. About 1780.
PECCENINI, ALESSANDRO, Bologna. About 1595. A
lute maker.
PEDRAZZI, FRA PIETRO, Bologna. About 1784.
Another maker among the ranks of the Dominican
fraternity.
PEDRINELLI, ANTONIO, Crespano. Born 1781. Died
1854. This maker was originally a carpenter and
undertaker. He was almost wholly deaf, and took to
copying violins of the fine makers, such as Maggini,
Stradivarius, and Guarnerius. He was successful in
selling them in Russia. He made the backs of very old
beech from fragments of oars, the remains of the old oars
used in the Venetian galleys. These, it is said, he
procured, by means of some patron's influence, from the
Venetian arsenal. To some firms he sold his instru-
ments in the white, and he made all sorts, violins, tenors,
'cellos, and double basses. In 1854, ne exhibited some
specimens of his work at the Industrial Exhibition in
Venice, and had a medal awarded to him, but he was
then dying, and never knew of his success.
PELIGNINO, ZANETTO, Brescia, 1547 50. An old
viol maker.
198 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
PEMBERTON, EDWARD, London. About 1660.
PERON, Paris, 1755 88. A court maker, namely, to
the Duchess of Orleans. He appears to have made
few violins, and to have been chiefly engaged in
fabricating other kinds of string instruments, such as
zithers, etc.
PETRONI, ANTONIO, Rome, igth century.
PETZ, Fiissen. About 1770.
PEZARD, Brescia, 1560 80. A follower of Maggini.
PFUB, Hamburg. Modern.
PFRETYSCHNER, Neukircken. Common work.
PFRETZSCHNER, J. G., Cremona. 1750 94. Common
work.
PIANASSI, DOMENICO, Ginglia, 1770 80. A viol
maker.
PIANE, DELLE, Genoa, 1800. Violins.
PICCAITI, IPPOLITO, Persiceto, 1850 56. Violins and
double basses.
PICCINETTI, GIOVANNI, 1677. An Italian viol maker.
PICHOL, Paris.
PICINO, Padua, 1712.
PICTE, NATALE, Paris, 1760 1810. Violins and
double basses.
PIERI, Costantino, 1865. An Italian repairer.
PIERRET, Paris, 1 6th and I7th centuries.
PIERROT, Lyons.
PIETE, N., Paris, 1760 80.
PIETRI, PIETRO, Venice, 1690.
PIETRO, ALBERTO, Rome. About 1581. A lute
maker.
PILLEMENTI, F., Paris. About 1760. His name is
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 199
branded on the inside. Not particularly good work.
He made tenors and 'cellos also.
PILOSIO, FRANCESCO, Gorizia. i8th century. About
1748.
PINGRIER, Paris, 1882. A maker and repairer.
PINI, BARTOLOMEO, Florence. About 1664. A maker
and dealer.
PINI, LUIGI, Florence, igth century. A repairer.
PIROT, CLAUDE, Paris, 180313. A maker who
employed a thick brown varnish having a red tint. His
instruments are fairly good. Arching somewhat high,
but otherwise well designed.
PITET, Paris. About 1675. A maker of the decora-
tive sort who inscribed on the sides of the instruments
his name, etc.
PIVA, GIOVANNI, Modena. igth century. Violins,
violas, 'cellos, and basses.
PIVA, GIOVANNI, Piacenza. About 1883. Possibly
the same maker as the preceding.
PIZZORNO, DAVIDE, Genoa, 1770. Violins and basses.
PLACH, FRANCESCO, Schcenbach, 1781. Violins.
PLACHT, Vienna. About 1873. Instruments of a
trade character.
PLANI, AGOSTINO DE, Genoa. About 1778. Ordinary
kind of instrument.
PLATNER, MICHELE, Rome. About 1747. A maker
whose instruments resemble those of Tecchler.
PLUMEREL, Paris. About 1740. A maker of basses.
Not particularly good work. Orange varnish.
POGGI, FRANCESCO, Florence, 1634. Various kinds of
instruments.
2OO THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
POLI, GIOVANNI, Milan, 1850 82. Violins. Tenors
and 'cellos.
POLIS, LUCA DE, Cremona, 1751. Instruments in the
style of Andreas Amati.
POLLASTRI, ANTONIO, Modena, 1765. A viol maker.
POLLASTRI, GUISEPPE, Modena, 1783. Viols and
guitars.
POLLASHA (or Pollusca), ANTONIO, Rome, 1751.
Violins and 'cellos.
PONS, CESARE, Grenoble, 1750 60. An old hurdy-
gurdy maker.
PONS, Paris, 1827 51. Chiefly a guitar maker.
PONTIGGIO, V., Como, 1853. Violins, tenors, and
basses.
POPELLA. An Italian 'cello maker of the i7th
century.
PORLON, PETER, Antwerp, 1647. There is in existence
a bass by this maker, bearing above date.
POSCH, ANTHONY, Vienna. About 1753. Violins,
etc. Highly arched, common fiddles, with very dark
varnish.
POSSEN, LAUX, Schevengau. About 1564. A maker
of lutes and viols.
POSTACCHINI, ANDREA, Fermo. About 1824. Violin
of a somewhat ordinary character, of flat arching, and
reddish-brown varnish.
POSTIGLIONE, VINCENZO, Naples, 1881. Violins, etc.
POWELL, R., London, 1785.
POWELL, THOMAS, London, 1793.
POZZINI, GAETANO, Brescia, 1671 90. Instruments
in the style of Maggini.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 2OI
POZZINI, GASPARO, Brescia, 1691 99. A maker of
the same school.
PREDIGER, Anspach, 1694 9^ Violins and tenors.
PRESTON, JOHN, York. About 1791.
PRESSENDA, GIOVANNI FRANCESCO, Turin. This
maker was one of the finest of the post-classical period.
He was born on the 6th January, 1777, in Lequio-
Berria, a small village in the neighbourhood of Alba in
Piedmont. His father was a local violinist of some skill.
Young Pressenda as a child, played the violin, and
frequently astonished those who heard him. He
apparently, however, liked the idea of making violins
better than playing them, for when he was barely ten
years old, he determined to learn the art of constructing
them in the famous city of Cremona. It was rather a
long tramp for a lad of his years, but he took his fiddle
with him and played for a living from place to place,
until he entered within the renowned walls. At this
time, all the the great ones he had heard of had passed
over to the majority except the last and least, Storioni.
He got employment with him, and so pleased that fag
end of the Cremonese school that the boy at the
termination of his engagement returned home with two
fine violin moulds which his master gave him as a mark'
,of his satisfaction. He played his way back, as he had
forward, and remained at home until he was thirty-seven
years old. In 1814 he went to Alba, and began fiddle
making there without great results. In 1817 he went to
Carmagnola, and was not more successful. At last he
thought of Turin, and went there in 1820. He was now
forty-three, but he triumphed. Four years later, the
2O2 THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
great violinist, Polledro, settled in Turin, and recognised
the excellence of Pressenda's work. This recognition,
not being a mere advertisement, was the making of him,
and from that time his instruments have surely though
slowly risen in the estimation of fiddle-fanciers, and
now deservedly occupy a high place in the esteem of
really good judges. He died in Turin on the 4th
December, 1854.
The style of his work is large and massive, and
possesses a vigour not unlike that which charactises
much of Lupot's later and best efforts. In Pressenda's
later specimens, the figure of his backs is often of an
unusually bold marking, whether the backs are two
pieced or whole. This trait is indeed so prominent that
many people imagine he never used any other kind of
wood, quite a mistake, of course. His arch is broad,
long, and flat, can hardly, indeed, be called an arch, but
his sides are fine and full. His varnish is a good
quality of spirit colour from darkish mahogany to a
light amber brown. The tone of his violins is generally
very . fine, having much of the clear and firm timbre
which distinguishes many of Lupot's best efforts.
PREVOT, Paris. About 1788.
PUPPATI, FRANCESCO, Udine, 1883.
PUPUNAT, M., Lausanne, 1855. Violins and bows.
Another member of a religious confraternity who has
devoted- himself to fiddle making for some reason.
PYNE, GEORGE, London. Contemporary. A clever
maker who has done some good work.
QUERCI, VINCENZO, Florence, 1634. A maker of and
dealer in violins and various musical instruments.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 203.
QUINOT, JACQUES, Paris. About 1670. There is in
existence a pochette by this maker, and it is of a
decorative character. Orange varnish. His name is
branded on the back of it.
RACCERIS, Mantua. About 1670.
RAILICH, GIOVANNI, Padua.
RAMBAUX, CLAUDE VICTOR. Born at Darney in 1806,
his parents removed to Mirecourt, where, like .so many
fine makers before and after him, he was taught his art.
He was fourteen years old when he was apprenticed to
Moitessier, and afterwards worked for him as journeyman.
In 1824 he went to Thibout, at Caen, and in 1827 to
Gand pere in Paris. By this time he had attained
unrivalled fame as a restorer and repairer. He was
eleven years with Gand, and then began for himsel
opposite the Conservatoire. He retired to Mirecourt in
1857, where he still employed himself at his favourite
pursuit until he died in 1871.
RAMFTLER, FRANCESCO, Munich, 1882. Modern.
RANTA, PIETRO, Brescia, 1733.
RAOUL, J. M., Paris, igth century.
RAPHAEL, Brescia. About 1840. Violins, violas, and
basses.
RASTELLI, Genoa, igth century. Violins, violas, and
basses.
RASURA, VINCENZO, Lugo. About 1785.
RAU, J. F., Nuremberg. Modern.
RAUCH, HANS VON SCHRATT. An old German viol
maker.
RAUCH, JOHANN, Breslau, i6th and i7th centuries.
RAUCH, JACOB, Manheim. About 1747. High modeL
204 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
RAUCH, Wurzburg. This maker was a brother of
the preceding, and made instruments of similar type.
RAUCH, SEBASTIEN, Lietmente, Bohemia, 1742 1763.
Work somewhat coarse. Model, the highly built style.
RAUT, GIOVANNI, Rennes, 1790. Violins after the
style of Guarnerius del Jesu.
RAUTMANN, Brunswick. Modern.
RAVENNA, G. B., Lavagna, igth century. Violins,
violas, and basses.
RAVILIO, G. B., Ferrara, i5th century. A maker of
various string instruments.
RAENZO, C., Barcelona, i7th century.
RAZZOLI, FELICE, Villa Minozzo, igth century. A
repairer.
REALI, COSIMO, Parma, 1667. A maker of pochettes.
RECHARDINI, GIOVANNI, Venice, 1605. Violins,
violas, basses.
REGGIANI, FRANCESCO, San Martino. About 1836.
A maker of violins and guitars.
REICHEL, JOHANN GOTTFRIED, Absam. About the end
of the 1 7th century. He was a pupil of Stainer, accord-
ing to his own account, but the arching of his instru-
ments is, like that of a great many imitators of this
master, absurdly high.
REICHEL, JOHANN CONRAD. About 1779. A kind of
trade maker in Neukirchen.
REICHERS, AUGUST, Berlin. Contemporary. A pupil
of Bausch of Leipsic, it is said. He is chiefly a repairer
of considerable reputation from a German point of view.
REINA, GIACOMO. About 1708. An Italian maker of
"cellos.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 205
REMI, or REMY, Cremona, i8th century. It has been
said there was a maker of this name in Cremona, who
made ordinary violins so far as concerns quality. He
branded his name on them, and carved heads of
monsters, etc., on the scrolls. Dark coloured varnish.
I have not seen any. Another maker of this name was
in London about fifty years ago, who doctored the wood
of his instruments. He came from Paris. In Paris
there were established
REMY, NICOLAS, Paris. About 1760. He made
violins, violas, and basses after the style of the earlier
French makers, such as Louis Guersan.
REMY, JEAN, MATHURIN, Paris. Born 1770. Died
1854. Son of preceding. Somewhat of the same kind
of work.
REMY, JULES, Paris. Born 1813. This maker was
in business until recently, and was a son of Jean
Mathurin Remy.
RENAUDIN, LEOPOLD, 1788 95. A maker of double
basses which are sought after in France. He made
himself busy in the excesses of the French Revolution,
and was one of those political splutterers who,
untrained in the art of agitation, blunder into
murder, and then whimper when they are them-
selves condemned to death. That is the most charit-
able view of his character, but if history is accurate
in its details, he was one of those sanguinary creatures
whose birth in the ranks of the human specie
appears to be quite inexplicable. He was beheaded
in 1795.
RENAUDIN, Ghent, 1781. A repairer.
206 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
RENAULT, NICOLAS, Nancy. About the end of the
1 6th century. Said to have been a pupil of Twersus.
RENAULT, JACQUES, Paris. First half of lyth century.
RENAULT, S. B., Paris. There is a curious instrument,
a kind of lyre, by this maker in the Paris Conservatoire,
but nothing more is known of him.
RENAULT and CHATELAIN, Paris, i8th century. This
firm state in their tickets that they " make, sell, hire,
buy, and repair all kinds of musical instruments."
REYNAUD, ANDREAS, Tarascon. About 1766.
REQUENO, Y., VIVEZ VINCENZO, Calatrato. About
1743. Violin repairers.
RICEVATI, AURELIO, Florence. About 1650.
RICHARD, ROBERT, Paris, 1756. Dean of the Paris
Violin Makers' Guild for this year.
RICOLAZI, LUDOVICO, Cremona. About 1729.
RICOZALI, LUDOVICO, Cremona. About 1729.
These makers, one might almost be certain, are one
and the same. They made violins.
RIESS, Bamberg, 1740 60. A very good imitator of
Stainer. The name is sometimes spelt " Ries."
RIGHI, ANTONIO, Modena, 1817. A maker of double
basses. He was a painter also. His fiddle work is not
of a high character.
RINALDI, CELESTE, Modena, igth century. Violins,
violas, and basses.
RINALDI, GIOFFREDO, Turin. Contemporary. Chiefly
a dealer.
RISUENO.TOMMASO, Madrid. About 1783. Got their
new instruments made, probably, in Mirecourt.
RITTIG, CRISTOFORO, Genoa, 1692. A maker of 'cellos.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 2OJ
RIVOLTA, GIACOPO, Milan, 1800 22. A fairly good
maker, who was one of that class of egotists who keep
us in a constant condition of pleasant excitement by
threatening to revive the 'glorious epoch of Stradivari,
either by rediscovering the varnish or reproducing the
magnificent tone. Rivolta's work is not very refined,
but his tone is good.
RIZZOTTI, NICOLA, Novellara, igth century. Violins,
violas, and 'cellos.
ROCCA, JOSEPH ANTONIO. About 1840 1865.
Violins, violas, and basses. He was a pupil of Pressenda,
and a maker of undoubted ability.
ROCCA, ENRICO, Genoa, igth century. Chiefly
mandolines.
RODIANI, GIOVITA, Brescia, i6th century. This is the
maker whose name is usually given as " Javietta
Budiani." The error has probably arisen through
partial illegibility in the ticket of some rare specimen of
his work. His work is in the style of Gaspare da Salo
and Maggini, having golden amber-coloured varnish,
finely tinted with red. His tickets are
" GIOUITA RODIANI in Brescia.'"
RODDLI, LUIGI, Nancy, 1511. An early viol maker,
who was patronised by the then Duke of Lorraine.
ROISMANN, JOHANN, Breslau, 1630 80. A fancy
fiddle maker. Porcelain fiddles, and such like.
ROL, Paris, 1753. A violin maker.
ROLINI, GIAMBATTISTA, Pesaro, 1471. A very ancient
maker, it is said, of violins !
ROMANO, PIETRO, Pavia, i8th century.
ROMANINI, ANTONIO, Cremona, i8th century.
208 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
ROMARIM, ANTONIO, Cremona, i8th century.
These two appear to be one and the same. A ticket
of the latter runs, " Antonio Romarini fecit Cremonae
anno 17 ."
RONCHINI, RAFFAELLO, Fano, igth century. A maker
of violins and bows.
ROOK, JOSEPH, Carlisle. About 1777.
ROPIQUET, Paris. About 1815. This maker was a
player in the opera band, and made several violins.
An amateur, in fact.
ROSIERO, Rocco, Cremona. About 1700. Violins,
violas, and 'cellos.
ROSMANN, JOHANN, Breslau. 1 7th century.
Ross, JOHN, London, 1562 1598. A viol maker.
Ross, JOHN, London. About 1596. A son of pre-
ceding. Also a viol maker. The name is occasionally
spelt Rosse.
ROSSELLI, GIAMBATTISTA, Sassuolo. i8th century.
Violins and violas.
Rossi, ENRICO, Pavia, 1883. Violins.
Rossi, FERDINANDO, Modena. igth century. A
repairer.
Rossi, GAETANO, Milan, igth century. A maker of
double basses.
Rossi, GIOVANNI, Perugia, 1820. Violins.
ROTA, GIOVANNI. Cremona, 1705. Violins, violas and
basses.
ROTH, JOHANN, Darmstadt. About 1675. A German
maker.
ROTH, CHRISTIAN, Augsburg. About 1675.
ROTTA, CARLO. Lecco. An Italian maker violins.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 2O9
ROTTEMBOURG, ALBERT, Brussels. Died 1764.
Violins, violas and basses.
ROTTEMBOURG, FRANCESCO, Brussels. About 1771.
ROTTEMBOURG, G. G., Brussels. Born 1672. Died 1756.
ROTTEMBOURG, G. A., Brussels, 1758 73.
ROTTEMBOURG, G. A., Brussels. Born 1705. Died
1783. Son of G. G.
ROTTEMBOURG, G. A. G., Brussels. Born 1642.
Died 1720.
ROTTEMBROUCK, Brussels, 1700 25.
Several of the members of the Rottembourg family
seem to have copied the Amati model. Some of
instruments have a warm brown varnish.
ROVELLI. An Italian maker about 1744.
ROVETTO, Bergamo, 1840 70.
ROZE, Orleans. About 1757. A fairly good maker.
Yellowish varnish. Wide sound holes and solid looking
scroll.
ROZET, Paris. About 1691. A court maker of the
period.
RUB, AUGUSTO DA, Viterbo, 1771. Violins.
RUBATI, Milan. About 1700. A maker of porcelain
fiddles.
RUBINI, Bologna, igth century. Chiefly guitars.
RUBRECHT, Vienna, igth century. A repairer.
RUDET, P., Warsaw, igth century. Violins, violas.
RUELLE, PIERRE, Paris. Dean of the Paris Violin.
Makers' Guild for this year.
RUF, HALL, 1780 1877. A maker chiefly interesting
for the labour and care with which he collected informa-
tion regarding Jacob Stainer.
210 THE FIDDLE FANCIERS GUIDE.
RUFFINO. An Italian maker of pochettes or kits.
RUPPERT, ERFURT, i8th century. A maker of
violins, violas and 'cellos. He neither purfled his
instruments, nor put corner blocks in them. They are
all of flat model, and have a dark brown, amber varnish,
according to Otto.
SACCHNI, SABATINO, Pesaro, 1686. A violin maker
who copied Maggini, but was also familiar with the
Cremonese models of that time, and who succeeded in
combining the two styles by giving to the back some-
thing of the Amati arching while he retained elsewhere
many points of Maggini's habit. One of his known
specimens is of small size.
SACQUIN, Paris, 1830 60. A fine maker, who has
produced some excellent double basses, as well as good
violins and violas.
SAINPRA, JACQUES, Berlin, ijth century. A viol
maker.
SAINT-PAUL, PIERRE, Paris. About 1741. An
ordinary maker of violins, violas, and basses. Poor,
dull, yellow varnish.
SAINT-PAUL, ANTOINE, Paris. Dean of the Violin
Makers' Guild for the year 1768. He succeeded Louis
Guersan, and employed an orange varnish.
SAINT-CECILE DES THERMES, Paris. About 1855. A
maker of 'cellos.
SAJOT, Paris. About 1734.
SALZAR, Paris. A mere name.
SALLE, Paris, 1825 1850. A very fine repairer, and a
great authority on old instruments, even among Paris
dealers.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 211
SALOMON, JEAN BAPTISTE DESHAYES, Paris. Dean
of the Paris V.M. Guild in the year 1760. He made
some fine-looking basses. Tone not so fine. Hard
varnish. He died before 1772.
SALOMON, Rheims. About 1747. A maker of the
school or style of Louis Guersan. Yellow varnish, and
plenty of wood, but poor workmanship.
SALOMON, B., Paris, i6th and i7th century. Violins
and basses after the style of Boquay.
SALTINARI, GIACOMO, Marano, igth century. A
repairer.
SALVADORI, GUISEPPE, Pistoia, 1861. Violins.
SANONI, G. B., Verona. i8th century.
SANTAGIULIANA, GIACINTO, Vicenza. About 1770.
SANTE, PISARO, 1670. Violins, violas, and basses.
SANTE, GUISEPPE, Rome, 1775. Violins.
SANTI, GUISEPPE, Rome, 1778. Violins, violas, and
basses.
SANTO, GIOVANNI, Naples, 1730. Violins, violas, and
basses.
SANZO, SANTINO, Milan, i8th century. Violins.
SARACINI, DOMENICO, Florence, 1655. Violins, violas,
and basses.
SARDI, Venice, 1649. Violins and violas.
SASSI, ALESSIO. About 1784. An Italian 'cello
maker.
SAUNIER, Paris. A French provincial maker who
started in Paris about 1770. His violins are fairly well
appreciated in France, and he is said to have been the
instructor of F. L. Pique.
SAUNIER, Bordeaux. About 1754.
P2
212 THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
SAVANI, GUISEPPE, Carpi. About 1809. A maker of
double basses.
SAVITZKY, Vienna, i8th century.
SAWICKI, Vienna. About 1830.
SCARAMPELLA, GUISEPPE, Florence, igth century.
Born in Brescia in 1838. His father was a carpenter,
and also made violins, but after learning the elements of
his business in Brescia, Guiseppe went to Paris, where
at that time a countryman of his, Nicolo Bianchi, was
famous as a judge and repairer. Scarampella soon
made himself expert under Bianchi's guidance, and
returned to Italy, where in 1866 he started on his own
account in Florence. There he has been entrusted with
work of very considerable importance, not only from
private amateurs, but also from the Florentine Royal
Musical Institute, for whom he restored the famous
viola and violoncello made by Stradavari in 1690 for the
Grand Duke Ferdinand, son of Cosmo III., of Medici.
In 1884 he was appointed Conservator of their Museum
an office which, I believe, he still holds.
SCH.ENDL, ANTON, Mittenwald. About 1753.
SCHEINLEIN, JOSEPH MICHEL, Langenfeld. Born
SCHEINLEIN, MATHIAS FRIEDERICH, Langenfeld,
1710 71. This maker was also a musician. His instru-
ments are well made, but of a high model, and too thin
in the wood. Dark coloured varnish. The preceding.
Joseph Michel was his son.
SCHELL, SEBASTIAN, Nuremberg. About 1727. A
lute maker. One of his instruments is in the Conser-
vatoire Museum at Paris.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 213
SCHENFELDER (or ScHCENFELDER), JoHANN ADAM,
Neukirchen. About 1743.
SCHLICK, Leipsic.
SCHLEGET, ELIA, Altemburg, 1730. Violins and
other string instruments, such as harps and lutes.
SCHMIDT, Cassel, 1800 1825. Not a particularly
fine maker. Stradivari model.
SCHMIDT, CARLO, Coeten, i8th century. Invented a
keyed violin.
SCHMIDT, C. F., Vienna, 1873. Violins, violas and
basses.
SCHNCECK, Brussels, 1700 30. Violins, violas and
'cellos. Amati model.
SCHONGER, FRANZ, Erfurt, i8th century. His instru-
ments are of large size, and good looking, but of poor
tone.
SCHONGER, GEORG, Erfurt. He was a son of pre-
ceding maker, and a fine repairer, chiefly.
SCHORN, JOHANN, Inspruck. About 1680 99. Violins
and viols. His violins are tubby. Good varnish. Also
at Salzburg.
SCHORN, JOHANN PAUL, Salzburg, 1699 1716. Violins
and viols. He was patronized by the Court.
SCHLOSSER, HERMANN, Ehrlbach. Contemporary.
Violins, violas, basses.
SCHOTT, MARTIN, Prague, i8th century. A lute
maker.
SCHOTT, MAYENCE. About 1780. Various instru-
ments. Chiefly a dealer.
SCHROT, JACOB, Inspruck, 1838. A repairer.
SCHULZ, PETER, Ratisbon, 1855. Violins and guitars.
214 THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
SCHUSTER, MICHEL, Markneukirchen. About 1873.
SCHWARTZ, BERNARD, Strasbourg. Died 1822.
SCHWARTZ, GEORGE FREDERICK, Strasbourg. Born
1785. Died 1849. Son of preceding.
SCHWARTZ, THEOPHILE GUILLAUME, Strasbourg. Born
1787. Died 1861. Also a son of Bernard Schwarz,
who trained his two sons, and they succeeded to the
business under the style of " Freres Schwartz." George
Frederick made bows, his brother Theophile violins, etc.
The first violin of this firm is dated 1824, and down to
1852 they turned out 80 violins and 30 'cellos. In that
year succeeded to the business
SCHWARTZ, THEOPHILE GUILLAUME. Born 1821. Son
of the previous Theophile Guillaume.
SCHEWITZER, Pesth. About 1800. Violins and
violas. Good work, flat model.
SCOTTO, Verona, 1511. Viols and violins. He was
also a musician a lute player.
SECCO, DEL, Venice, igth century. Violins, violas
and basses.
SEGIZO, GIROLAMO MARIA, Modena. Died 1553.
Violins, violas, basses, viols and lutes.
SELLAS, MATTED, Venice. About 1639. Chiefly
mandolines and guitars.
SENI, FRANCESCO, Florence, 1634. Violins and violas.
SENTA, FABRIZIO, Turin, iSth century. Basses.
SERAFIN, GEORGIO, Venice. About 1747. Violins
violas and basses. Probably some relative of Sante
Serafin (Sanctus Seraphin) already mentioned.
SERESATI, D., Naples, i8th century. Violins, violas
and basses.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 215
SGARBI, GUISEPPE, Finale Emilie, 1841 75. Violins,
violas and basses.
SHAW, J., London, 1656 98. Viols and violins.
SICILIANO, ANTONIO, Venice, 1600. Varnish of a dark-
red, very thickly coated. The terminal squares in the
sound holes very small. The tops smaller than the
lower ones, the main stem having no notches.
SIGNORINI, SERAFINO, Florence, 1877. A repairer.
SIMON, Paris. About 1788. Violins and basses.
SIMON, Salzburg, 1731. Violins, violas and basses.
SIMONIN, CHARLES. Born at Mirecourt, he was sent
to Paris and apprenticed to J. B. Vuillaume, and gradu-
ated with him a high-class workman. He returned to
Mirecourt for a time, and moved to Geneva in 1841, and
eight years afterwards to Toulouse. He has gained
several medals.
SIMPSON, JOHN, London, 1785 90. A city maker at
the back of the Royal Exchange.
SIMPSON, J. and J., London. Later.
SIRJEAN, Paris, 1818. Violins, violas, and basses.
SIROTTI, NICOLA, Spilamberto, igth century. A
repairer.
SITT, A., Prague. Modern.
SLAGH-MEULEN, VANDER, Antwerp. About 1672.
An old maker of good traditions. Varnish dull brown.
Decorative sort of work. A curious specimen of his
'cellos was in the 1878 Paris exhibition. The head was
open at the back, and the volute terminated in a
carved head with a crown. One singular feature was
seen on the inside of back, namely, purfling and gilding.
SMITH, HENRY, London, 1629 33. A viol maker.
2l6 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
SMITH, THOMAS, London, 1756 99. A pupil of
Peter Wamsley. Chiefly 'cellos.
SMITH, W., London, 1770 86.
SNEIDER, GUISEPPE, Pavia. About 1703. Violins,
violas and basses. Amati arching.
SNCECK, EGIDIUS, Brussels, 1731. Copied Amati.
SNCECK, HENRI AUGUSTE, Brussels, 1672. Same
kind of work as preceding.
SNUECK, MARK, Brussels, i8th century. A repairer.
SOCCHI, VINCENZO, Bologna, 1661. Pochettes.
There is one of this date in the Paris Conservatoire
Museum.
SOCOL, Pio, Genoa, igth century. Violins, violas,
'cellos.
SOCQUET, Paris, i6th century. A maker of very
common violins.
SOLIANI, ANGELO, Modena, 1752 1810. A fine maker,
whose instruments have an exquisite silvery tone and
considerable power. A golden, amber-coloured varnish.
SOMER, NICOLAS, Paris, 1749. Dean of the Maker's
Guild for this year.
SONCINI, LUIGI, San Martino, 1831. Violins.
SARSANA, SPIRITO, Cuneo, 1714 34.
SOUZA, Gio GUISEPPE DE, Lisbon. i7th century.
SOVERINI, Bologna, 1883. Violins, violas and basses.
STANGUELLINI, C., Modena, 1883. A repairer.
SPEILER. A Tyrolese maker.
STATELMANN, D., Vienna, 1730 50. Copied Stainer
excellently. Varnish yellowish.
STATELMANN, J. J., Vienna. About 1759. Also a
fine copier of Stainer.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 21J
STAUTINGER, M. W., Wurzburg, 1671. A viol
maker.
STAUBE, Berlin, 1775. A repairer.
STECHER, CARL, 1880. Violins and basses.
STEFFANINI, CARLO, Mantua. Chiefly mandolines.
1 8th century (1790).
STEININGER, FRANCOIS, Paris, 1827. A good maker
of 'cellos.
STEPHANNIS, Cremona, 1507. Violins, violas and
basses.
STERNINGRE, JACOB, Mayence, 1705. A repairer.
STIRRAT, Edinburgh. About 1815.
STATWOLF. A German maker of double basses.
STAUFFER, Vienna. i8th century.
STOFF, FRANCESCO, Fiissen, 1750 98. Violins,
violas and basses.
STOSS, F., Fiissen, 1750 98. These two names
Stoss and Stoff appear to represent the same person.
STOSS, Prague. i8th century.
STOSS, BERNARD and MARTIN, Vienna. End of last
and beginning of the present century. Good model.
Not the high tubby models of so many German makers.
The work is also good.
STRAUB, J.. Neustadt. About 1745.
STRAUSS, MICHELE, Venice, 1680. Pochettes.
STRAUT, MICHELE, Venice, 1686. Violins and violas.
STREGNER, MAGNO, Venice, i7th century. A lute
maker.
STROBL, JOHANN, Hallein, i8th century.
STRONG, JOHN, Somerset, i7th century. A viol
maker.
2l8 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
STRUAD, GASPER, Prague. About 1789. Viol maker.
Also made 'cellos.
STURDZA, Vienna, 1873. Violins, violas and basses.
STURGE, H., Bristol and Huddersfield. 1811 53.
SULOT, NICOLAS, Dijon, 1829 39. A violin maker
who took out patents for original notions with regard to
violins and basses. One of these was for a second belly
in the interior of the violin and which was put in com-
munication with the upper belly for the purpose of
reinforcing the tone. This notion, propounded in 1839,
seems to be almost the same as that proposed by
Mollenhaver some fifty years later. Sulot called his
instrument a " violon a double echo." The patent
is dated 5th May, 1839, and, fifty years hence, it may
again be resuscitated, with a few additions or alterations
in detail, and with probably similar success.
SUOVER, GIOVANNI, Florence, 1637. A lute maker.
TACHINARDI, Cremona, 1689. A maker who copied
the Amati style.
TADOLINI, GUISEPPE, Modena, igth century. Origin-
ally of Bologna. Settled in Modena as a repairer of
old and a maker of new instruments and bows.
TANEGIA, CARLANTONIO, Milan, i8th century. A
ticket of his runs, " Carolus Antonius Tanegia fecit in
via Lata Mediolani anni 1730."
TANINGARDO, GEORGIO, Rome. About 1735.
TANTINO, SESTO, Modena, 1461 90. A maker to the
Court of Ferrara.
TARDIEU, TARASCON, i8th century. An old French
writer, Laborde, stated that the bearer of this name
invented the violoncello. He was an ecclesiastic, and
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 219
his brother was a chapel master, but as the 'cello was
known in Italy a hundred and fifty years before Father
Tardieu's day, this little romance has not had very
extended belief. He is still, however, in some quarters,
supposed to have been a maker of 'cellos, and I cannot
well exclude his name.
TARR, Manchester. About 1855.
TARTAGLIA, FRANCESCO, Stroppiana, 1883. Violins.
TASSINI, BARTOLOMEO, Venice, 1750 54. A some-
what common maker. His tickets run, " Opus
Bartholomaei Tassini Veneti."
TAYLOR, London, 1780 1820. Made very good
violins, but they are not very numerous.
TEODITTI, GIOVANNI, Rome, i7th century. Violins,
violas and basses.
TERAPATINI, Sant Agata Lugo, 1879. A maker of
'cellos.
TERMANINI, GUISEPPE, Modena, 1755. Violins.
TESLAR, GIOVANNI, Ancona, 1622. A viol maker.
TESTATOR, IL VECCHIO, Milan, i5th and i6th
centuries. This is the maker who, in the irresponsible
days of fiddle history, had assigned to him the credit of
inventing the violin. The notion is, at present, quite
discarded, nothing whatever being known regarding this
ancient.
THERESS, C., London. About 1850.
THIBOUVILLE-LAMY, London, Paris, and Mirecourt.
Contemporary.
THIERRIOT, PRUDENT, Paris, 1772. Dean of the
Paris Makers' Guild for this year.
THIN, M. and G., Vienna, i8th century.
22O THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
THIPHANON, Paris. About 1780 88. Tickets
" Tiphanon, rue St. Thomas-du-Louvre, a Paris."
THIR, JOHANN GEORGE, Vienna. About 1791.
Chiefly mandolines.
THOMASSIN, Paris. From about 1825 1845. Previous
to 1825, he worked with Clement. He was a good
maker.
THOROWGOOD, H., London, i8th century.
THUMHARDT, Munich, i8th century.
THUMHARDT, Strasburg, i8th century.
TIELKE, JOACHIM, Hamburg, 1539 1686. In the
way of decorated instruments of the antique class, this
maker may, perhaps, be justifiably called a peerless
artist in his particular style. The business was carried
on for nearly a century and a half, and any one who has
seen the beautiful Kensington lute by this maker will
not fail to realise the great interest which his work
arouses in the bosoms of antiquaries and lovers of
artistic bric-a-brac.
TILLEY, T., London. About 1774.
TIRLER, CARLO, Bologna, i8th century. A decorative
maker, chiefly of guitars. His " ticket " sometimes took
the form of inlay, and would then run as follows,
" Carlo Tirler, Leutar in Bologna fece."
TIVOLI, AUGUSTO, Trieste, 1873 83. Violins.
TOLBECQUE, AUGUSTE. Born at Paris 1830. Son of
a clever Belgian musician, he became a 'cellist of
considerable distinction. He began to make instruments
under the guidance of Claude Victor Rambaux, whose
shop opposite the Conservatiore used to be frequented
by numbers of intelligent amateurs and professionals.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 221
Tolbecque had taken first prize at the Conservatoire
for 'cello playing, and one can realize how eminently
qualified he was in that direction, to begin with. After
he made some new instruments he turned his attention
to the reproduction of old ones, and became extremely
clever at it. His ticket, in manuscript, runs " Ate.
Tolbecque fils fecit, Parigi, anno." He also made
organs, and acquired considerable fame by reconstructing
perfectly WinkeFs Componium, referred to by Fetis.
This instrument had been purchased by an amateur of
some little mechanical skill, and in his efforts to repair
it he occupied himself for twenty-five years to no
purpose. At the end of that time he had pretty nearly
destroyed its identity, for there was hardly a single piece
that did not defy recognition. After his death the case
was bought by one, and the mechanism by another
organ builder. The latter sold the mechanism to
Tolbecque, who, in eighteen months, completely
restored the instrument which took its previous owner
a quarter of a century to almost ruin. It is now in the
collection at the Brussels Conservatoire. Tolbecque's
violin work is not often seen.
TOMASI, CARLO GASPARE, Modena, i7th century. A
viol maker chiefly. Fine varnish.
TOPPANI, ANGELO DE, Rome. About 1740. Highly
arched instruments with a golden yellow varnish. Style
of Tecchler.
TORELLI, Verona, 1625. Violas and 'cellos.
TORRANUS, Turin, 1700. Violins, violas and basses.
TORRESAN, ANTONIO, Crespano. Born 1802. Died
1872. Instruments of a common type.
222 THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
TORRING, London.
TORTOBELLO, Rome, 1680. Violins, violas and
basses.
TOULY, JEAN, Nancy. About 1747.
TRAPANI, RAFFAELE, Naples. Beginning of igth
century. Made instruments of a large size, and of
rather curious style, the top and bottom portions of the
sound holes not being cut through. Thick reddish
brown varnish. Model flat, and coarse purfling.
TREVILLOT, CLAUDE, Mirecourt. About 1698. An
old violin maker.
TRINELLI, GIOVANNI, Villalunga, i8th and igth
centuries. Viols and 'cellos.
TROIANI, FRANCESCO, Rome, igth century. Violins,
violas and basses.
TRUNCO, Cremona, 1660.
TRUSK, S. J. About 1734.
TURNER, WILLIAM, London. About 1650. A very
fine viol maker who had his place of business in Gravel
Lane, E.G. An instrument by this maker is described
as superb. It is in the collection of A. Gautier of Nice.
The ticket of this highly creditable representative of
English work runs as follows, " William Turner, at
ye hand and crown in gravelle lane neere aldgate,
London, 1650." There was another Turner who
stamped his name under the button of his violins
and who was of a much later date. His work is in no
way to be compared Avith that of William Turner of
"gravelle lane."
TYWERSUS, Mirecourt, i6th century. This was a
court maker in Lorraine, some of whose Princes are
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 223
said to have been his patrons. That tradition appears
to be all that remains of him.
UDENE, NATALE DA, Udine. Violins, violas, and
basses.
UGAR, CRESCENZIO, Rome, 1790. A viol maker.
UGAR, PIETRO, AREZZO. About 1802. A repairer.
ULRICH-FICHTLE, JOHANN, Mittenwald, i8th century.
Violins and basses.
UNGARINI, ANTONIO, Fabriano, 1762. A viol maker.
UNVERDORBEN, MARX, Venice, 1415. An old lute
maker.
VAILLOT. A French maker of i7th century.
VALENTINE, W., London. Died about 1877. An
excellent maker of double basses.
VALENZANO, Naples. A violin maker.
VALDASTRI, Modena. About 1805. Pochettes.
VALLER, Marseilles, 1683.
VANDELLI, GIOVANNI, Fiorano Modena. Born 1796.
Died 1839. Violins and basses.
VANDERLIST, Paris, i8th century. This maker was
apparently an excellent workman, judging by a copy of
the Guadagnini School which he made. He marked
his instruments under the button by branding his name,
and placing inside a ticket, " Vanderlist, Luthier, rue
des Vieux Augustins, pres de 1'egout de la rue Mont-
martre, Paris."
VANVAELBECK, Louis, Valbeke, 1294 1312. A maker
of rebecs and viols. This maker is within measurable
distance of being the oldest known. He is supposed to
have been the inventor of the mechanism for organ
pedals.
224 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
VAROTTI, GIOVANNI, Bologna, 1813. Violins and
basses.
VAUCHEL, Damm. Modern.
VANTRIM. A French maker of double basses of the
igth century.
VECCHI, ORAZIO, Modena, igth century. A maker of
small-sized double basses.
VENERE, UNDELIO, Padua. About 1534. A lute
maker.
VENTURA, ANIBALE, Viadana, i8th century. Violins.
VENZI, ANDREA, Florence, 1636. Violins and basses.
VERBEECK, GISBERT, Amsterdam, 1671. Violins.
VERINI, SERAFINO, Arceto. Born 1799. Died 1868.
A sort of amateur maker of 'cellos and double basses,
not much above the common class of work. He
ultimately became a bee farmer. He was a bee fancier
all his life.
VERLE, FRANCESCO, Padua, i7th century. Violins.
VERMESCH, BEAUMONT SUR OISE. About 1781.
This maker was called, and called himself, le pere
Vermesch. He was an ecclesiastical amateur fiddle
maker, and not very skilled.
VERON, PIERRE ANDRE, Paris, i8th century. A maker
of the times of Boquay.
VERONESI, CAMILLO, Bologna, igth century. Violins.
VERREBRUGEN, THEODORE, Antwerp, 1641. A maker
of double basses.
VETTER, JOHANN CHRISTOPHER, Strasburg, 1744. A
maker of 'cellos and other basses.
VETTRINI, Brescia.
VIARD, NICOLAS, Versailles. About 1760.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 225
VIBRECHT, GISBERT, Amsterdam, 1700 10. This
may be the same maker as " Verbeeck."
VIGONI, A., Pavia, igth century. Violins.
VILLAUME and GIRON, Troyes. Beginning of i8th
century. Work fairly good.
ViMERCATf, PIETRO, Brescia. About 1660.
VIMERCATI, GASPARO, Milan. A maker of mandolines,
probably also violins. Ticket runs, " Gaspare Vimercati
nella contrada della Dogana di Milano."
VINACCIA, Naples, 1736 to igth century. A family of
four in succession. Antonio, Mariano, Pasqualino, and
a son of the latter. All chiefly lutes and guitars.
VINCENZI, LUIGI, Carpi. Born 1765. Died 1881.
Violins and double basses. Well made instruments.
Varnish of a light amber colour. Tickets " Aloysius
Vincenzi Carpensis."
VINZER, GREGORY FERDINAND, Augusta. About 1737.
Violins, violas and basses.
VIR, HIERONIMO DI, Brescia.
VIVOLI, GIOVANNI, Florence. About 1642. Violins.
VOBOAM, Paris, 1682 1693. A famous luthier but
chiefly decorative. In the museum of the Paris Conser-
vatoire, there is a beautiful guitar by him made of
tortoiseshell.
VOEL, E., Maintz. About 1840. A fine maker.
Good Stradivari model and varnish.
VOGEL, WOLFGANG, Nuremberg. Died 1650.
VOGLER, J. G., Wurtzburg, 1750.
VOLPE, MARCO, Spilamberto. Died 1839. He made
viols, violins and double basses.
VOIGT, MARTIN, Hamburg. About 1726. Viols and
Q
226 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
lutes. Same beautiful class of work as that of the
Tielke firm.
WACHFER, ANTHONY, Fiissen. About 1772. Violins.
WAFELE, CONRAD, Mittenwald, 17th-century.
WAGNER, 'C. S., Medingen, 1786 1800. Violins,
violas, bass.es, etc.
WAGNER, BENEDICT, Estwangen. About 1769. .He
calls himself in his tickets a court maker. His instru-
ments are very highly arched and of common work.
WAGNER, J., Constance. About 1773.
WALDANER, Fiissen, i8th century.
WALKER, A., Aberdeenshire. Modern.
WALTHER, JEAN BAPTIST, The Hague, 1727. Violins.
WEAVER, S., London, i8th century.
WEBER, Prague-, i8th century.
WEIGERT, J. B., Linz. About 1721. A small viol
by this maker is in the collection of the Musical Society,
Vienna.
WEISS, JACOB, Salzburg. About 1733.
WEISZ, JACOB, Salzburg. About 1733 1777.
These two are evidently the same. A ticket with
above date, 1733, runs, "Jacob Weisz, lauthen und
Geigenmacher in Salzburgh."
WETTENGEL, G. A., Neukirchen. About 1828. He
is a maker who published a book about repairing and
making, but his own instruments are not much, if at all,
known.
WENGER, G. F., Salzburg, 1761. Violins.
WERNER, Frankfort, 1855. Chiefly a lute maker.
WEY, H., Besancon. igth century. An amateur
violin maker.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 227
WYEMANN, CORNELIUS, Amsterdam. lyth and i8th
century.
WIGHT-MAN, London, 1761.
WILDE, JOHN, St. Petersburg. i8th century. This
maker distinguished himself by making an iron
fiddle.
WILLE-MS, Antwerp, 1730 60. A violin maker who
followed- the Italian school.
WILLER, Prague. i8th century.
WOLDEMAR, MICHEL. Born in Orleans in 1750.
Died at Clermont-Ferrand 1816. He invented a violin
with five strings, or, at any rate, suggested the notion
which was never, probably, carried into practice. It
was the reverse of Jullien's five stringed fiddle, being
intended to have a C string (below G), instead of one
above E, as was Jullien's idea. Woldemar was a
violinist.
WOLTERS, J. N., Paris. About 1749. A decorative
viol maker.
WOOD, G. F., London. Contemporary. A decidedly
careful maker, who has caught, very felicitously, many
of the characteristics of the finer kinds of modern
French work.
WORNFE, GEORGE, Mittenwald, 1786. Violins.
WORNUM, London, 1794.
WRIGHT, DANIEL, London, 1743.
YOUNG, J., Aberdeen. Modern.
YOUNGE, JOHN, London. About 1728. This maker
was famous in his day. He had a son who was a
violinist, and both have been made, in a sense, immortal
by the English composer, Purcell, who has put them
Q2
228 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
into one of his catches. It is quoted by Mr. Hart in
his valuable work on the violin.
ZABEL, GEOFFRY, Tausermunde, 1792 1803.
Violins, etc.
ZACH, Vienna. Contemporary. A very clever maker
and restorer.
ZANABON. An Italian maker.
ZANFI, GIACOMO, Modena. Born 1756 1822. A
maker of considerable merit. He made violins, tenors
and basses, and generally employed a clear yellow
varnish. He was one of those handy men who manage
to combine one or two separate professions. For
example Zanfi was a government servant, and he was a
music teacher. His instruments are in the style of
Casini another Modenese already mentioned and how
he succeeded in teaching music, making double basses,
'cellos, violas and violins, while, at the same time not
neglecting his official duties, it is hardly worth while
now to enquire. One ticket runs "Jacobus Zanfi,
musics professor fecit Mutinoe, 1809."
ZANI, FRANCESCO, Reggio-Emilio,i765. Violins.
ZANOLI, GIACOMO, Verona, 1730. Viols and 'cellos.
ZANOLI, GUISEPPE, Verona, 1730. Violas and 'cellos.
These two are probably the same.
ZANOLI, GIAMBATTISTA, Padua, 1740.
ZANOTTI, ANTONIO, Lodi and Mantua. About 1727.
ZANOTTI, GUISEPPE, Piacenza, i8th century.
ZANTI, ALESSANDRO, Mantua. About 1765 70. An
imitator of P. Guarnerius.
ZANURE, PIETRO, Brescia, 1509. A viol by this maker,
and exhibited in London in 1872, bore this date.
CLASSICAL AND POST-CLASSICAL MAKERS. 229
ZEITTER, FR., Brunswick, 1835. This maker if he
was a maker combined pianos with violins.
ZENATTO, PIETRO, Treviso. About 1634. A ticket
bears this date.
ZINBELMANN, FiLiPPO, Florence, 1661. A viol maker.
ZOLFANELLI, GuiSEPPE, Florence, 1690 97.
ZWERGER, ANTHONY, Mittenwald, 1750 60. A
fairly good maker. Varnish of a cold, weak-looking
brown, but in other respects, nice violins of their type.
CHAPTER VII.
lioliit
VIOLIN bow making has come to be such a delicate
kind of work that it is now quite a special
industry. Ever since the days of the Tourtes the
importance of a fine bow has been increasingly recog-
nized, until, in the present day the better Tourtes are
quite beyond the reach of ordinary players. The two
finest Tourtes in the world are now in America, and
cost, together, about a hundred and forty pounds. That
may seem a somewhat bold and startling statement to
make, but it is quite correct. One of these two bows I
have been acquainted with for a considerable time,
having frequently played with it, and I confess I
experienced a slight feeling of regret when it was sent
across the Atlantic. It was not that I grudged it to our
kinsmen, but I had become familiar with the lovely thing
in its exquisite furniture of Oriental pearls, sapphire,
and all the rest of it in the shape of jewellery. These
were merely tasteful bagatelles, having, of course, their
decorative value, but the stick was so superb a specimen
of Tourte's skill and judgment, and was in such
splendid condition, that I felt I should probably never
see it, or its like again, unless I happened to be visiting
the States, and had an opportunity of seeing it there.
When once our American friends get hold of these
VIOLIN BOW MAKERS. 231
perfect things, they usually keep them steadily. The
other grand Tourte stick was made for Larochefoucauld,
and is also in America. There are many very fine ones
in this country, and on the Continent, and their prices,
according to style and condition, run as high as forty
pounds. Under twenty pounds they are not worth
having. A great deal of nonsense is written about
Tourte and Lupot sticks, in regard to which the
connoisseur amateur should be on his guard. It comes
chiefly from the pens of those who have not seen any
Tourtes, and are not acquainted with their current
value, their information being drawn from published
sources, ten, fifteen, twenty, and perhaps fifty years old.
One result of this writing is, that when an amateur
finds he is offered a genuine Tourte at ten or twelve
pounds, it does not strike him that there is anything
abnormally low in the figure, and he expects to have a
first-class stick for the money. Two or three years ago
a very good Tourte might have been had for twenty-
five pounds, but not now. It will be a very ordinary
stick indeed which that money will, at present, buy, and
in a year or two more they will be almost, as our
neighbours say, introuvable.
The other good makers will be referred to in their
places, but I would like to say here that although the
difference between a fine Tourte and the finest of modern
bows is quite measurable, it is not a difference which
need alarm any but the very highest class of artistes.
Even among them there are individuals who manage to
exist without a Tourte, and many who, by preference,
play with a modern bow. Fiddle fanciers, and bow"
232 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
fanciers, should do their best to keep level-headed, and
not allow themselves to be driven from the exercise of
their own judgments. If they are not in a position to
form' a decision, let them go to one who knows. Some-
times a fashion is set by a leading player quite uninten-
tionally on his part. He may have dropped some
remark, either in public or private, which is immediately
seized, and made the basis of almost a revolution. He
may be trying together two Tourtes one a round stick,
the other an octagon. He prefers the round, as it
happens. Immediately all the owners of Tourtes within
the circle of his influence seek to exchange their
octagons for rounds. Then is the opportunity for the
bargain hunter, and a beginning of the season of regrets.
It so happens that a fashion has set in for the round
stick, but the lovely Tourte to which I have already
referred is an octagon. Almost all modern bows are
round, they are much more easily made, and a fine
round stick can be got for much less money than an
octagon, but the latter, when well worked, is a delightful
bow to use. Finally, let me say that unless you can get
a good example of the older makers, leave them for the
cabinets of collectors that is, if your object is a bow
to play with.
ADAMS, JEAN, Mirecourt, i8th century.
ADAM, JEAN DOMINQUE. Born Mirecourt 1795. Died
1864. Son of preceding. His father taught him his
business. A great many of his bows are very ordinary,
but those marked with his name, Adam, are sometimes
good, and his octagon sticks are the best.
BAROUX, Paris. About 1830. A fairly good maker.
VIOLIN BOW MAKERS. 233
BAUSCH and SON, Leipsic or Dessau. About 1840.
Fairly good bows. They are highly esteemed in
Germany.
BRAGLIA, ANTONIO, Modena. About 1800.
DODD, E., Sheffield and London, 1705 1810. Not
many of this maker of great importance.
DODD, JAMES, London. About 1864. I do not know
these bows.
DODD, JOHN, Kew. Born 1752. Died 1839. This
was the greatest of English bow makers. He passed
his life in struggles, and died in Richmond Workhouse.
Dr. Selle, of Richmond, was very kind to him many a
time, and so was Mr. Richard Platt, of that place.
A perfect " John Dodd " bow is an exquisite piece of
work, but of proper length, and in good condition, they
are by no means common. The great majority of them
are either worn out at the nut, or otherwise destroyed.
People seem to have experimented with not a few of
them by thinning down the stick. I suppose their
originally graceful proportions had awakened in some
persons what they recognized as their artistic sense, and
they proceeded to make them still more slender. Of
course these are quite destroyed, and not worth buying
at all, except as all that remains of the " English "
Tourte. They are generally quite dark in colour, and
have his name "DODD" stamped on the stick, and also
on the side of the nut. All the good sticks, however,
or many of them, have been re-mounted in various ways,
so that the name may only be seen on the stick. They
are usually slender, and very light. Many of them are
short, and that is a decided disadvantage.
234 THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
DODD, THOMAS, London, 1786 1823. He was a bow
maker only in the sense in which he was a violin maker.
He employed other people to make for him.
EURY, Paris. About 1820. A very fine maker. Some
of his bows are exceptional in quality. He stamped his
name under the whipping, or thread covering above the
nut but not always.
FONCLOUSE, JOSEPH, Paris. Born 1800. Died 1865.
He learned bowmaking with Pajeot in Mirecourt, and
afterwards went to Paris, where he was employed by J.
B. Vuillaume. He afterwards started for himself, and
usually marked his name on his bows. He was a fine
maker.
GAND and BERNARDEL, Paris. . Contemporary. This
firm stamp their name on their bows, which are of fine
quality.
HARMAND, Mirecourt, 1830 40.
HENRY, Mirecourt. Born 1812. After learning in his
native town, and working there for some time, he went to
Paris when he was twenty-five years of age. He was
employed first by Chanot, then by Peccate, and latterly
was partner with Simon. The last arrangement endured
from 1848 to '51. He then commenced to work alone,
and died in 1870. He was also a fine workman, and
sometimes marked his bows " Henry, Paris."
KITTEL, St. Petersburg, igth century. This maker's
bows are about as nearly equal to Tourte's as those of
any maker that has lived since his day. There are not
many of them to be found here.
KNOPF, HEINRICH, Berlin, 1882.
KNOPF, LUDWIG, Berlin, 1882.
VIOLIN BOW MAKERS. 235
LAFLEUR, JACQUES. Born at Nancy 1760. Died in
Paris 1832. This maker's bows have the reputation on
the continent of being quite equal to Tourtes, which
may be quite justified in some cases.
LAFLEUR, JOSEPH RENE, Paris. Born 1812. Died
1874. Son of preceding, and a very good maker.
LAMY, ALFRED JOSEPH. Born at Mirecourt 1850.
He learnt when very young between thirteen and
fourteen and worked with the firm of Gautrot at
Chateau-Fleurry. In 1877 he went to Paris to F. N.
Voirin, and remained with him for eight years. Voirin
then died, and Lamy started on his own account. He
is also a good maker.
LUPOT, FRANCOIS. Born at Orleans in 1774. Died
in Paris 1837. This maker, in his finest efforts, stands
next to Francois Tourte. He was the brother of the
famous Nicolas Lupot, but did not make anything but
bows. He made a great improvement in the mechanism
of the nut, being the inventor of the metal groove
which is cemented to the ebony where it slides over the
slot in the stick. This prevents the wear of the ebony.
There is considerable diversity in the quality of Lupot's
bows, some being very fine indeed, while others are
quite ordinary. A great many of them are stamped
" Lupot," but whether he did that himself or not I
cannot say. I am inclined to think it has been done for
him by dealers afterwards. It is by no means an easy
matter to make absolutely sure in every case when a
bow is by Lupot. It is sometimes much easier to tell a
Tourte. At any rate, whenever there is any doubt
about the quality of the stick, as a stick, it is safe to
236 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
reject it. They are generally strong, dark coloured
sticks, and not quite so light as Tourtes, but I have seen
them in grey wood also.
MAIRE, NICOLAS. Born in Mirecourt. A pupil of
Jacques Lafleur, afterwards went to Paris.
MIQUEL, EMILE, Mirecourt. Contemporary.
PAJEOT. Mirecourt, 1830 40. This maker taught
Joseph Fonclouse, who became one of Vuillaume's best
men.
PANORMO, GEORGE Louis, London. Modern. Made
some very good bows, more especially double bass sticks.
PECCATE, DOMINIQUE. Born at Mirecourt 1810. Son
of a barber, he forsook his father's calling for that of
fiddle and bow making. In the latter he became expert,
and in 1826 J. B. Vuillaume heard of him as a clever
apprentice on the look out for a master. Vuillaume
employed him and he soon justified his choice. He
remained there eleven years, and then took over the
business of Fra^ois Lupot who had just died. In 1847
he went back to Mirecourt, but continued his connection.
He died in 1874. He was a splendid maker.
PECCATE, JEUNE, Paris. A brother of Dominique.
He also worked for Vuillaume. He died about 1856.
His work is finely finished and the wood good, but the
sticks are heavy, and lack balance.
PELLEGRI, Parma, igth century.
PERSOIT, Paris, 1823 41. One of those skilled
workmen whom J. B. Vuillaume succeeded in securing.
Those which he made for the great luthier were of course
marked Vuillaume, but those he sold for himself were
marked P. R. S.
VIOLIN BOW MAKERS. 237
PUPINAT, PADRE, Lausanne, 1855,
RAKOWSCH, A., Paris, 1834.
RONCHINI, RAFAELLO, Fano, igth century.
SCHWARTZ, GEORGE FRIEDRICH, Strasburg. Born
1785. Died 1849. A good maker. Marked his work
" Schwartz, Strasbourg."
SIMON. Born at Mirecourt, 1808. Went to Dominique
Peccate in Paris for a short time in 1838, then to
Vuillaume for seven years. In 1845, he began for
himself, and two years later succeeded to Peccate's Paris
shop, and entered into partnership with Henry for three
years. In 1851, he was again alone. I know little of this
maker's work, having only seen one or two specimens.
These were fairly good sticks.
SIRJEAN, Paris. About 1818.
TADOLINI, IGNAZIO, Modena, igth century. He made
violin and violoncello bows, and originally hailed from
Bologna. He and his brother Guiseppe were established
in Modena as instrument makers, the latter being as
well a distinguished double bass and 'cello player at
the Modenese Court. Ignatius, the bow maker, was
born in 1797, and died in 1873.
TOURNATORIS, Paris, i8th century. Died 1813.
TOURTE, SAVERE (called " Tourte-l'aine," the elder)
Paris.
TOURTE, FRANCOIS (called " Tourte jeune," the
younger), Paris. Born 1747. Died 1835.
The latter of these two artistes is universally recog-
nised as the finest bow maker that ever lived. I think
this must be admitted. One or two of his own com-
patriots, and according to report, such a maker as
238 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
Kittel, of St. Petersburg, run him now and again very
close indeed, while John Dodd of Kew, in the matters
of slender elegance, and lightness of stick, occasionally
actually surpasses him. But elegant slenderness and
lightness are not the only things wanted in a bow, they
are not even the chief things,. When I was quite a lad
a very artistic cabinet maker whom I knew, wishing to
do me a service, offered to improve my own bow, which,
he pointed out. was not elegantly finished. I consented
with pleasure, and when I had it returned, it certainly
was elegant and light beyond conception. It was like
a feather in my hand, but it was also like a feather on
my strings, and besides, its back was gone, as flexible
almost as the top of a fishing rod. Thinness and lightness
are only tolerable when they are accompanied by strength
and balance. Strength, elasticity and balance are really
the main points in a bow. The strength of a stick is
determined by the regular manner in which, and the limit
to which, its tapering is produced. Of course, the wood
must be of proper quality to begin with, but there should
be no weak place, none unduly weak, in the whole length.
In some bows of ordinary make, the strength in the back
is obtained by keeping a certain thickness after a time,
well on towards the end, and then suddenly dropping
thin to finish with. A stick like that will be strong
enough probably, and will not yield where its maker
knew it would be tested, but it will not be a properly
balanced bow. A certain addition is made to the
strength of the stick by the catnbre, that is, the bending
backwards. If this cambre is properly done, the line of
pall will almost coincide with a symetrical axis. That
VIOLIN BOW MAKERS. 239
is, of course, an exaggeration, but it may indicate how
the cambre aids the strength of a stick. The balance of a
stick is that equipoise which is secured by the regular
gradations in its thinning, so that when the player
holds it lightly by the thicker end in his hand,
there does not so to speak appear to be quite
sufficient weight at the thin end to cause it to
fall. That is a rough way of trying a bow so far
as concerns balance, but its success will largely depend
on the player's sense of weight. One way of testing the
strength and cambre of a bow is to screw it up a turn or
two until the hair is straightened out, and is just free of
the stick. Then press the thumb on the hair at the.
nut as far down as it will go, watching in the mean-
time the movement of the stick from beyond the middle
to the end. If it loses the curve very much, or goes out
to either side, it is not likely to be a good bow. This,
however, is a pretty severe test, and any stick will
yield to it if the hair is sufficiently tightened. Another
way is to screw the hair up until the stick has lost its
backward curve, and watch if it gives to either side.
This is the fairer way to judge an ordinary bow. The
best bows will, however, all stand the former test.
Besides the ordinary backward curve, a maker who
knows his business gives a little side as well. That is,
he slightly cambres the stick to the left, looking from the
nut outwards, so as to resist the tendancy to the right,
which proper bowing always gives. In examining
finely tempered bows, this should be remembered,
otherwise a very knowing person might fancy a stick
was just a little off the straight. The next point is
340 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
elasticity. Too much of that is a nuisance, and makes
a very good bow in other respects, powerless. But
there must be some, and the quality of the wood is
responsible for it. It is not the flexibility of a piece of
cane which is required, but the firm, yet responsive elas-
ticity, which, to a certain extent, guarantees a pure and
even tone. All these points were splendidly illustrated by
Francis Tourte, and, in some slight degree, by his
brother. I have never seen a bow by Tourte pere, and
I am beginning to think there was no such person
employed in this business. The name was first
published by Fetis I suppose, on the authority of
Vuillaume but I do not know of any other source from
whence the information comes. The bows of Tourte
aine have rather quaint-looking, small heads, not unlike
the profile of the bell of a trumpet, but having the top
line of the head a little shorter than the under line. The
head of a Fra^ois Tourte has a much fuller outline of
the same kind, but infinitely more graceful and artistic.
Some of the finest Tourtes are of a lightish coloured
wood called grey Pernambuco, which is very rich
looking. The majority are darker.
The Tourtes never marked any of their sticks, but in
two instances, Frangois Tourte is said to have glued into
the slot a very diminutive little ticket containing an
inscription to the effect that he made the article. From
one of these inscriptions the date of his birth has been
deduced. It runs, " Get archet a ete fait par Tourte en
1824, age de soixante-dix-sept-ans." (This bow was
made by Tourte in 1824, aged seventy-seven years).
F. Tourte invented the ferrule for keeping the hair flat,
VIOLIN BOW MAKERS. 24!
and applied the tortoiseshell slip to the nut for keeping it
concealed at that part.
TUBES, London. A well known family of bow
makers, much of whose work is of excellent
quality.
VIGNERON, A., Paris. Contempory. A fine maker.
VOIRIN, NICOLAS FRANCOIS, Paris. Born at Mire-
court 1833. Died in Paris 1885. He was taught his
business in his native town, and afterwards went to
Vuillaume in 1855, where he remained for fifteen years,
during which time he made probably the great majority
of the finest bows which bear Vuillaume's name. In
Vuillaume's show case in the Paris Exhibition of 1867,
Voirin's name appeared as a workman in bows, and he
received honourable mention on that occasion. Three
years afterwards he started on his own account.
Almost all his work is of a very high character, and
deserves all the praise it has got. Some of his
sticks both violin and 'cello are really quite beautiful
works of art, technically and decoratively, and, of
course, there are a flood of sticks in the market, bearing
the stamp " N. F. Voirin a Paris," and which have all
been made since his death. His own heads are strong
and beautifully finished.
He was stricken down by apoplexy on the 4th June,
1885, while he was carrying a bow home to an amateur.
The occurrence happened as he was passing along the
Faubourg Montmartre, and the bystanders seeing " N.
F. Voirin. Bouloi 3 " on the paper case in which the
bow was, concluded to take him there. So he was
carried home dying to his wife. He did not rally from
242 THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
the stroke and died the same evening between nine and
ten. His widow carried on the business.
VUILLAUME, J. B., Paris. If this distinguished crafts-
man was not himself a bow maker except in the sense
that he could make, and may have made a few, in his
day he certainly was instrumental in keeping before
others the grand qualities of Fra^ois Tourte. This was
a great service. He knew Tourte well, and, on his own
admission, frequently watched him at his work. During
all his business career, however, he never was without
one or more competent bow makers in his employment,
and it will be safe to say that almost every one of those
beautiful sticks for which in his time he was famous,
was made by one or other of the clever bow hands
already referred to. From the earliest date of his own
period, when he was a kind of managing man to Lete,
down to the time of his death he was always well
supplied in that respect. Persoit, Fonclouse, Peccate,
Simon and Voirin, themselves cover the whole time.
He invented a steel tubular bow which he induced some
artistes to employ, and he also invented the fixed nut
which was to secure that a player will also always have
the same length of hair to use. It was a curious over-
sight to suppose that because the nut changes position
in tightening or relaxing, the length of hair available
was, in consequence, variable. Its chief advantage
was that the hand could always hold the bow in
exactly the same place. However, both of these
inventions were discontinued. Vuillaume stamped his
name on all the bows which he sold as his own make,
and, of course, there are thousands of bows so stamped
VIOLIN BOW MAKERS. 243
at present, which are not genuine. He was not par-
ticularly well liked among the " trade " in Paris, but
almost all his workmen remained with him for many
years, which is fairly good evidence that he was a
considerate employer/
R2
CHAPTER VIII.
AS the face of the heavens on a clear night seems
crowded with stars, so the vista of musical
history appears filled with the more or less lustrous
presences of individual artistes whose combined radiance
lights up the past for those who have a deep interest' in
the record of their achievements. They are quite as
numerous as the fixed stars, but, like them, not all of
equal magnitude. I shall include in these brief bio-
graphical notices the more important of the performers
known from early times, and it will be more interesting
to do this in chronological order than it would be to do
it alphabetically.
There were, no doubt, performers on the violin who
played pieces " all by themselves " long before the time
of the publication of the first known solo for the instru-
ment, but nothing definite can be said about them as
yet, and I will therefore begin with the author of that
remarkable " piece."
BIAGIO MARINI.
This artiste was born in Brescia about the end of the
sixteenth century. Date information of that kind is
provokingly vague, but nothing more precise with regard
to him can be given. It might have been in any year
between 1560 and 1600, and there may come a time
when, if more definite information is'not available, some
VIOLINISTS. 245
irresponsible writer will feel disposed to say he was
born in 1580. That time has not yet arrived, and we
only know one or two incidents of his career, and that
he died in 1660 at Padua. He was chapel master first
in Brescia, then in Vincenza, and subsequently seems to
have had some kind of appointment either in Venice or
the neighbourhood. He was a distinguished violinist,
without doubt, and issued three separate musical
publications which are at present known. Other two
he appears to have printed and published, but they are
n6t known. The violin solo alluded to is called La
Romanesca, and is quite an attractive and original piece
of music which is still played at odd moments. Marini
enjoyed court favour, visited Germany, and was made
a Knight.
GIAMBATTISTA FONTANA.
This player seems to have been also a native of
Brescia, although that is not an ascertained fact. He
was the inventor or, is at least, the earliest known
writer of the violin sonata form. He appears to have
died in Padua, and his works were collected and
published for the first time in 1641. He is described
by contemporary eulogium as a distinguished player and
composer.
TOMASO-ANTONIO VITALI.
This distinguished player was, according to report,
born in Bologna in the middle of the seventeenth
century. He certainly was alive and active on the igth
October, 1685, for on that date he signed a petition to
his patron, begging him to send someone to overhaul
246 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
two swindlers who had sold him a " Franceco Rugerius "
violin, as a " Nicolas Amati." " Other times," as the
French say, but the same ways. The beautiful
Chaconne which has made Vitali's name famous, is still
often played. He was patonised by the Court of
Modena.
HEINRICH, J. F., VON BIBER.
I suppose this great artiste should be called a
Bohemian. At any rate, he was born on the Bohemian
frontier, Wartenburg, somewhere between 1638 and
1650. It has not been found possible to specify the
time of his birth within closer limits. He was a famous
player in his day, a favourite composer, and one who
had his share in modelling the sonata. The date of
his death has not been ascertained with certainty.
Fetis gives it as in 1698, which is wrong, a document
bearing Biber's signature, and of date 1704, having
been discovered. Another positive statement makes
his death occur in 1710, but no authentic record of it, or
other specific indication has been seen. He was much
favoured by several courts, having been ennobled by
Leopold I. at Vienna, treated with distinction by two
Dukes of Bavaria, and appointed by the Bishop of
Salzburg to an important office. He travelled through
Italy, France, and Germany, arousing great enthusiasm
wherever he went. He published two or three sets of
violin music. First, a set of six sonatas, second, a set
of twelve, third, a set of pieces with seven real parts,
called Harmonica Artificiosa, and tw r o other works in
Salzburg. His music, some of it, is decidedly of a
VIOLINISTS. 247
most refined character, and of a very advanced type
for his day.
GIOVANNI BATTISTA LULLI.
This distinguished violinist was born in Florence
about 1633. His parentage is not clear, but he was
taught the guitar by an old Franciscan. When he
was very young quite a child a member of the French
royal family who happened to be travelling in Italy
heard him play, and as he had a commission from his
sister, Mile, de Montpensier, to get her a page boy from
Italy, he selected this gifted lad and took him to France.
Lulli's youthful soul had not been assigned a very suit-
able shrine for the antechamber of a princess and when
she saw him a little imp twelve years old she
relegated him to the kitchen. Lulli's love of music was
not, however, to be extinguished by the noise of pots
and pans or quenched by a flood of dripping, so he
bought a cheap fiddle and by-and-by was the delight
of the kitchen, and indeed, of the whole livery. One
day while he was playing, he was overheard by a
person of some importance, who communicated with
his mistress, and the result was that she procured a
teacher for him under whose instruction he made
amazing progress. The age was not a delicate one,
and he was silly enough to be misled into the perform-
ance of a coarse jest which brought about his dismissal.
After some little trouble he was admitted to the King's
band, and considerably astonished them there, pleased
the King, and was promoted to the leadership of a
junior band which very speedily surpassed the senior
24^ THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
one. From this point his fame is derived from his
operas and ballets, etc., etc., and the violinist merges
in the composer. He entirely reformed, and considerably
advanced the character of French music and holds
a highly honoured place in the roll of her great
composers. He died in the greatest favour with Louis
XIV., who had covered him with honours and rewards.
He was made director of the King's music, was made a
noble, one of the King's secretaries, etc. His death
was caused by an accident. After the recovery of the
King from an illness Lully composed a Te Deum and was
conducting it when he smashed his toe with the cane he
used in directing his orchestra. An abscess formed and
in spite of varied treatment he succumbed a few months
afterwards, viz., 22nd March, 1687.
GIOVANNI BATTISTA BASSANI.
This player was born in Padua about 1657, and was
chapel master of the Cathedral in Bologna. He was
not only a violin virtuoso, but he was also a highly
appreciated composer and orchestral conductor of his
day. He went to Ferrara about 1685 and became chapel
master there, while he had other distinctions of a more
honorary character conferred upon him. He is known
chiefly in violin literature as the supposed teacher of
Corelli. It is merely a statement which has passed
current without having any particular verification. He
was four years younger than Corelli. He died in 1716
at Ferrara.
CORELLI.
VIOLINISTS. 249
ARCANGELO CORELLI.
This great player was born at Fusignano on i6th
February, 1653. His father's name was also Arcangelo
Corelli and his mother was Santa Raffini who died
just before her child saw the light. He was not intended
for the musical profession and was sent to Faenza to
school. While there, however, he acquired the rudi-
ments of music and kept up the study at Lugo, and
subsequently at Bologna, 'where he practised the violin
in regular fashion for four years. This is probably the
circumstance which has given rise to the ancient
suggestion that Corelli was a pupil of Bassani. The
suggestion is, I think, an absurd one. In 1680 Corelli
was seen at the Court of the Duke of Bavaria as a
famous performer who had been travelling about Ger-
many. In 1 68 1 there is a vague reference to him as
being in Rome, and in 1683 his first work was published
there, and in 1685, n ^ s second. In 1686 he was playing
the violin in the Opera band, and was chosen that year
to lead the orchestra at the fete given to Lord
Castlemain in Rome by Christina, ex-Queen of Sweden.
Here Cardinal Ottoboni saw him and took to him.
From this time Corelli played at the Cardinal's Monday
concerts, and looked after the music. Here it was
where the famous interview between Corelli and Handel
took place, when the latter rudely caught the fiddle out
of the Italian's hand in order to show him how to play
something of Handel's own which happened to be on
the desks. I have no great faith in the accuracy of the
tale, which is, I imagine, one of those growths on the
free of history caused by the puncture of some
250 THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
biographical insect. Corelli's fourth work was published
in 1694, and his fifth in 1700. People flocked to these
concerts in Rome from all parts of the civilised world,
and it must have been a dreadful experience to the
great player when, a few years later, he visited Naples
and found Scarlatti's orchestra so perfect that he
probably felt as if he were little more than a ripieno in
it, instead of a great solo player. It must, however, be
borne in mind that these stories of his failure in Naples
are entirely on the authority of Geminiani, who was
himself a pupil of Correlli's and became leader of this
very Neapolitan orchestra, but was dismissed from the
post because he could not keep correct time, and that
not long previous to the period when he says Corelli
failed. There is a great deal of confusion about these
stories, and when they are put together they involve
such improbabilities as to render them almost incredible.
This visit to Naples appears to have been made a few
years before his death, for, when he returned to Rome,
a young violinist named Josefo Valentino had become
the popular favourite so it is said and that the
circumstance so weighed on Corelli's sensitive nature
as to seriously affect his health. This last conjecture
for it is nothing more rests on as slight a foundation as
the previous stories. Among the traits of personal
character which have been noted are mentioned
"sweetness of disposition," " parsimoniousness of habits"
a quite exceptionally curious combination of qualities,
not, of course, absolutely paradoxical or impossible,
but, at the least, distinctly interesting. His dress was
plain and unassuming, and his ways were simple. On
VIOLINISTS. 251
this circumstance, combined with Handel's remark that
Corelli liked to see pictures without paying for them
a merely passing epigrammatic touch probably seems
to be raised the theory of parsimoniousness. These
conjectures appear to be more like penny-a-liner
reminiscences than anything approaching the dignity of
historical facts. He was the greatest and most
honoured musician of his day, and lived a simple life,
apparently in the midst of considerable pomp. He
composed and published some of the most noble and
beautiful music for violin and orchestra that is in
existence, and he died full of honours on the i8th of
January, 1713. There is a monument to him in the
Pantheon in the form of a marble statue, bearing the
following inscription, "Corelli princeps Musicorum "-
" Corelli first (greatest) of Musicians." The portrait of
him is from a good print in my possession.
FRANCESCO GEMINIANI.
This very clever violinist was born at Lucca about
1680. He was reckoned to be the best of all Corelli's
pupils, but he had the advantage of previously passing
through very good hands. He began his musical
studies with Alessandro Scarlatti, and was taught the
violin by a very able man, C. A. Lunati, whose bodily
deformity interfered with his success as a public per-
former. After this preliminary training, Geminiani
went to Corelli, where he developed fine tone and style.
He first went to Naples, where Scarlatti had, at this
period, gone for the second time, and who gave him the
appointment of leader in the orchestra there.
252 THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
Geminiani's nature as a player was so uncontrollable
that he could not keep time himself, and was, therefore,
useless as a leader. This would be between 1709 and
1714, when Geminiani came to England. Here he met
with the greatest success professionally, and published
all his works, besides editing some of his master's. In
addition, he published various theoretical books on
music and musical style, as well as a work on memory.
He made plenty of money, but spent it as rapidly as he
made it and more rapidly sometimes in buying
pictures, etc. His nature was a restless one he could
not keep time but he was, according to all contemporary
testimony, a glorious player. His great work from a
violinist's point of view is his " Art of Playing on the
Violin." He moved about a little, and went to Paris
in 1750, remaining there for about five years. Coming
back, he resumed his career with similar success, and
visited Ireland in 1761. His pupil, Dubourg, was then
master of the King's band in Dublin. He and the old
man were very fond of each other, and a curious
accident happened to the latter during this visit. He
was not without his enemies, and a conspiracy seems to
have been got up to rob him of the manuscript of a
Treatise on Music which he had been working on for
many years. Such a heartless piece of blackguardism
against a man of eighty-two years appears hardly
credible. But Dubourg's son duly authenticates the
story. A domestic servant was recommended to him by
the thieves, who were among his so-called friends and
acquaintances, and she stole the manuscript from his
bedroom, and handed it over to his enemies, who, pre-
VIOLINISTS. 253
sumably, destroyed it, as it was never afterwards seen.
This cut the old man up terribly, broke his spirit, and
he died the same year, namely, on the ijth September,
1762.
PIETRO LOCATELLI.
This great violinist was born in Bergamo in 1693.
He was also a pupil of Corelli, and distinguished himself
in a manner which, as appears to us, should have
astonished his master. But the truth is, people have
judged Corelli's technique far too exclusively by the
standard of his published music. It may all be
described as of the most dignified and excellent
character, but, at the same time, of comparatively great
simplicity. It gives no indication whatever of his
technique. He turned out far too many masters of the
highest character to justify us in supposing that he knew
no more than he published. Locatelli established him
self in Amsterdam, and published his famous works
called " The Labyrinth," and " The New Art of
Modulation," which set Paganini to compose his
celebrated "Twenty-Four Studies." He also published
various other things, among them being one called
" Harmonic Contrasts," which establishes his reputa-
tion as a musical scholar. He remained in Amsterdam
till his death in 1764.
ANTONIO VIVALDI.
A distinguished performer, born in Venice about 1660.
His father was a musician in the Chapel of St. Mark.
Antonio travelled about a little, and went into the
254 THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
service of the Court of Hesse-Darmstadt, but returned
to Venice in 1713, where he died in 1743. He was a
voluminous composer for his instrument, and also ot
vocal and other instrumental music. He is the putative
author of the well-known " Cuckoo Solo," and was
called in Venice the " red priest."
FRANCESCO MARIA VERACINI.
This artiste was born in Florence about 1685. He
was a pupil of Antonio Veracini, his uncle. He did not
play in public until he was about thirty years old. In
1714 he played in Venice, and at once took his position
as a virtuoso. In the same year he came to London,
and led the Italian Opera Band here. In 1716 he went
back to Venice, where he was engaged by the Elector of
Saxony for his chapel in Dresden. Here he remained
for five years, when, in August, 1722, he, in a moment of
mental aberration, threw himself from his bedroom
window, and was lamed for life. When he recovered
he left Dresden, and went to Count de Kinsky in
Prague. There he stayed for some years, returning to
London about 1736. For ten years he remained here,
composing operas and playing, and in 1747 retired to a
small property he had at Pisa, where he died in 1750.
He is credited with being the possessor of two violins,
one or both of which were said to be by Jacob Stainer,
and that he. lost these in a storm while crossing from
here to the Continent.
GUISEPPE TARTINI.
It would, perhaps, be difficult to select a violinist
whose memory is entitled to greater respect than that
GUISE FPE TARTINI.
VIOLINISTS. 255
of Tartini. As a musician and virtuoso combined, I
doubt if anyone has surpassed him. He is a colossus
of refinement and grace, as Corelli was one of strength
and simplicity. He was born at Pirano in Istria on the
8th April, 1692. He received the elements of a good
education in the College of the Padri Delle Scuole. He
may, in fact, be said to have been very well educated,
as matters of that kind went in those days. About
the beginning of 1709, he was sent to Padua to study
law. In the monastic schools in Pirano he had been
taught, along with other things, music and the violin,
and although, while in Padua, he took to fencing very
seriously, with, apparently, a little swashbucklering
thrown in he still kept up his violin playing. It has
not been hinted, in any source of information with
which I am acquainted, that Tartini ever heard Corelli
play, and there has not even been a suggestion of such
a thing. But it is not a very unlikely circumstance.
We have very little information as to Corelli's travels in
the early part of his career, but we know that he was in
Germany, in Bavaria, in fact, and as the most direct
and cheapest route to that district was through the
north of Italy, and over the Brenner pass, it would
almost appear certain that he took the chief towns of
Northern Italy on the way. Padua would, in such a
case, be directly in his route. The only weighty
objection to this would be that when Corelli was seen
in Bavaria, Tartini was not born. But during the
years 1701 and 1710 we have exceedingly little informa-
tion regarding Corelli's movements. We know he was
absent from Rome, and that by the time he got back, he
256 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
had, we are told, fallen somewhat out of public favour.
That leaves plenty of time for an artistic tour or two in
Italy, and also in Germany, and if he were anywhere
near Padua, we may be pretty certain Tartini went to
hear him. In 1708 or 1769, Tartini was there, and four
years after that date he was a magnificent violinist. It
is a curious coincidence that in the very year Corelli
died, 1713, Tartini had his celebrated Dream that the
Devil came to his bedside aad played to him the
" Trillo del Diavolo." This famous and most beautiful
piece of music is familiar, no doubt, to all violinists, and
if not, it should be. He was then twenty-one, and earning
his bread by music and fencing. About this time he
secretly married the daughter of Cardinal Cornaro,
which created a great uproar, and placed him in consider-
able danger. He fled disguised as a pilgrim, and
after wandering towards Rome, found refuge in a
religious establishment in Assisi. He remained con-
cealed here for a short time, and carried on his musical
studies with the help of an organist in the fraternity
named Boemo, and astonished the neighbourhood by his
violin playing in the services. He was one day recog-
nised here by an old acquaintance, who told him that
matters were mending in his favour, and by-and-by
he became reconciled to his distinguished relative by
marriage, and returned to Padua. How long he was
absent in this way from his home is uncertain. It is
sometimes definitely stated as two years, but com-
parison of dates do not support this conclusion.
Shortly after this, he and his wife went to Venice,
where the lady had relatives, and while there he
VIOLINISTS. 257
met Veracini, and heard him play. This is generally
supposed to be about 1714, I presume because Veracini
was playing in Venice in that year. But I think that
date is wrong. It seems to have been forgotten that
Veracini was also playing in Venice in 1716, after his
return to Italy from London, and I think it more likely
to be the date of this meeting, as the former date crowds
a great deal of incident into the life of Tartini during a
very brief period of time. When he heard the great
Florentine player, who was only seven years his senior, he
determined to renew his studies, and for this purpose,
retired to Ancona. He there made that famous
discovery of his which has been called the Tartini tones,
a phenomenon which has puzzled the most celebrated
acousticians for a hundred and fifty years. Only as
recently as 1862 was the cause of them found out by
Professor Helmholz. Tartini's splendid ear enabled him
to tabulate them all correctly, with the exception of one
or two, which he fixed an octave higher than they really
are. The discovery was of the following nature. When
any two notes were played together, he detected a third
sound in the harmony which no one has left any record of
having discovered before. He found this phenomenon
constant, and made exhaustive studies of it, trying
to make it the basis of a system of harmony which he
published in 1754, entitled a " Treatise on Music accord-
ing to the True Science of Harmony." Any player who
is not already acquainted with it may test the thing for
himself. These Tartini tones are best heard when the
player takes truly stopped major thirds and sixths, but
they are present when any two notes are played, whether
258 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
concordant or discordant. They are not so clearly
discriminated when one note is stopped, and the other
an open string note. Tartini had indicated the pitch of
a great many of them, and that was, of course, a valuable
lead to a scientific investigator, who knew that all
musical sounds had fixed vibration numbers. Still,
Professor Helmholz has the credit of having settled
the matter. He found that the third sound was due to
the difference between the vibration numbers of the two
notes played. The reader who may not be acquainted
with this side of musical study will understand when it
is explained that every musical sound is the result of a
fixed number of beats on the air, from some body. In
the case of the fiddle these beats are produced by the
friction of the bow on the string in the first place. The
string throbs and communicates this throbbing to the
bridge, which transmits it to the upper table or belly.
From that it passes by way of sound post and ribs to
the back, and the whole fiddle throbs on the air inside,
and so the original weak sound of the string is reinforced
and strengthened until it comes out through the sound
holes of the loudness which we hear. All the throbbing
is at the same rate so long as one note is played. Each
note has its own rate of throbbing. Let us take any two
notes, such as treble C, and the major third above it, E.
To make the pitch of treble C, 512 throbs in a second
are required, and to make the pitch of E above that,
640 throbs in a second are required. Now when these
two notes are truly played together, a third sound is
heard along with the other two notes. It is the same,
in this case, as the C, but two octaves lower. Helmholz
VIOLINISTS. 259
discovered that this low C was produced by 128 throbs,
and the difference between 512 and 640 is 128.
Throughout the whole scale of musical sounds whenever
two notes are played together they seem to generate a
third sound, very weak, of course, but which is always
that which the difference of the vibration numbers
would naturally produce. From this circumstance these
tones are now called by scientists the " difference tones,"
but they have always hitherto been known as the
" Tartini tones." They are sometimes called harmonics,
but that is not correct. A harmonic is generated by one
string, while these third sounds are generated by the
simultaneous vibrations of two strings.
When Tartini was twenty-nine he became director of
an orchestra in Padua, and when he was thirty-one he
went to Prague, and remained there for over three
years. He made a great impression among people of
distinction, and considerable pressure was tried in order
to keep him with them, but he was in bad health, and
was dreadfully troubled by family worries in connection
with his brother and his children. He stayed with a
friend named Antonio Vandini, a 'cellist, while on this
visit to Prague, and returned with him to Padua in 1726.
He soon began to recover health, but the family troubles
continued to worry him for many years. He was a man
of great patience, and very high character, and bore
himself throughout them all, during a period of over
twenty years, in the most exemplary fashion. His first
work was published in Amsterdam in 1734, and another
in Rome in 1745. These published works are not
numerous, but he left a great many in manuscript. His
S2
26O THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
theoretical works comprise the already mentioned
" Treatise on Music," a pamphlet replying to some
strictures on it he published in Venice in 1767. In the
same year " A Dissertation on the Principles of Har-
mony " saw the light in Padua, and a " Treatise on
Musical Embellishments" was issued in Paris in 1782.
The famous letter of instructions on violin playing has
been frequently printed, and besides this he left a
manuscript treatise which has never been printed. It
was called " Practical Lessons on the Violin." This
great master of the violin died on the 26th February,
1770, after a period of great suffering. He never was a
robust man. His eager face, full of nervous apprecia-
tion of his surroundings, shows a very highly strung
nature, and he appears to have lived a self-sacrificing
life. When he died it may be said that Padua went
into mourning. He was buried in the Church of St.
Catherine, where an imposing funeral service was per-
formed, and it has been said that his demise was
considered in the light of a public calamity.
Although his fame had spread all over Europe, and,
indeed, to all parts of the civilized world, he does not
appear to have left Italy after his professional journey to
Prague, where he managed the music for the coronation
of the Emperor, Charles VI. He was pressed to go to
Germany and France, and Lords Walpole and Middlesex
did their best to get him over here, but failed. He wrote
a very nice letter regarding a proposed visit to London,
and in it referred in complimentary terms to the judg-
ment of English musicians and scientists in regard to
his discovery of the third sound. His most famous
VIOLINISTS. 26l
pupils were Pugnani, Nardini, Pagin, Ferrari, and
Lahoussaye.
GIAMBATTISTA SOMIS.
This master was born in Piedmont in 1676,. He was,
quite evidently from contemporary testimony, a player
of broad and fine style, but the chief interest attaching
to him lies in the circumstance that he has always been
considered one of the finest pupils of Corelli, and known
to have been the teacher, or one of the teachers, of
Pugnani, thus forming a link in the direct chain which
binds our finest modern players to the earlier grand
Italian Schools. I confess I am not quite satisfied that
he was a pupil of Corelli. He was, undoubtedly, a
great admirer of the latter, and, in the days of his youth,
included Rome in his travels, the object of which was to
hear the best executants and composers of his time.
But I have not found in the course of my reading any
definite information in regard to his connection with
Corelli, while his visit to Venice on the other hand
resulted in an acquaintance with Vivaldi, which appears
to have had a most lasting effect on his style.' He, in
fact, took Vivaldi as his model, and carried along with
him to Turin, where he settled, the traditions of the
great Venetian performer.
The King of Sardinia appointed him to the post of
director of the music in the Chapel Royal, as also of the
Court music, and he enjoyed an extended reputation
throughout Italy. In the spring of 1733, he went to
Paris, and performed there at the " Concerts Spirituels,"
where his success was of a marked character for the
262 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
purity of his tone, and the brilliancy of his technique.
He died in Turin in 1763, leaving the traditions of his
school in the hands of Pugnani, who is, perhaps, the
most important of his pupils, seeing that he combined in
his own style the results of the tuition received not only
from Somis, but also, according to report, from Tartini.
Somis had a brother named Lorenzo, who was also a
violinist, and, to some extent, imitated the style of
Corelli. G. B. Somis published in Paris, six sets of
sonatas for the violin and bass.
GAETANO PUGNANI.
This magnificent player who, it is generally supposed,
had the advantage as explained in the previous article,
of tuition both from Somis and Tartini, was born either
in the Canavese in 1727, or in Turin, in 1728. Both
dates are given. He succeeded Somis as principal
violinist at the King of Sardinia's Court, and as
director of the music. He was also a great operatic
conductor, and succeeded in a marvellous way in bring-
ing the various elements in such representations into the
most complete harmony. He visited Paris in 1754 ;
had a great success, and made the European tour. He
also came to London more than once, and on one
occasion stayed for a year or two. He had, of course,
resigned his appointment in Turin to enable him to make
these lengthened absences, but when in 1770 he left
London for good, and returned to Turin, he was at
once reappointed music director. The story about his
tuition from Tartini is a curious one, and wears such a
VIOLINISTS. 263
pleasantly simple look that it may be worth recounting.
When Pugnani was in Paris he heard much about
Tartini, and, determining to see him, went to Padua,
and called on his distinguished countryman, by whom
he was asked to play something. When Pugnani had
got over a few bars, Tartini caught him by the arm I
suppose the bow arm and said, " Too loud, my friend,
too loud." When Pugnani tried again, Tartini
repeated the interruption at the same point, and said :
" Too soft, my friend, too soft." Thereupon Pugnani
desired Tartini to take him as a pupil. This patheti-
cally concise description of the manner in which one
famous and accomplished performer listens to another
distinguished artiste's playing only suggests to my mind
one comment, which might reasonably be addressed to
the author of the story : " Too thick, my friend, too
thick."
It is related of Pugnani that he snubbed Voltaire
about his verses on one occasion when that brilliant
genius is said to have shown a little under-breeding by
talking loudly during one of the former's violin solos.
One or two trifling, gossipy anecdotes of this kind, if
true, indicate that the great Piedmontese violinist was of
a slightly irritable and impressionable nature. He was
a prolific composer of secular, as well as sacred music,
and those of his violin pieces which have been published
display a fine sense of melody. He had a violin school
in Turin, and trained a number of fine players, among
whom was Viotti. The circumstance that Pugnani
was the teacher of this father of modern violin playing
is alone sufficient to stamp him as an artiste of the
264 THE 1IDULE FANCIERS GUIDE.
highest grade. He died in Turin in 1803 an old man.
His works include four grand operas, two or three
comic operas, and ballets, and cantatas, some nine
concertos for the violin, and a lot of sonatas, duets,
trios, quartets, quintets, symphonies, etc. Very few
have been published.
FELICE GIARDINI.
This was another distinguished pupil of G. B. Somis
of Turin. He was born there in 1716, but was sent to
Milan while quite a child to learn music and was one
of the choir boys in the Cathedral there. He received
instruction in singing from Paladini, but having shown
a decided inclination for the violin, his father sent him
back to Turin and placed him with Somis, with whom
he remained for a number of years. Giardini's first
attempt on his own account was in Rome, where he was
not successful, and repaired without delay to Naples.
There he was more fortunate and got employment in
the orchestra of the theatre. He was a somewhat florid
performer who was in the habit of adding decorations of
his own to the music of the composer, and that not only
in leading parts but also in ordinary accompaniments.
The public were not accustomed to this, but they took
to it, and used to applaud him. How he would have
relished this sort of thing done to his own music by any
other man, we do not know, but we learn what Jomelli
thought of it. One evening when Giardini was playing
in the orchestra while an opera of Jomelli's was on, that
composer sat down beside him. He had, very likely,
VIOLINISTS. 265.
either heard, or heard of, Giardini's style of doing
things. At any rate, when, as usual the latter began
to decorate his part in the approved manner, Jomelli
suddenly gave him a smack in the face with his open
hand, which brought the florid embellishments to
an end. Giardini was very young, and it is to his
credit that the rude lesson appears to have been
learnt even in a story book.
When he was twenty-eight years old he appeared in
London and stayed there for a year or two. In 1748
he went to Paris and became very popular. In eighteen
months he returned to London and had increased
success in every way. He was a favourite in Court
circles and made large sums of money both by teaching
and playing. In an evil hour in 1756, he undertook
Italian opera and in a very short time lost every penny
he had made. In 1763 he began again teaching and
giving concerts, but, in a year or two the tide of fortune
turned, and another violinist divided with him the
public favour. He left this country in 1784, and
returned to Naples as poor as he had come. Sir
William Hamilton was of service to him there and he
spent a few years in the place of his earlier triumphs.
He then went to Russia and died in Moscow in 1796.
He composed a good deal, and almost all his work was
published in London. He composed the operetta
" Love in a Village " and one or two grand operas, the
oratorio of " Ruth," and a number of Italian songs,
duets, catches, etc., and a good deal of violin music in
the shape of solos, duets, trios, quartets, quintets, and
also several concertos.
266 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
GIOVANNI BATTISTA VIOTTI.
This player was by far the greatest performer of his
day, and many a day previous to his appearance. He,
Tartini, and Corelli, share the highest honours of
virtuosity awarded down to Viotti's time and the last
named is very justly called, as already noted, the father
of modern violin playing. He was born in Fontanetto
in Piedmont in 1753. His father was in a comfortable
position in life, and being a good amateur musician
gave his son some elementary instruction in music.
He had his first cheap fiddle when he was eight years
old and when he was eleven he had a year's tuition in
music from a guitar player, who was an excellent
musician and also played the violin. For two years
after this he had no personal supervision but studied
from books. In 1766, he was noticed by an ecclesi-
astic who afterwards became Archbishop of Turin, and
who had him sent there for tuition. In several tests
to which young Viotti was submitted the lad acquitted
himself in quite an amazing manner, and showed himself
possessed of a musical memory which was absolutely
astounding. He was at once placed under Pugnani as
soon as that artiste opened his famous school, which was
shortly after Viotti's arrival in Turin. Altogether the
cost of Viotti's education was about /"iooo, and this
was borne by the Prince of Cisterna in the most
munificent and kindly manner. So for as concerns
patronage and encouragement I do not know that any
other violinist has had the opportunities with which
Viotti was favoured in his youth. He bore himself
throughout in a manner which has done honour to his
c. n. VIOTTI.
VIOLINISTS. 267
profession. When his studies under Pugnani were
drawing to a close that master personally introduced
him to all the musical centres of Europe, finally parting
company in Paris where they arrived in 1782. Viotti
had, in the French capital, an overwhelming reception
on his first appearance, and he was soon taken up by
the court. But his popularity in France continued
only for about two years. For some unexplained
reason he was very coldly received by a small audience
at one of the Concerts Spirituels, while at the very next
of the same series an inferior performer had quite an
ovation. This was towards the end of 1783. Whether
Viotti read between the lines or not one cannot say but
the circumstance galled him so much that he resolved
never to play publicly in Paris again, and only once>
twenty years afterwards, did he do so. He continued
to play at Court, however, and in private circles. In
this year (1783) he paid a hurried visit to his native
place, and bought some property there, returning to
Paris in the following year, where he enjoyed honours
and emoluments having been appointed to the post,
among other offices, of musical director of the Italian
Opera until the period of the French Revolution,
when (1792) he came to London in an almost ruined con-
dition pecuniarily. In this country he at once succeeded
professionally, but the government fancied he had better
not remain goodness only knows why. Probably
some panic-notion that it would be as well not to give
unnecessary offence to the revolutionary party. At any-
rate he went to the neighbourhood of Hamburg and
remained there until 1794, when he was at liberty to
l68 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
return to London. He made his home here and is
supposed to be one of the founders of the Philharmonic
Society. He revisited Paris twice. Once in 1802, and
again in 1819, when he stayed two years directing the
opera. He came back to London in 1822. He had
started a wine business in London which was not very
profitable, and this, and his want of success in the opera
management, appears to have greatly depressed him.
His brother died at this time and the intelligence of his
demise weighed him down still farther. He died in
London on the loth March, 1824. Viotti's works are
too well known to require special mention. They
consist of concertos, sonatas, duets, trios, quartets,
symphonies, etc., almost all of which are still played.
PIERRE MARIE FRANCOIS DE SALES BAILLOT.
This distinguished French violinist was born at Passy
in 1771. He began to play the violin when he was
about seven years old. His family had moved about a
little and, when the lad's father died, they were in
Corsica. The Governor offered to have Pierre educated
along with his own children, and he was sent with them
to Rome, where he was placed with a violinist named
Pollani, who had been a pupil of Nardini. He returned
to Corsica in 1785, and then relinquished the violin as a
profession for that of secretary to the Governor. In this
office he remained until 1791, when he went to Paris.
The revolution was just about to burst, but they still
had the play and Baillot got employment as second
violin in the Theatre Feydeau, where he became
acquainted with Rode. He remained in this orchestra
VIOLINISTS. 269
only for a few months, until he obtained an appointment
at the Treasury. He was at the Treasury for ten years,
and laid aside the fiddle except as an amateur. That
does not, however, mean that he relinquished practice.
He merely did not play professionally. After that period
he went into the army and served for nearly two years,
but returned to Paris in 1795. From the last named
date until he died in 1842, he was exclusively devoted to
his instrument, became professor in the newly-founded
Conservatoire and added one more name to the illus-
trious roll of French violinists. But it is a mistake to
say that he was a pupil of Viotti's. That he never was.
Viotti was driven out of Paris a ruined man just as
Baillot entered it. Baillot published a quantity of music
for the violin, besides being one of the joint authors of
the fine violin school which is known under the name of
" Rode, Baillot and Kreutzer."
JAMES PETER JOSEPH RODE.
This artiste was the most distinguished of the splendid
band of performers who owed their training to G. B.
Viotti. He was born in the Rue du Loup, Bordeaux,
on the 1 6th February, 1774, died at Damazan on the
26th November, 1830, and was buried at Bordeaux.
He played the violin as a boy in his father's shop, and
used to be heard and admired by the neighbours and
passers by. His first teacher was A. J. Fauvel, who
was himself a pupil of Gervais. When Rode was
twelve years old he was known in Bordeaux as a young
virtuoso, and as he had been with Fauvel for six years
it will be seen that he began young. He went with his
27O THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
teacher to Paris when he was fourteen, and had an
introduction to Viotti, who was so struck with the boy's
ability that he received him as a pupil. In three years
time (1790) he made his first appearance with his
master's sixth concerto and gained a distinct success.
He then entered the band in the Theatre Feydeau, and
was soon promoted from the sixth desk in the first to the
second desk in the second violins. In the same year
(1791) Baillot joined the second violins and these two
became fast friends. Next year he met Kreutzer, and
the three joined to produce the famous violin school
referred to in the notice of Baillot. From 1793 to 1797,
there is a large amount of confusion in the biographical
accounts of this artiste. Some say he became a soldier,
or rather, played the clarionet in a regimental band at
Angers. Others that he sailed for Hamburg, but was
driven towards the English coast, and took the people of
this country by storm. We catch sight of him again in
Paris in 1797, where he entered the opera as solo violin,
and the Conservatoire as professor. Two years later he
went to Spain and was splendidly received there. In
1803 he made a progress towards Russia, where he
arrived in 1804 and remained until 1808, when he
reappears in Paris. He was still a young man only
thirty-four but he now began to fail, and from this
point onwards, his career was rather a downward one.
He started a new tour in 1811, and married a wealthy
lady in Berlin a widow named Madame Galliari. He
stayed there for some years but did not play much in
public. About 1820 he returned to Bordeaux and
-worked at his compositions. Eight years afterwards he
VIOLINISTS. 271
thought he would like to play again in Paris, but the
reception which he had when he did it so thoroughly
broke his spirit, that he went back to Bordeaux really a
dying man. His wife took him to a country seat she
had bought at Damazan, but he lingered on in the same
condition till the i3th November, when a stroke of
paralysis brought the end of this melodious soul near,
and, as already stated, he died on the 26th of the same
month. Every violinist knows " Rode's Air in G," his
" Martial Air in A," his Concertos and Caprices the
last named being really indispensible to every player.
He composed altogether between forty and fifty pieces
for violin and voice, in addition to his share in the
famous Conservatoire " School " already mentioned.
RODOLPHE KREUTZER.
The third member of the famous trio who made up
the magnificent violin school for the then recently
founded Conservatoire, this artiste claims, and receives,
a high place among the ranks of great violin players.
He was born in Versailles in 1766. His father was a
musician in the king's chapel there, and so was young
Rodolphe's teacher, Anton Stamitz, the second son of
the founder of the Mannheim School. Kreutzer began
early, for it is said that he played a Concerto of his own
composition when he was thirteen. He had, of course,
almost lived in an atmosphere of music, but so have
other distinguished composers, such as Haydn, Mozart,
Beethoven, and I think the statement that Kreutzer's
musical nature was so gifted that he composed by
instinct, and without having received a single lesson in
272 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
harmony is one which need hardly be pressed. He is
sufficiently famous without its aid. When he was
sixteen his father died, and Marie Antoinette, who
had taken an interest in him, had him promoted to
the desk of first violin, vacant through his father's
decease. In 1782, he heard Viotti in Paris, and then
set himself to developing his own talent until he became
one of the greatest exponents of the fiddle fingerboard of
his day. In 1790 he was admitted as first violin in the
opera, and he began then to compose dramatic music.
He travelled Germany and Italy a short time, and then
returned to Paris. The Conservatoire had just been
founded during the revolution, and he was appointed
professor. He held a great many appointments in his
time, and " whatsoever King did reign," he was there.
Solo violin at the opera, member of the music in the
First Consul's Chapel, solo violin of the Emperor's
private band, Chapel Master to Louis Philippe, and
Conductor at the opera. Throughout all these changes,
ranging from 1792, when he was in Louis XVI. 's band,
till 1827, he was professor at the Conservatoire. In the
last named year he ceded the chair to his brother
Auguste, another fine performer.
He had to relinquish public performing through an
accident to his left shoulder, sustained by a fall from
his carriage, or rather, his carriage was upset, and he
was thrown out. The dislocation was never properly
adjusted, and his health greatly deteriorated in conse-
quence. He had several strokes of apoplexy, and died
at Geneva in June, 1831. Every violin player, it may
again be said, is familiar with " Kreutzer's Studies,"
VIOLINISTS. 273
an absolutely colossal work, without which it would be
difficult to imagine how violin classes could now-a-days
get on, although we all know that they got on very well
indeed for perhaps a century and a half before they were
written. Still, such is the force of habit, if they dis-
appeared from our curriculum, it would be like dropping
a book from the canon of scripture.
CHARLES PHILLIPPE LAFONT.
This great representative of an earlier French school
was born in Paris in 1781. His mother was a good
player, and she gave him his early lessons. His
mother's brother was Isidore Berthaume, quite a
distinguished performer of the pre-revolution school, and
he afterwards took the child in hand, and by the time
Lafont was eleven years of age, he was playing solos at
concerts in Germany his uncle was settled in Olden-
burg. Somewhat later Lafont became a pupil of Rode,
and afterwards travelled over all the continent, receiving
the most enthusiastic plaudits everywhere. He challenged
Paganini to a contest, and although the latter considered
it extremely injudicious for two public performers to
engage in such a warfare, and he was quite right, the
affair came off, and Paganini is reported to have
courteously admitted that Lafont " probably excelled
him in tone." In 1808, Lafont was at St. Petersburg,
and remained there for six years, occupying the post of
first solo violin player to the Emperor. On his return
to France, he was appointed first violin of the
King's' private band, and filled other appointments.
After 1815, Lafont went on the Continent again, and also
274 THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
tni veiled about France. In the year 1839, an accident,
similar to Kreutzer's befell him, but with more
immediately fatal results. He was on tour with the
pianist Herz, and was sitting outside the diligence, when
it was overturned between Bagneres de Bigorre and
Tarbes. Lafont was killed on the spot.
NICOLO PAGANINI.
There can be very little doubt as to the position
which this wonderful man occupied in his day, and
there need be as little doubt regarding the place he
holds in the ranks of violinists down to the present.
An easy first he still remains as a violin player. The
most striking testimony to his matchless skill is the
almost unimpeachable unanimity of judgment in his
favour displayed by the artistes in his own profession.
And what astounded them, subdued them, and, in one or
two cases one might almost say, appalled them, was not
his manual dexterity that was chiefly what astonished
his general public, and was wonderful enough, appar-
ently, in all conscience but that seemingly superhuman
power of intense expression which drew the majority of
artistes to his shrine, and those who were without envy
to speak freely to his feet. We can surely in some
measure realise what it must have been to hear him
when we find men of all nationalities uniting in rapturous
plaudits of this man's genius. It was the daily practice
of these men to use, in their profession, the highest
possible means, within their capacity, of emotional
expression in their music, and when, as I have said, we
find them almost unanimous in looking on Paganini as
NICOLO PAGANINI.
VIOLINISTS. 275
the " despair of their art " to use an expression which
is not particularly happy, but, judging from its frequent
employment, seems intelligible enough we may well
risk still placing him at the head of all violinists.
He was born in Genoa on the i8th February, 1784.
His father Antonio Paganini was a musician of some
skill, and taught him the guitar, an instrument on
which our hero became a magnificent performer. It is,
indeed, reported by those who heard him, that his
ability was as distinguished on that instrument as it
was on the violin. His mother's maiden name was
Teresa Bocciardi. She was also a musician, and she
must have held the art in very high esteem indeed,
when she felt that the wish nearest her heart was that
her son should become the greatest violinist in the
world. It was undoubtedly a curious dream which
Paganini used to say she had. An angel appeared to
her people would now say a spirit and desired her to
name her dearest wish and she named it as above. His
first instruments were the mandoline and, probably, the
guitar, but soon he took up the violin under the
instruction of a player named Servetto. When he really
commenced to play the violin is not known, but it is said
that he was about five when he began the mandoline.
He must have made great progress, because about this
time Kreutzer was in Genoa, and Paganini was brought
in to play to him, and the child actually played some of
Kreutzer's difficult music, as " difficult " was then
understood, at sight. It is recorded that the great
French player was " amazed," and from that day the
fame of little Nicolo increased so rapidly, that by the
T2
276 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
time when he was seven years old, he was quite famous.
It would be impossible to embody in a brief notice
like this anything approaching to detail in recounting
his career. His success was so marvellous, and the
exhibition of his exceptional powers on his instrument so
entrancing and inexplicable that people who cannot live
happily unless they are in a position to explain every-
thing in a natural or a supernatural way, people to whom
a confession of ignorance is a shameful humiliation, and
the expression of wonder an utter impossibility the more
ignorant portion, in short, of his public began to cast
about for reasons which might appease their hunger and
thirst after explanations. The devil was, of course, the
inevitable resource of these people they never dreamt
of falling back on the mother's angel. Perhaps they did
not know the story of the dream one may almost say
certainly not. Still, it never struck them to try the angel.
The man himself was, apparently, now and again a little
reckless in his way of living, and, of course, angels never
trouble themselves about people of that sort. All
history, religious and profane, had made that quite clear.
They therefore fixed on the devil, and saw him at
Paganini's elbow, and they saw his cloven hoof also.
His Satanic majesty must be a sublime idiot after all to
walk about all these centuries with cloven hoofs. But,
seriously, stories of this kind were circulated about
wherever he went. By-and-by, they found out that he
had murdered his sweetheart, had been imprisoned for
many years, and, during his imprisonment, had done
nothing but practise the violin, etc., etc. We can look
at all this now as extraordinary foolery, but these horrible
VIOLINISTS. 277
stories followed this man to every town, and upset the
comfort of his life. On one occasion, he appealed to the
Italian Ambassador when he was in Vienna, and that
gentleman published a declaration in the newspapers to
the effect that he had known Paganini as a respectable
man for twenty years. This quieted the ridiculous tales
in that city for a time, but wherever he went they were
revived. Even in enlightened Paris he was made the
subject of all kinds of lampoons, and virulent attacks,
having not a shadow of truth about them. When in
London if he ventured to walk, people followed him in
the street, ran in front, and stared at him, while others
had the temerity to touch him, handle his clothes, etc.,
I suppose, in order to ascertain if he really was flesh
and blood. The man's life must have been made a
complete misery to him. He had been before the
public since he was fourteen, constantly giving concerts,
and he had held, at sixteen, the post of leader and
director of music at the Court of Lucca, and yet there
were actually people at that time who asserted and
promulgated publicly the story about murdering his
sweetheart or his rival, and that he had been eight years
in prison for it. They did not stop to calculate that
this made him a murderer at the advanced age of six
years, with a sweetheart and a rival to operate on. We
laugh at the absurd stories. They were not laughing
matters to Paganini. They worried the man to a degree
of which we have no conception. They caused people
in these days to shun him who might have had his
life brightened by their society. Even during his
latest visit to Paris, he had to get Fetis to draw
278 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
up a declaration embodying the truth about the
malevolence of these tales which were revived
against him at that time, not only concerning the
murder and imprisonment, but all sorts of horrible
crimes which were imputed to him. I do not in the
least wonder that the man became soured in nature.
The mother of his son was, apparently, a violent
tempered woman who moved about the household,
threatening to smash his fiddles, and so on. Altogether, to
put it mildly,he seems to have had his fair share of troubles.
His affection for his son was of a deep and tender kind.
He was always thinking about him when absent, sending
his love to him, begging the friends to whom he was
writing to be sure and give the messages, emphasising
them every other sentence, and beseeching them to let
him know about his Achilles his son's name. In his
lodgings he used to have sham fights with him, when the
little chap, with his wooden sword, would drive his long ?
lean parent up against the bedstead, and threaten him
with the direst consequences unless he consented to die,
which he always had to do. Paganini tried to teach him
the violin, but he did not take to it. This greatest of
all violinists died at Nice on ayth May, 1840.
CAMILLO SIVORI.
This artiste is the only known pupil of Paganini. He
was born on 6th June, 1817, in Genoa, and is still alive.
Paganini's art of teaching was a peculiar one. When
Sivori went for his lesson it consisted often of a good
deal of scolding and interruptions, ending by Paganini
playing the exercise, or whatever it was, and telling
DR. LOUIS SPOHR.
VIOLINISTS. 279
Sivori not to come back until he could do it in the same
style. Since 1836, Sivori has travelled a great deal in
Europe, and America in 1846 to 1848. He was highly
appreciated in this country and is at present living in
Genoa.
LOUIS SPOHR.
This great violin master and musician occupies a very
high place if not. indeed the very highest among
German artistes. It may be pointed out, by the way,
that he never calls himself " Ludwig " but always
" Louis, " in his Autobiography, as has been indicated by
the author of the article in Grove's Dictionary. I may
add to this, from documents in my own possession,
that he also signed his name "Louis" and not
" Ludwig," not only in his correspondence, but also if
he had to sign a piece of his own music. Sometimes
he also signed in what may seem a rather imposing
manner " Dr. Louis Spohr." He was born at
Brunswick, in 1784. When he was two years old, his
father, who was a doctor, moved to the small town of
Seesen, and Spohr spent there the early years of his
childhood. Both his father and mother were musicians
of some culture, and when he was five they bought him
a little violin on which he found out the notes for
himself and played over, to his mother's piano accom-
paniment, the music they were in the habit of singing
or playing. The rector of the place, whose name was
Riemen Schneider, gave him his first lessons. They
were necessarily of an amateur kind, and so were those
of his second instructor, but he was a more advanced
2&O THE FIDDLE FAN'CIER'S GUIDE.
player named Dufour. At the latter's instance young
Spohr was sent to Brunswick to the grammar school
there and at the same time began the serious study of
the violin under a player named Kunisch, who was in
the Duke of Brunswick's band. He was also taught
counterpoint by Hartung, an organist, and never
received any other instruction in musical composition. He
had further instruction in violin playing from the leader
of the band, Mancourt, and when he was fourteen, or
rather younger, he played a concerto of his own at a
school concert. He then tried a tour and went to
Hamburg, but could not get up a concert. Returned to
Brunswick sorely depressed and without money, or very
little. He wrote to the Duke asking for mea.ns to con-
tinue his studies. The Duke heard, and gave him an
appointment in his band, and by-and-by arranged for
him to receive further violin instruction from Franz
Eck. They were to travel together, and in 1802 meant to
go to Russia but made a prolonged wait at Hamburg
and Strelitz. By-and-by they arrived in St. Petersburg,
and after remaining through the winter there Spohr
returned to Brunswick the following summer, where he
heard Pierre Rode play. This made a great impression
on Spohr. He then gave a concert himself and started
to go to Paris, but had his Guarnerius stolen from him,
and had to return to Brunswick in order to arrange for
another instrument. He next went to several German
towns and in 1805 became leader of the Duke of
Gotha's band. In the following year he married
Dorette Scheidler, a harp-player, and began to write
arge instrumental and other works. Between 1805 and
VIOLINISTS. 28l
1813 he toured through Germany, accompanied by his
wife, and in the last named year accepted the appoint-
ment of conductor at the Theatre-an-der-Wien, Vienna.
In 1815 or 1816, the two went to Italy on a concert tour
with great success and returned to Germany in the follow-
ing year. In 1818 he was conductor of the opera at
Frankfort where he produced his Faust. In 1820 the
Philharmonic Society invited him to London, and he
paid his first visit to this country. From that date his
career was one continuous triumph till a few years
before his death. He was immensely pleased with the
Philharmonic, admitting that he had never heard such
splendid performances. He frequently came here after
he accepted the life appointment of music director at
Cassel in 1822. The last time he was over was in
1853, and shortly after that his health began to give
way. He lost his wife in 1834 anc ^ married again in
1836. In 1857 he broke his arm, and had to give up the
violin, and his last public appearance of importance was
in 1858, when he conducted the jubilee celebration at the
Prague Conservatoire. He died in Cassel on October
i6th, 1859. These facts are almost wholly taken from
his Autobiography, which is one of the most interesting
musical works of a personal character published during
the present century.
CHARLES AUGUST DE BERIOT.
This artiste is, perhaps, the best known representa-
tive of the Belgian school of the past. He was born
in Louvain in 1802, and although he attended the
Conservatoire in Paris for a few months under the
282 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
guidance of Baillot, he really derived no assistance in the
development of his powers from that school. Before he
went to Paris in 1821, he was an artiste of the highest
class, and when he consulted Viotti on reaching the
French Capital, the latter strongly advised him to follow
his own bent, seeing he had nothing to learn which he
could not teach himself. He was a magnificent per-
former for brilliancy and delicacy of touch, with a fine,
melodic sense. The latter quality is strongly marked in
much of his music, and especially in his " Airs Varies."
He is one of those examples of the developing power of
individual genius, of which we have instances in Paganini,
Ole Bull, and one or two others, for although, like them,
he received instructions from a resident teacher, a violinist
in Louvain named Tiby, he was not burdened with the
traditions of any school, although his style is classical
enough for all that. He met with successes wherever
he played, and, beginning with Paris, he travelled all
over Europe except Russia. His first appearance in
this country was in 1826, and he was very often here
after that. He married the celebrated singer, Madame
Malibran, but I am sorry I am not in a position to say
when with any sense of exactitude. The event occurred
before I was born, and I have not yet had an opportunity
of examining into the matter at first hand, so I give a
selection of the various dates given by various authorities.
One important biograpical work gives the date as 1830.
Another says 1832. One of the finest and most authorita-
tive works in existence, and which is also the most recent,
states that they were married in 1835, and in another place
of the same work that the date was 1836. If it is any
OLE BULL.
VIOLINISTS. 283
satisfaction to the reader, I may say that I lean to the
opinion that they were married on the 26th March, 1836.
She died in Manchester a few days less than six months
after that date, and De Beriot went off at once to
Brussels to look after the property. But they had
known each other for some years, and had given many
concerts together. After his wife's death, De Beriot
remained in Brussels for four years, and his first
appearance afterwards was in Germany. He was
appointed chief of the violin school at the Brussels
Conservatoire in 1843, and remained in the chair for
nine years. He became blind in 1852, and retired. He
died at his native place in 1870. One important
publication gives the year of his birth as 1770. This is
an error. His music, as every violinist knows, has been,
and is yet, very popular. Some of his melodies are
exceedingly beautiful. He also wrote a great many
duets, some books of studies, seven concertos, and a
" school."
OLE BORNEMANN BULL.
This great Norse magican was born in Bergen on
February 5th, 1810. His father and mother were
musical, but an " Uncle Jens " used to have quartets on
Tuesday evenings, and to these Ole Bull could probably
have traced his earliest musical longings. Even as a
baby he would be found under the table or sofa listening
to the quartets of Hadyn, Mozart, and Beethoven. His
uncle, who played the 'cello, would put him inside the
case and play to him, while he bribed him with sweet-
meats not to move. This was when he was about three
284 THK MDDLK FANCIER'S GUIDE.
years old. When he was five, his uncle bought him a
violin, and his widow relates that when the child played
his first tune on it he felt as if he had ascended to the
clouds. All young children are delighted when they
accomplish something which they see done by their elders,
but the after career of this magnificent man places
beyond a doubt that the joy he felt was more than the
ordinary glee of childish satisfaction. The whole life of
Ole Bull was a poem, and one of the most elevating
kind. He had the highest possible appreciation of the
power of executive art, and he employed that power in
the noblest manner. His first teacher was a Dane a
Mr. Paulsen but the little fellow really played the violin
tolerably well almost from the first moment he handled
it, although he had to stand at his mother's knee while
she screwed the pegs for him his baby fingers not
being strong enough for the duty. This Mr. Paulsen
probably exhausted his own knowledge in the teaching
of Ole, for on one of the Tuesday evenings when
Paulsen should have led the quartet, he was so drunk
as to be useless. Ole's uncle called out to him, " Come
my boy, do your best and you shall have a stick of
candy." Ole Bull at this time was eight years old. He
took up his violin, and, to the amazement of all, played
through a quartet of Pleyel's which he had frequently
heard, and played all the movements accurately. After
this Paulsen's lessons were given more regularly, but he
soon suddenly left Bergen, and the boy had no regular
instruction from the time he was nine until he reached
the age of twelve. Then a Swedish player named
Lundholm took up his abode in the town, and Ole was
VIOLINISTS. 285
sent to him. When he was fourteen his grandmother
got him, at his earnest .request, Paganini's Studies, and
he actually mastered these in a very short time, and
nonplussed his teacher. By-and-by he was sent to the
University at Christiania to study for the church and
was duly plucked and little wonder, seeing that he
played the violin all night previous to the day of his
examination, and as far on as seven in the morning,
while his " exam." came on at nine ! The professor
remarked to him, " It is the best thing that could have
happened to you,'' and had him appointed Director of
the Philharmonic and Dramatic Societies of Christiania.
From this point his artistic career may be said to begin,
and it was, with two notably exceptional periods, a
triumphal progress through the whole civilised universe.
The first exception was on the occasion of his^isit to
Paris in 1831. He had gone there to take his place in
the world of art, having in his pocket thejproceeds of
some concerts he had given just before leaving Norway.
He met with no encouragement, could not even get heard
and to crown all, an old rascal who stayed in the same
hotel in which he lodged, robbed him of all his money
and belongings, leaving him nothing but an old suit of
clothes. Absolute want stared him in the face, but he
happened to meet an accquaintance who introduced him
to his own landlady, and became security for him to the
extent of sixty francs per month until^he couhThear from
his friends in Norway. This is the time when that
singular stroke of luck befell him at play, and which is
so often referred to in a vague and inaccurate manner.
The circumstances are as follow : His landlady and his
286 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDH.
friend were beginning to look askance at him when, one
morning, a stranger of somewhat odd appearance was
at the breakfast table, and Ole Bull's friend remarked
that he was a detective. The former replied that he
suspected as much, and these comments being overheard,
the visitor became very angry, but on Ole Bull responding
in a quiet, gentlemanly manner, his mood changed, and
he presently began to take an interest in the Norwegian.
He appeared to divine Ole Bull's position, and requested
him to go with him to a small public house in the
vicinity, as he had something to tell him. When they
arrived there the stranger said to Bull, " I know you are
in want. Follow my advice. You must try your luck
at play." "But I have no money." ''You must get
five francs ; then go to-night, between ten and eleven
o'clock, not earlier, to Frascati's, in the Boulevard
Montmartre. Mount the stairs, ring the bell, and give
your hat boldly to the liveried servant in attendance ;
enter the hall, go straight to the table, put your five
francs on the red, and let them remain there." Ole Bull
did as he was told, exactly, and when he found himself
at the table in putting his money on the red he did it
awkwardly, and it rolled over to the black and was lost.
He almost lost consciousness, but at the next coup he
heard the cry, " Play, Gentlemen," and he called out,
cinque francs but his Norwegian accent made it sound
like cent francs, and a hundred francs were passed over to
him. He placed these on the red and won, again, and
won, and again, and again, until eight hundred francs
were lying beside him. Suddenly a small diamond-
decorated hand slid over the table and covered his pile.
VIOLINISTS. 287
He seized it, and there was a scream and an uproar.
Immediately a clear and commanding voice said,
" Madame, leave this gold alone," and, to Ole Bull,
" Take your money, Sir, if you please." When the
violinist turned to look at the speaker, he found him to
be his friend of the morning, and afterward learned that
he was Vidocq, the chief of the police. The other
exceptional period of his life was when he found himself
utterly ruined, after paying the price of an American
estate on which to settle a Norwegian colony, and having
to restore the land to the rightful owner the company
from whom he bought it having no title whatever. He
was a man of marvellous energy, or he could never have
recovered from that shock, but he started again
with his violin and bow, and righted himself completely.
Another interesting episode in this artiste's career is
his meeting with his first wife. The cholera was raging
in Paris shortly after the time of the Vidocq incident,
and a house to which he removed was invaded by it.
He could find no employment, and night after night he
used to wander about the street in positive want for
his eight hundred francs, after paying his debts, did not
last very long. One day, while roaming through the
streets, he saw a little ticket in the window of a house
in the rue des Martyrs, " Furnished rooms to let." He
ascended the stairs, and when he rang the bell and the
door was opened, a young lady cried, " Look at him,
Grandmama." Grandmama put on her glasses, looked
at him, and the tears welled up in her eyes. He was
the picture of a son she had just lost, and was told to
come back next day. It was high time. He had
288 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
stopped opposite that house because he felt as if he could
go no farther from sheer exhaustion, and he was no
sooner in it than he was attacked by brain fever.
When consciousness returned, the old lady was sitting
by his bedside nursing him as if she had been his own
mother, and the young lady was Alexandrine Felicie
Villeminot, his future wife.
Sometimes his irrepressible sense of humour proved
an impediment in his path. Shortly after his recovery
from fever he applied for an appointment in the Opera
Comigue band. Competitors for the place were tested
in playing at sight, and when he went forward to the
desk the music placed for him was so extraordinarily
simple, that on the spur of the moment he asked at
which end he was to begin. The examiner did not see
the fun of it, but, without replying, rejected him without
a hearing. He had another very laughable experience
with fiddle varnish. A gentleman named Lacour had
made the discovery like so many others that by the
use of his particular varnish an ordinary fiddle could
be made equal to a Cremonese instrument. Ole Bull
was then a little over twenty-one, and a good old chest-
nut like this was quite a novelty to him, so he arranged
with Lacour to play on a fiddle varnished by his pro-
cess. It was to be at a Soiree given by the Duke of
Riario, the Italian minister at Paris, and was a splendid
opportunity for the young man, so, armed with the
precious instrument, he determined to make it, if
possible, the turning point in his career. The heat of
the apartment, filled with a brilliant company, was so
intense that the varnish on the fiddle began to smell in
VIOLINISTS. 289
a most offensive degree. Assafoetida entered largely
into the composition of the varnish, and it was com-
paratively new. At first it merely annoyed him slightly,
but as he played on and the heat of his chin and neck
worked up the varnish at the tail piece, the smell was
dreadful just under his nose, and when he realised that
the horrible odour must be permeating the room in his
immediate neighbourhood, he became quite excited.
The warmth of the contact between fiddle and chin
increased, the heat of the room increased, and the
odour seemed to treble in pungency. He was a
player who could turn his head round a good bit,
but he could not remove the fiddle, and the agony
became almost unendurable. Furiously he played on,
the hideous odour growing worse and worse, until he
quite expected to be saluted with smiles and laughter
amid a general stampede from his vicinity. When he
had finished, the smiles were his, but they were smiles
of congratulation from all sides, no one seemingly
having observed what was so painfully near his own
olfactories. It was an awful experience, however, which
probably made him duly cautious in similar circumstances
for the whole term of his natural life. From this time
onward his evil fortune passed away and almost every
important town in the civilised world had a visit from
him, and many of them more than one.
His first appearance in this country was on May 2ist,
1836, a feat which he succeeded in achieving after the
most extraordinary, tricky intrigue against him on the
part of that curiously envious violinist, Nicolas Mori.
After this, his successes were of an altogether exceptional
290 THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
character, and for about eighteen months, he almost
wore himself out giving concerts. The Duke of Devon-
shire had him down at Chatsworth for rest and quiet,
and forbade him to play, but on one occasion he played
there till midnight, with results which caused the Duke
to make the prohibition absolute, and take means to see
that it was enforced. In this year he was married in Paris
to the young lady whose grandmother had been so kind
to him, and they returned to London. Shortly after,
he arranged for a tour in the United States, and subse-
quently passed many years of his life in America, where
he evolved that scheme fdr Norwegian settlers, which
ended so disastrously, but so honourably. All the
circumstances of his life are delightfully told by his
widow in her memoir of her distinguished husband, and
the above details are taken from that work. When I
was a young man, I had the honour to receive some
slight personal directions in violin playing from him,
and I have a very vivid recollection of the extreme
kindness of his manner, and the dignity of his bearing.
He was an exceedingly tall, and exceptionally handsome
man. He was a very enthusiastic student of old violins,
and was fond of carrying out, and seeing carried
out, experiments in the direction tending to reveal the
supposed mysteries of their manufacture. He possessed,
at different times, many fine instruments, and the one
which he called his " Gasparo da Salo," has become
quite famous. He is, I fancy, the only violinist who
ever played a solo on the top of the pyramid of Cheops,
a curious feat which he accomplished on his sixty-sixth
birthday, completely enthralling the Bedouins about
VIOLINISTS. 291
him until he had finished, when they sprang to their feet
on the summit of the old world structure, as if suddenly
charged with electricity, and shouted the name of
"Allah! Allah!"
In the month of July, 1880, Ole Bull was taken ill in
Liverpool after landing from his last trip from America.
\Yhen the symptoms grew violent, he insisted on sailing
to his home in the island of Lysoe, where he had built him-
self a beautiful house. Dr. Moore, of Liverpool, accom-
panied him and attended him to the last. When the
melancholy home coming was ended, and the great man
was laid in his music room overlooking the waters of the
Bjorne Fjord, after a short period of fitful hopes and
fears, there he died, regretted by the whole world of
music-loving people high and low.
He is buried in the centre of the old Bergen Cemetery,
and the finest of all tributes paid to his memory was
when after all the funeral orations had been delivered,
and the wreaths put on his grave, and the regular
mourners had departed, poor peasants from all parts of
the country around Bergen slipped up to the grave, and
in hundreds, placed their green boughs, ferns, and
flowers on the last resting place of their great friend.
WILLIAM BERNHARD MOLIQUE.
This master was born in Nuremberg in 1802. He
had his first tuition from his father, who filled some
civic post as musician. King Maximilian I. of Bavaria,
noticed young Molique's talent, and had him sent to
Munich to be trained by Pietro Rovelli. Two years
later, Molique accepted a position in the Court Chapel
V2
THE FIDDLE FANCIERS GUIDE.
in Vienna, and a year after that Rovelli died, and the
young violinist was recalled to Munich to fill Rovelli's
place. Spohr is understood to have given him some
suggestions both in regard to violin playing and
composition. Molique made his first tour in 1822. In
1826, he went to an important appointment in Stuttgart,
and from there he made annual tours throughout Europe
during his vacation, and until 1849, when he almost per-
manently settled here in London. He remained twenty
years in this country, and wrote concertos, quartets, trios,
and grand sonatas. Some of his melodies are extremely
pathetic, and of an exceedingly refined character. He
tried Paris in 1836, but did not please the taste there.
In 1 86 1 he was appointed professor of composition at
the Royal Academy of Music, and retired five years
later. He went back to Germany, and died at Cann-
stadt on loth May, 1869. He was a distinguished
orchestral conductor.
HEINRICH WILHELM ERNST.
This exceptionally fine German master was born at
Briin in 1814. He was trained at the Vienna Conserva-
toire under Joseph Boehm, who was, himself, a pupil
of Rode's, and a player of great eminence. It is said
that Ernst also had instruction from Mayseder, another
German master of distinction. He was, besides, a
close student of Paganini, who probably influenced
his style largely. Ernst was touring when he was
sixteen, and two years later he went to Paris, and
remained there for six years. He never appears to
have enjoyed robust health, even when travelling,
HENRY VIEUXTEMPS.
VIOLINISTS.
293
which he did for about sixteen years, visiting all the
chief towns in Europe. His first appearance in this
country was in 1844, but he ultimately resided perma-
nently in London. In the course of time he had to
relinquish violin playing altogether in consequence of the
nervous trouble to which he eventually succumbed at
Nice on 8th October, 1865. No one who has heard him
play his exquisite " Elegie," will readily forget the
remarkably beautiful character of tone which he
succeeded in drawing from his fine " Stradavari." In
addition to above " Elegie " he is author of a number of
high class works for the instrument some of them
being exceptionally difficult.
HENRI VIEUXTEMPS.
This great Belgian player was born at Verviers in
1820. He displayed a very early liking for the violin,
and his father, through the kindness of an amateur
friend, had him placed with a local teacher, and his
progress was so rapid that when he was six years old
he played one of Rode's concertos in public. Then the
touring began. In Brussels, De Beriot heard him, and
took him in charge for a few months, ultimately exhibit-
ing him in Paris successfully. The boy returned home,
but with no doubt as to his future career. In 1833, he
started with his father on his first professional tour on
his own account, and for forty years after that date, the
whole civilised world became familiar with his splendid
ability. His first visit to this country was in 1834, and
seven years later he came again, a young man of twenty-
one. He had a magnificent tone and style, and received
294 THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
a very flattering reception. He visited America once
or twice, where the same enthusiasm perhaps greater
greeted him. He settled in Russia for six years, but
resumed his journeyings over the face of the earth, and
continued them until he settled down in Brussels in
1871, to fill the place of De Beriot at the Conservatoire.
A few years afterwards a stroke of paralysis disabled
the whole of his left side, and ended his violin playing.
The terrible nature of the deprivation could only be
realised by the artiste himself. He bore it, however,
very nobly, and was able to, compose for his instrument
afterwards. He died in Algiers in 1881, and has left a
large number of compositions of various kinds, among
them being six concertos.
EDOUARD REMENYI.
This artiste is one of that distinguished band of
Hungarian violinists which has emanated from the
Vienna Conservatoire. He was born in 1830, and was
for three years under Boehm. Soon after he left the
Conservatoire, he joined the insurrection and had to
change his domicile. He went to America, where he
resumed his art, and in 1853 returned to Europe. In
1854 he came to London, and in 1860 went home
to Hungary. In 1865 he was in Paris, and in 1877
in London again, and, since then, he has been
in America, all over Europe and, indeed, in most
parts of the world. In 1891 he visited once more the
British metropolis, but he was not heard in public. In
my opinion, he is an artiste of the highest grade,
who should be more frequently en evidence than he has
VIOLINISTS. 295
been during the last twenty years. Apart from his
splendid technique, I cannot recall the name of any
player who has with greater delicacy, grace, and feeling,
interpreted the national airs of whatever country he
might fix on for purposes of musical exposition. When
he came here in 1854, ne was made "solo violinist to
the Queen," and when he returned to Hungary in 1860,
he received an appointment of equal importance at the
Austrian Court.
JOSEPH JOACHIM.
This artiste is almost universally acknowledged to be
the first of living violinists, and it appears to be certain
that when Time once more lets his curtain descend on a
great violin epoch, the doctor's name will be found in
line with those of Corelli, Tartini, Viotti, Paganini, and
Ole Bull. He was born at Kitse, in Hungary, on June
28th, 1831, and began to play the violin at five years of
age. His first instructor was the leader of the Pesth
Orchestra, and when he was ten, he was sent to the
Conservatoire at Vienna, where Joseph Boehm had still
charge of the violin classes. Two years later he went to
Leipsic, to Ferdinand David, where Mendelssohn, who
was head of the Conservatoire, took special interest in
him. He had, before this, played in public, though not,
perhaps, under such distinguished auspices for, on the
occasion of his first appearance in Leipsic, Mendelssohn
himself accompanied him on the piano. From that
period his career has been one of uninterrupted success
and ever increasing distinction. The first occasion on
which he played in this country was when Mendelssohn
296 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
came to conduct the Philharmonic season in 1844, when
he appeared at a concert at Drury Lane, and again on
May 27th, at the Philharmonic. He was then only
thirteen years of age, but already a master, and for more
than fifty years, season after season, he has maintained
his high position. It must be the wish of every true
lover of art that Dr. Joachim may long remain with us.
He has received a large number of decorations from the
various fountains of earthly honour, and he would be a
very pretty sight indeed if he wore them all. The most
appreciative mark of affection and esteem which he ever
had, may not be the beautiful Stradivari violin pre-
sented to him on his Jubilee, by friends and admirers in
this country, but it will not come very far behind it.
LUDWIG STRAUSS.
This fine performer is another pupil of Boehm's. He
was born at Pressburg in 1835, and early distinguished
himself, becoming a colleague of Mayseder's in concerted
music. He has occupied several high posts on the
Continent, and has gone through the usual touring
curriculum with Signer Piatti, and other important
players. He first came here in 1860, and then per-
manently in 1864, and is a solo player of great distinction.
JOHN TIPLADY CARRODUS.
This great English violinist was born at Keighley in
1836. He started very early, and was a public
performer before he was twelve years old. At that age
he came to London to study under Molique, who was
here at the time, and he accompanied that artiste to
JOHN TIPLADY CARRODUS
(President of the College of Violinists).
VIOLINISTS. 297
Stuttgart, where he remained until he was about eighteen.
He then returned, and filled an appointment in Glasgow.
Soon after this, he attracted the attention of Sir Michael
Costa, whose judgment recognised in the young
violinist those qualities which ultimately brought him to
the very front. Costa invited him to join the Royal Italian
Opera, and soon after he passed to " Her Majesty's "
as leader, and finally, back to the R.I.O. in the same
distinguished capacity. His master, Molique, was a
magnificent leader, and his mantle has fallen on Mr.
Carrodus, who, at present, leads the most important
orchestras in this country. He has published a number
of original compositions for the violin and piano, as well
as educational works for his instrument, and as a solo
player, he is immensely popular.
LADY HALLE (nee NERUDA).
This lady is one of the most distinguished players
of the age. She was a very little girl indeed when she
first appeared here at a Philharmonic Concert, but the
magnificently incisive tone which now responds to the
stroke of her bow, is not surpassed by that of any
performer who visits these shores. For nearly twenty-
five years there has been no more popular artiste in this
country. She was a pupil of Jansa, before he came to
London, but the art of violin playing runs in her blood.
For nearly two hundred years the members of her
family have been violinists, and, if there is anything in
the influence of heredity, one need hardly be surprised
that her splendid style and technique should make many
298 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
a fine male performer quail. A few years ago, she was
married to Sir Charles Halle, the distinguished conductor
and pianist.
* . MARTIN MELITON SARASATE.
This favourite violinist was born in Pampeluna, in
Navarre, on loth March, 1844. ^ e * s sometimes called
Pablo de Sarasate, and is said to have been born in
Saragossa, in 1846. Why there should be such
diversity of information regarding a great modern artiste
such as he is, may be explained as follows. In 1879 a
writer named Hans Hoffman published a farce in which
the hero, a certain famous violinist called Nicotini, is
tormented .by two silly women who are his passionate
admirers, and who get themselves and others into trouble
by their stupid conduct. Nicotini is desirous of travelling
incognito, but these curious dames find him out to be
Sarasate, and the name of the farce is " Pablo de
Sarasate." I suppose the distinguished man has, in this
way, come to be baptised in this name. I also fancy
that Saragossa has been given as his birthplace through
some phonetic confusion between its name, and the first
sounds of " Sarasate." It is not very far from Pampeluna,
certainly, but it is in the province of Aragon, and a man
cannot be born, in an earthly sense, in two places. The
discrepancy in the dates I do not attempt to explain.
Senor Sarasate was quite young when he was taken
to Paris, and entered the Conservatoire in 1856, but
previous to that he had appeared at public concerts in
Spain, it is said as early as 1851, and had received
substantial tokens of approval from very exalted quarters,
MARTIN MEL1TON SARASATE,
Known as PABLO SARASATE.
VIOLINISTS. 299
one of these tokens being in the form of a violin worth
,"1,000. There is probably some exaggeration in this
statement. Forty years ago there were no violins valued
at such a sum, at least none which could be alienated
from their surroundings. But it is a clear enough indica-
tion of the esteem in which this wonderful violinist was
held at even that early age, and there can be little doubt
that the instrument will be worth that sum now, and
probably more. Delphin Alard, the then head of the
violin classes in the Conservatoire, and himself a
virtuoso of the very highest rank, recognised the genius
of his pupil, and young Sarasate gained the first prize
in two subjects, violin and solfeggio, in 1857. Two
years later he had another success in the harmony class,
but did not then follow it up. He was preparing for
those great triumphs which he had not long to wait for.
In Paris, all over France, Spain, Portugal, Germany,
Scandinavia, Russia, Italy, India, America, and last,
though, probably, not least in his estimation, in this
country, the rapturous enthusiasm which his graceful,
accurate, sympathetic, and altogether superb style of
playing has aroused has rarely, if ever, been surpassed.
His first visit to London was in 1874, an( ^ n ^ s second in
1877. He came again in the following year. Recently
he has not missed a season, to the great delight of music-
loving people, and devotees of-his instrument. Theamount
of work which he will go through on one platform, and
without a note before him, is something astounding, and
might well fill one with a sense of deep humiliation at the
cruel exactions which his greedy audiences sometimes
make upon him. But with unfailing courtesy, he always
300 THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
" comes up smiling," and destroys their chances of
learning to be considerate by playing some lovely thing
which simply enlarges their appetites.
EMILE SAURET.
This artiste, who at present directs the violin classes
at the Royal Academy of Music, won his spurs in this
country nearly a quarter of a century ago. He was
born in 1852 in Dun le Roi, and received his earliest
musical tuition at home. Shortly afterwards he was
sent to the Paris Conservatoire, and later to that of
Brussels, and became a conspicuous representative of
of the French and Belgian Schools. His first visit to
this country was in 1866. In the three years following
he toured through France and Italy. From 1870 to
1874 h e was i n America. In 1877 he returned to
Europe and is now the distinguished successor to the
late Professor Sainton.
CHAPTER IX.
ses anb fiass payers.
THE origin of the violoncello and the double bass
must be sought in the same direction as that of
the violin, but there is no specific date at which it can
be said that either of them sprang into existence any
more than a similar statement can be made in regard to
the smallest of the tribe. There is plenty of more or
less ingenious speculation on the point, and some par-
ticularly dogmatic conclusions, which, however, owe
their apparent finality entirely to the peculiarly positive
individualism of the writers. The double bass or, as it
is called in Italy the contrabasso, is supposed to represent
the Violone, which probably existed there as early as the
fifteenth century, and the 'cello is merely a smaller bass.
Their names will be better understood if it is explained
that viola was the generic term for all the members of
the tribe. Violone means a " large viol," and violoncello
(for violonecello] means a " lesser large viol " and the
names of the most celebrated makers of them from
Gasparo da Salo (Bertolottis) onward to Panormo will
be found in the two lists already given.
There is no trace of either of these instruments
having been used for solo purposes until long after the
violin, but that is no proof that they were not so
employed. It merely suggests that the interest which
the basses evoked was of a character too evanescent to
3O2 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
justify recording the achievements of their exponents.
One of the earliest performers on the 'cello was
JACOPO BASSEVI.
This play6r was born in Italy in 1682. He was
first heard of in England in 1728, when he became a
member of the Drury Lane band in that year. He
was known by the name of Cervetto, a nickname which
signifies a " little stag." He .afterwards became
manager of the Theatre and made a handsome fortune
for those days. He died in 1783, leaving his money
about ^"20,000 to his son James, who was also a 'cello
player, but who retired after his father's death.
ANTONIO VANDINI.
This player was held in high esteem by the famous
violinist Tartini, and the two travelled about a little
together. Hardly anything is known of Vandini apart
from his connection with Tartini. They were in Prague
together and both were in the orchestra of St. Anthony
of Padua. Vandini was alive in 1770, and was then an
old man.
GIORGIO ANTONIOTTI.
This 'cellist was born in the vicinity of Milan in 1692,
and lived for a time in Holland, where he published
some music. He was also in London for many years
and died in Milan in 1776.
FRANCISCELLO.
A great player of whom nothing is certainly known.
No music of his has been discovered, and no trace of
BASSES AND BASS PLAYERS. 303
his birth or death is accessible. The only references to
him are three or four in number, but these are by such
eminent musicians, and are generally couched in such
enthusiastic terms that one must conclude that he
was a violoncello player par excellence. Quantz, the great
flute player, heard him in Naples in 1725. Benda, a
German violinist, heard him in Vienna in 1730, and
speaks of him as a marvel. One or two other references
complete the sources of information, and they yield little
but praise.
JOHN CROSDILL
Was a very distinguished 'cello player, and was born
in London in 1751. He was musically educated at
Westminster in the choir, but became a professional
'cellist, appearing at Gloucester for some years as
principal bass at the festivals. He was also appointed
to the leading desk at the Concert of Ancient Music,
when that institution was started in 1776. In addition
he held an appointment in the Chapel Royal, and was
a member of the King's Band, as well as chamber
musician to Queen Charlotte, and 'cello tutor to George
IV. He married a wealthy lady in 1788, and retired
from ordinary professional work, but continued to hold
his official appointments until his death which occurred
in Yorkshire, in 1825. He was a member of the Royal
Society of Musicians, and left them 1,000.
LUIGI BOCCHERINI.
This Italian master was born at Lucca in 1740. He
was a magnificent performer on the 'cello, although he
304 THE FIDDLE FANCIER S GUIDE.
is, probably, better known as a composer. He went to
Paris in 1768, but there were two or three very dis-
tinguished players in the French metropolis at that time,
and his performances, on that account, were not so
highly appreciated. He ultimately settled in Madrid,
where he died in 1805.
J. BAPTISTE-AIME JOSEPH JANSON.
This artiste was born at Valenciennes in 1742. His
first appearance in Paris was made when he was about
fourteen. He then travelled a good deal, and when the
Paris Conservatoire was established, he was appointed
professor of the 'cello. He died in Paris in 1803. He
is said to have given lessons to John Crosdill, when the
latter was in Paris, which appears to be a mistake.
JEAN PIERRE DUPORT.
A great 'cellist, who was born at Paris in 1741, and
died in Berlin in 1818. His first appearance was made
at the Concert Spirituel when he was twenty years old.
He came to this country in 1769, and in 1771, went to
Spain. In 1773 he went to Berlin, where he remained
the recipient of various court favours and appointments.
JEAN LOUIS DUPORT.
A brother of the preceding, was born in Paris in 1749.
His brother had the chief duty of training him, and soon
made him a splendid player. He made his first appear-
ance in 1768. He went to Berlin, to his brother, after
the revolution, and there he was treated with similar
appreciation. Returning to Paris in 1806, he astonished
BASSES AND BASS PLAYERS. 305
his audience by the purity and vigour of his style, and
maintained his supremacy until within a year or so of
his death, which occurred in 1819.
BERNHARD ROMBERG.
This great artiste was born at Dinklage, in Germany,
in 1767. He was one of a family of most talented
musicians, nearly all of whom played different instru-
ments. Bernhard's first important appearance was at the
Concert Spirituel in Paris, when he was eighteen, and
from that date gradually acquired the distinction of being
the head of the German School of 'cellists, if not the
leading player in the world of his day. He travelled all
over the European Continent, making short engage-
ments here and there, and this country seems to have
been the only one in which he did not play. He was
one of the professors in the Conservatoire at Paris for a
short time, and died at Hamburg in 1841.
JUSTUS JOHANN FRIEDRICH DOTZAUER.
This famous 'cellist was the son of a Protestant
clergyman at Hossselrieth, near Hildburghausen, and
was born in 1783. He began the study of the instru-
ment early, and was put under Kriegek at Meiningen in
1799. He was with him for a year, and was then
appointed a musician at the Court of the Duke of
Coburg, a place he held for four years. In 1805, he
went to Leipsic, and in 1811 to Dresden, to the Chapel
Royal there, a connection which he retained until his
death. He is author of a splendid " School " for the
'cello, and a number of other works,
w
306 THfc FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
ROBERT LINDLEY.
A distinguished native player, was born at Rotherham
in 1776. His father taught him the violin and the
'cello, and when he was about sixteen, he became a
pupil of James " Cervetto," son of the previously named
Jacopo Bassevi. When Lindley was eighteen he was
principal 'cellist at the opera, and, until 1851, when he
retired, no one succeeded in unseating him from the
various distinguished positions which he occupied. He
was a beautiful player in every sense of the word. He
died in 1855.
ALFREDO PIATTI.
This great Italian artiste is now, and has been, for
nearly half a century, the acknowledged King of
'cellists. He was born in Bergamo, in 1822, and was
trained by his grand uncle Zanetti, and, on his death,
at the Milan Conservatoire under Merighi. He made
his first public appearance when he was fifteen, and,
seven years afterwards, came to this country. He is
one of those artistes whom Mendelssohn loved, and is a
truly golden link connecting us with that great musical
epoch. Year after year, since 1844, the London musical
public have been charmed by the functioning of those
splendid qualities which have placed him in almost
solitary greatness among his confreres, and during that
time of active work with the fingerboard he has contrived
to form, besides, a well-nigh perfect school of playing
through the media of published pieces, both original
and transcribed.
BASSES AND BASS PLAYERS. 307
EDWARD HOWELL,
A son of the famous double bass player, is one of our
fine native artistes. He was selected as principal 'cello
at the Royal Italian Opera, and his popularity on the
concert platform is familiar to all lovers of chamber
music. The exquisite sweetness and purity of his tone
once heard is not easily forgotten.
DOMINICO DRAGONETTI.
Almost everyone has heard of this great contra-bassist,
who may be called the first to acquire a European
reputation for his performance on the large bass.
He was born in Venice in 1755, and was, like almost all
the great artistes on any instrument, early distinguished
for the musical ability which he displayed. He first of all
played the guitar and violin, and when he took to the
double bass. His teacher, Berini, had speedily to
relinquish the attempt to teach him anything, and also
relinquished the place which he occupied in the orchestra
of St. Mark, in order that Dragonetti might be in it.
He was then eighteen, and played on his big fiddle as if
it were a 'cello, a tenor, or even a small violin, and no
difficulties of that day were difficulties to him. A story
is current that in his very early days he used to accom-
pany the famous singer, Brigitta Banti, when she sang
in the streets and cafes of Venice. It seems to lack
confirmation. He came to London in 1794, and made his
first appearance at the King's Theatre. His success
was instantaneous, and it does not appear that he went
back to Italy, except when on tour. In the same year
Robert Lindley had been appointed principle 'cellist,.
W2
308 THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE.
and Dragonetti and he remained in the orchestra for
over half a century, playing at the same desk. When
he was ninety years old he led the basses at the
Beethoven festival at Bonn. This was in 1845, and
eight months afterwards, he died at his home in Leicester
Square (1846). He is buried in St. Mary, Moorfields.
GUIESEPPI ANDREOLI.
A famous double bass player who was born in 1757 in
Milan and became professor at the Conservatoire there.
There is not much known regarding him. He was in
the orchestra of the great Milan opera house, La Scala,
and died in 1832.
JAMES HOWELL.
This fine double bass player was born at Plymouth.
He was a precocious musician, singing in public when
he was ten years old. He was also a versatile genius,
as he played the clarionet and the piano besides the
double bass, but the last named was the instrument on
which he excelled. He became its professor at the
Royal Academy of Music, where he had been a pupil
since the time he came to London (1824), and after
Dragonetti died in 1846, Howell became the most im-
portant of the double bass players in this country.
After Dragonetti perhaps quite on a level with him
the world has honoured
GIOVANNI BOTTESINI.
He was born at Crema in Lombardy in 1823. His
first instrument was the violin, but when he was
thirteen years old he went to Milan, and studied the
BASSES AND BASS PLAYERS. 309
double bass in the Conservatoire there. His master
was Louis Rossi, another great player of whom little is
known. Bottesini was seventeen when he began his
musical tours throughout Italy. These lasted about
six years, when he went to Havanna as leader of the
theatre there, and shortly after became musical director/
He was five years in Havanna, and during that time
composed his opera " Cristoval Colon " (Christopher
Columbus). He also visited the United States when
occasion offered, and made a great name. He came
back to Europe in 1851, and returned to the States with
Jullien in 1853. A year later he went to Mexico, and
then returned to Europe. He made a great sensation
in this country, and was called the " Paganini " of
double bass players. During a stay in Paris of two
years he produced his " Siege of Florence," and started
once more on his travels through France, Belgium,
England, Holland, and Germany, and finished up with
Italy in 1859. Another opera, " II Diavolo della Notte,"
there saw the light, and from that date until his recent
lamented decease (1890) he was constantly before the
public, composing operas, playing solos, or founding
societies. No one who has heard him will readily forget
the amazing beauty of his tone, the wonderful violin
like rapidity of his execution, or the exquisite sweetness
of his music. He was, all over the world, enthusiasti-
cally admired, whether as head of the opera at Cairo, or
producing his " Ali Baba " in London, but I think I
shall never forget one bright afternoon, when the great
artiste came before what should have been an overflow-
ing house of his own countrymen. The veteran was
3IO THK FIDDLE FAN'CIKR S GL'IDH.
nearing his three-score and ten, and he played as
divinely as ever I heard him play. He and the
artistes who rallied round him made the few who were
present immensely happy, and those who were absent,
and might have been there, have one delightful memory
the less.
ADVERTISEMENT.
JAS. M. FLEMING,
The Author of this Book, and Well-known Violin Expert,
writes thus at page 122 in "OLD VIOLINS AND THEIR
MAKERS.'' " It is much wiser to purchase a soundly-constructed
instrument of modern manufacture, which may be had from many
good and respectable makers, than to seek after a genuine Old
Master at the risk of losing much money and helping to keep up
their present ridiculous prices." And see his remarks at page 173
in this work, " THE FIDDLE FANCIER'S GUIDE."
Messrs. HAYNES, FOUCHER & Co.,
14, GRAY'S INN ROAD, LONDON,
SUPPLY
SPECIAL VIOLINS
of various descriptions, all of which fulfil every requirement of the
Violinist, and may be entirely relied upon. The most important are :
THE CARRODUS VIOLINS,
THE FOUCHER VIOLINS,
THE SCHLOSSER VIOLINS.
Full particulars of these most beautiful instruments will be
sent on application.
On January i3th, 1881, MR. FLEMING wrote us as follows :
DEAR SIRS, I am very much pleased with the " Carrodus " Violin you
vere good enough to show me. I consider it to be quite a remarkable instrument
or the money.
Yours faithfully,
J. M. FLEMING.
Author of " Old Violins and their Makers," and
" The Fiddle Fancier's Guide."
This judgment of MR. FLEMING has baen fully endorsed by
ublic opinion, and no modern Violins stand so high in the estima-
;i.on of Violinists.
ADVERTISEMENT.
VIOLIN MUSIC.
PROFESSORS, AMATEURS, and the TRADE will find a most
useful variety of New and Select Music for the Violin in
"EDITION CHANOT,"
Comprising Solos, Duets, Trios, and Quartets
with or without Piano Accompaniment.
Two Hundred New Original Pieces for Violin and Piano in the "First
Position." Each No. Separate.
PAPINI'S VIOLIN SCHOOL
(Dedicated by special permission to H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh)
Is the most modern and complete work for the Violin. The
NINTH and Enlarged Edition contains over
TWO HUNDRED FULL-SIZED ENGRAVED PLATES.
In Four Parts, each part 43. net, complete IDS. 6cl. net.
Bound in Boards, 123. net.
CATALOGUE POST FREE ON APPLICATION.
FREDERICK W. CHANOT,
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ADDRESS
" EDITION CHANOT; is, BERNERS STREET, LONDON, w.
(Facing Messrs. NOVEL LO, EWER > CO.)
Ici on parle Fran$ais. P.O.O., F. W. CHANOT, LONDON
ADVERTISEMENT.
So named by permission of J. T. CARRODUS, ESQ.,
the Eminent Violinist
The attention of Connoisseurs,
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Music Trade is called to these
Very BEAUTIFUL VIOLINS,
which have received the appro-
bation of some of the greatest
VIRTUOSI and EXPERTS,
including
SENOR PABLO SARASATE
J. T. CARRODUS, ESQ.
President of the College of Violinists, &>c.
JAS. M. FLEMING, ESQ.
Author of " Fiddle Fancier's Guide."
J. BROADHOUSE, ESQ.
Editor of " The Musical Standard" Author
of " The- Student's Helmholtz" " How
to make a Violin," etc., etc.
E. POLONASKI, ESQ.
Editor of " The Stood"
Price JSS 8s.
Full Particulars of these Violins, a/so of the Violas
and 'Cellos of the Same Quality, on Application to
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14, GRAY'S INN ROAD, LONDON, W.C.
ADVERTISEMENT.
To all Students of Violin Literature, all Public Librarians,
and all Booksellers and Agents.
For the purpose of completing my library of Violin Literature,
I am anxious to acquire the books named below. I shall be happy
to give the Full Market Value for any of them, and, possessing a
large collection of duplicates I can give in exchange for them
almost any work on the violin that is named in my " Bibliography
of the Violin."
EDWARD HERON ALLEN.
c/o Griffith Farran & Co., Newbery House,
Charing Cross Road., London, W.C.
Baligmann, P. " Notis sans portee d'un Violoncelliste. Nice,i88o.
Statuts ordonnances, lettres de creation de la communaute des maistres faiseurs
d'instruments de Musique. Paris, 1741.
Statuts et reglements des maitres de danse et joueurs d'instruments tant hauts
que has. Paris, 1752.
Riflessioni d'un professore di violino sopfa un discorso morale e politico intorno
il teatro. Piacenza, 1781, iamo.
The Division Violin : containing a Choice Collection of Divisions for the Treble
Violin to a Ground-Bass. London, 1687. Playford.
Baillot, P. F. M. de S. Notice sur J. B. Viotti. Paris, Hoquet, 1825. 8vo.
Barnard, C. Camilla, a Tale of a Violin ; Boston, U.S.A., 1874. 12010.
Antolini, F. Osservazzioni su due Violini esposti nelle sale dell' I. R. Palazzo
di Brera, etc. Milan, Perola, 1832.
Brijon, E. R. Reflexions sur la musique et la vraie maniere de 1'executer surle
violon. Paris, 1763. 4to.
Gueroult, A. Baillot. Paris, N.D.
Gehring, F. Zur Geschichte der Violine. Leipzic, 1877. 8vo.
Giehne, H. Zur Erinnerung an Ludwig Spohr. Karlsruhe, 1869.
Leoni di Pienza, A. R. Elogio di Pietro Nardini. Firenze, 1793. 8vo.
Miel, M. Notice Historique sur J. B. Viotti. Paris, Everat, 1827.
Mackintosh. Remarks on the Construction of, and Materials employed in the
Manufacture of, Violins. Dublin, 1837.
Pancaldi, C. Elogio a Felice Radicati, maestro di Musica. Bologna, 1829.
Nobili. 4to.
Muzzi, S. Al modesto Tumulo di Guiseppe Manetti. Bologna, 1858.
Monti. 8vo.
Polko, E. Nicolo Paganini ; dal Tedesco per L. Ravasini. Milan, 1876.
Treves. 12010.
Otto, J. A. Ueber den Bau und die Erhaltung der Geige und aller Bogenin-
strumente. Halle und Leipzig, 1817.
Paine, J. A Treatise on the Violin, &c. London, N.D.
Purdy, G. A Few Words on the Violin. London, 1858. 8vo.
Tagliapetra, G. Guiseppe Tartini-Cantica. Trieste, 1853. Weis. i2mo.
Taglini, C. Lettere scientifiche sopra varii dilettevoli argomenti di Fisica.
Florence, 1747.
Tartini, G. Lettera alia signora Maddalena Lombardini. London, 1771.
Tartini, G. Letter to Signora Lombardini, etc. London, R. Bremticr, 1779.!
Second edition.
Sibire, I'Abbe. La Chelonomie, ou le parfait Luthier. Paris, Millet, 1806.
Simpson, C. Chelys, the Division Viol. First edition. London, H. Brome,
1665. Folio.
Terrasson, A. Dissertation Historique sur la Vielle. Paris, 1741. s ) \^~-
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