0% found this document useful (0 votes)
230 views175 pages

© Biblioteca Nacional de España

Uploaded by

nano
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
0% found this document useful (0 votes)
230 views175 pages

© Biblioteca Nacional de España

Uploaded by

nano
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 175

•••

• l

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


© Biblioteca Nacional de España
© Biblioteca Nacional de España
..
d. Jt . -
-

. ...
4 . ... -

·- ~~~-

• ! -- ~ 'tt,~ ·1'•
•.·
'
© Biblioteca Nacional de España
V IO LINS
AND

VIOL IN MA K E R S:

BIOGR<iPHICAL DICTIONARY
011' TUF.

GREAT ITALIA N ARTISTES,


TU Fllll

FOLLOW ERS AND IMITATO RS,


TO TUE

PRESENT TIME.

W1TH ESSAYS O::S DlPOJlTANT SUBJECT S


CONNECTED Wl'l'fi 'l'fi~1 VIOLIN.

BY J"OSEPH PEAROE, JUN.

I~u~uox; LoxollA...v A.."\ O Oo., PATERNOSTER Row.


SHEPl'IELI>: J. PDAnce, Jux.

1866.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


1

ll.Dt J•JUF.ICJl OIUIP.


liiU"J•tHLU,

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


C O N T E NTS .
P.Ma:.
Prcfn.co ... .................... ... , ........ , .. ... . .. . ... . .. .. . 5
lntl'oduotiou......... .. .... .. .. .. ... .. ... . .. .. .... . ... •.. ... S
Violin Maket'S, nJpbnbetiélllly nrrnn¡;otl ...... ....... 15
now M:nkor•............ .... .. .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... SS
Cronlona ..... ................... .... , . . .. . . .. . . . . . . .. . .. . .. . 93
Amnti Fnmily ........ .... .. .... ...... ...... .. .... .. .... ... 93
Strndinllrilll!.... .. .... ... .. .. . .. . .. .. .. .... .. .. . .. .. .. .. .. .. 107
On tho Cromona 'l'anush......... ......... ... ...... ... 119
Ouat"Uerios ......... ... ...... ... .. ........ ......... ...... ... 121
StoinOI"........ .. .. ..... .... .. ... .. .... ... ... . ... ........ .... 1 31
Why arooortain Violins ofmoro Vnluolhnnothe rs? HO
On lbo Production of Gootl Tono in Violins...... .. HS
Grcnt Playcrs and tbcir Instrumcnb... ............ 1;)3
Gcnrml K otcs............... ... ...... .. .. .. .... .. ......... 15G
llc¡lDil'l! of Instrumcnts... .................... .......... 161
167

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


© Biblioteca Nacional de España
--·

PREFACE.

The Violin is an instrument which, though small


nnd of triOing original cost, has yet commnucled
most extrnordinary r•·ices. The renson of tbe
immenso (]if:l'crence in the value of these instrn-
ments must thcreforc be a subjcct posscssing strong
claims to notice from virtuoso and tlmateur.
To dist.iuguisn by Lhe oulward chanlcle ristics
nud peculiarities of tone, thnt which will be of
pecuniary valuo to the possessor, aud yield the
utmost delight to the hearer, is au acquiremeot
at once diffitult LO obtai n and \'Cry v;lluable when
obtained. To assist the amateur and collector in
this pmsuit is the ol~ect of the present liltle
worlc S uch a work has long been a desidemlum .
Of late years, tbe History of the Violín nnd its
cougeners has received much attention. .Elabo•·ate
and costly treatises ba"e been published, some of
which Lei ug wdtteu in Forcil(n longues, are ex-
ceediugly difficult to obtain, and not accessible to
B

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


'

G
mnny oC those who tle. ire to pci'U~C th~m,
on tha t
account. Oth crs nre rcr y imp erfc ct nud uns
atb f.r-
ing . Oth et·~ ag:tin, nro . from thc ir hig
lt price,
beyond tbe reacb of tbe gt·eater num bcr of nm
ate urs.
'Th c pre sen t work is inte nue d d1icOy for
tbe
u~e of tho se who dcsire n han dy gui
de to lhe prin-
cipal chnractcri>tics U'lth of mnke nnd ton
e which
mnl"l> the chicf bnilders of this most
famous
ius tru mc ot. :lln ny per soo s om iou s to pos
~css a
gnod ins tru mc nt, t\ ud lcd nwny by the I'Cry
nnt um l
dcs ire to possess no .\m ati, n Gunrnoriu
s. or a
Stm diu nr ius are tcm ptc d iuto pur rha sin g
Vio lins
which nre pre sen te<! to them n!Hlcr falso nnd
do)u.
si"c till es, and reje ct frcq ucm ly goo<l nnd
gen uin e
ins tru me uts of lcs s fnmons ma kers, but st
ill vnlu-
nble bcC<luse the y nre good ami gen u in e. Uu
dou hted
specim ens of the g•·eat mnstcrs ore now vcr
y mrc ly
to be hao, unl ess nt n ver y hig h pri cc.
Ye~,
wh en we con sid er thn t ere n Stm diu nri us
him sel r
obtainetl no mo ro tha n fout· pou nds for
his bes t
ins tru me nts . whi ch now commnnd ns many hun
dreds
- it i; C)l•i den t thllc, iu tite nhs encc of tho
se s•·cac
productions, the works of bis pup ils nnd suc
cc~sors
m·o well wo nhy the all cnlion of umntcurs.
'l 'he re
is no doubt, ind eerl, thnc ma ny of theso, whi
ch from
bei ng built on bis principies are of lirst-rnte
qunlity,
hnve boon sold as those of tbe ma ster him
self. It

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


?

cnnnot, thereforo, be questiouocl that a knowledge


which willlead the nmateur to buy an instru mcnt
for wbat it really is, iustead of wbat it professes to
be, will at once savo him from tbe unpleasantness
of pay iog too dearly, and in real eoj oyment yield
all tbat can bo desi\·e<l.
Tho author believes be has in this work given
the nmatem· aud connoisseur informntion not easily
nttninnble elsewbere, but as be is fully conscious
that lhere may be imperfectious in it still, he will
be glad to receive any suggestions or information
wbicb may cnable bim to rende1· it still more
complete.

Sheffield, F obruary, 1866.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


INT RO DU CTI ON .

The two most plcnsing, oxpressive, nncl


powerful single instrumcnts of mus1c aro the
human voice and tho violín, The onc, tbe
gift of bcucficcnt unturc, hns li'om the crention
exerciscd its touchiug in.fluencc on the humnn
soul- the otbcr, tho product of tht> ingenuity
of mnn, hns only witl1in tbe lnst three ccnturios
nttnincd to perfection, but sinco tbat pedod
'l>hat dcligbt, what rnpturc has nrisen from so
simple n construct.ion, when nctcd upon by t.ho
hand of genius !
Wbilo thc melodious tones of Grisi nud
Mario hnve touchcd with sympnlhctic feelings
tbe henrts nnd imnginnt.ions of spell bound
listenors, how have tho magic tones of Paganiui
and Ernst wrnpped tbc sonls of wondedng
thousands in an clysium of deligh t and ndmi-
ration! What effeot cnnnot ba produced by

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


9

tbe Víolin, (except tbat of spccch,) which the


voico can nccomplish ?
Tbu Violín in the bnnds of gonius can draw
tenrs or orcnto laughtcr. Wboovor l1as heard
tho grCt\L mnsters of tbis oxtrnorcliunry instru-
mcnt, has henrd nll the sweetncss of tone, tbe
intensity of feeling, the powcr of exprcssion
that tbe most gifted sons nnd dnughters of
song could possibly produco witbout tbc nd-
ditionoJ aid of speecb. Tbo Violin, in fact, in
its powor of cxpression far cxcols those singers,
of whom tberc are too mun y, who while singing
thc notes, fnil to make tbcir bcnrers understand
tho scnsc of thcir songs. If a mcrry dance is
produccd by the agile bow, its sympathetic
fones nt once excite a corrcsponding feeliug.
If a pll'üntivc air strenms in dclicious nud hcnrt-
touclJiug cadences from tbe strings, what soul
is tboro so dcad to feeliug as not to rcspond ?
Tho perfection of the Vio lin is that its
master, if nlive to the subtlc nnd mystcrious
influcuccs of tho imagiuntion, cnn clicit from
it t.ho most porfect amltouchin g" sougs with-
out words.''
It is besides tlHl only instrument, except the
voico, wbich is perfcct. E vory shnuc of ex-

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


JO

prcssio n, cvery nicety of tono cnn be procluccd


on it. Al! other instrumcut~ oink into iusig
uificnncc iu compnrison with tbo Violiu , be-
onusc tbcy cnuno t do th is . 'l'hcy uro 11ll more
or lc~s imperf<lel; nnd thcrcfore fail in those
sublctics of exprcs~iou of which the Violín nnd
Lhc voicc nre suob nble expou cnts.
Whnt grat.itu dc do wo owo Lherofo ro to tltosc
grcnt mastel'S of Cremonn, more cspeciully the
Amnti nnd Strndiu nrius, who h:rnl suceeclcd
in bringin g tbc Violitl to its prcscn t stnLc of
rorfcotion.
Musio has in nll nges bccn n sourco of tbe
purcst dclight. Thc grcnte st poct nnd dramn list
tho worlcl evor lmew sttys th1\L whoov cr" hns not
music in bis soul is lit for trcnsous, strntngoms,
and spoils." In tite prcscn t nge the culti,·ntion
of Mu~ic forms onc of thc most genera l nnd
thc mosL refinc<l ~ourcc s of !lmusemont nud
plensure. AJI rnuks of people nrc now privi-
lcgod to join in its deligh tfnl cnjoymcnts.
Evon tbe cottug e of tho ttrti~nn is now
oftou clovntc d by the clog11nL pmct1cc of music,
throug h the incrcnsed faciliüc~ for produe ing
instrum ents nt n cheBp rntc. The couscquence
;

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


11

is that in the prt>sent oge there is a more gen·


eral study nn,d n finer perceptiou of what is
good nnd bcnutiful. and thcir clevnting tenden·
cies are doing much for the mental cullivntion
nnd refincrncut of all classcs.
A very cxu-nordiuary feature of the musical
worhl of the preseut clny is the euonnous
orchcstrns which can be produccd on s pecial
occnsiOns. A chorus of seYernl thoosnncl
voices supported by hundrcds of ins trmueuts
mny now be henrd, rcnderiog tbe immort9l
compositions of tbe g rcntest mosters of the
di vine Art, in the Peoples' l'alnce nt Sydcnhom
ami elsewherc. Tbcso Orchcstrns are chiefly
selected from thc mnks of the people, of whom
the artisno is the cbief coutributor.
Thc reduction of th c cos t of iostruments
nnd the ndop tion of.what may b'e cnlled tlie
joint stock principie are ten<ling sli llfunher lo
.::nlnrge tbe boundnries ofth e prncticnl musical
worhl. At nny Lime nnd for any special pur·
pose it is now ensy to secure n bnncl und
choru s sufficieot in unmbers nnd exccutÍ\'e
po wer to rendcr in ao cfficicnt and powerful
mnnncr, lhe glorious productious of .Beethoveu,
M oznrt, Bnndel, nod otber grent mnsters.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


l:l

To nll theso trnnsilions, the Yiolin bearg 11


mo~t im pol'tnnt ptlrt. Tt is the lontliug iustru ·
mcnt in theso grcnt perfonuances, tiS it is nlso,
nftcr thc voice, the most powerful meclium
of oxpressiou in solo. Tt is nlso tho peoplcs'
instrumcnt.
The labours of many cminent \'Íolin mnkcrs
who hnve followccl in the stcps of the grcnt
mnsle rs bnve of late so immouscly impro,·cd
tho nrt, thnt n goocl instrumcnt mny now bo
posscssccl by nny one. Aud it mny snfcly be
snicl thnt with its ímprol'rmc nt, hns nrisen nlso
tho cxtension nncl widc ,prcad prncticc of mu sic
gencrnlly. An enr nccustomed to tho fine tone
of n gt"ld violín will not uow telemte n bnd
pinno -fortc.
Ihc Piano-forte und the Yiolin uro thc most
general instrumcn ts, r.nd they hni' C,.¡¡]¡e pnr·
ticipntcu in the im provements cffccted, i 11
pecomiog chcnper by thc nd,·nncc of scicncc.
l·:vcry cleseription of mnchinery hns within tho
)nsl Hft) ye1u·~ reccivccl tbe attcntion of nblo
mcn, uod thc mcchnoicnl construction of the
l'i(lno·forto is one prominent proof of the ntl·
vuntnges which can be conferretl l)y scienc o on
eveu the lnxmies of Ji fe.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


13

Thc Violín, also, scemingly tbe most inca-


pablc of mcchanical applicntion to its manu-
ftwturc, is said to bo now mildo by n most per-
sovoring aud ontbusiastic lo vor ancl follower
of tho great makars, by mcohnuical menos.
Copies of tbese celebratcd makcrs, nre now
said to be mannfacturcd by him with an uni-
formity. 11 ccrtainry, and n prccision impossiblc
oxccpt by the aid of scicntific improvemcnts.
Thcsc instmments 11ro thcrcfore uoderstoocl to
rcq uiro only the nmcliornting iullueuces of
timo nnd UtiO to bccomc fino in tone and
snti~factory in every rcspect.

Every ooc intcrcstcd in thc progress of


music, must rejoice at thc rnpid devclopment
of its rcsources and thc general sprcnd of its
plcnsures nmong tho pcoplo. We aren pro-
fouodly commercinl nation, oml it is delightñtl
to seo thnt in our greater we111Lh nncl prosperity,
rntiounl nmusements, nnd more especinll y
music, go on incrensing step by stop witb our
more business-likc occup:tlions. This class of
nmuscments must excrcisc n humnoising and
rcfining influence on tho hnbits nnd manners
of the pcople, aml thoy shoulcl be. thercforc,

o
© Biblioteca Nacional de España
11

pntroniscd aud cncourngcd by al\ those whosc


menos n1·c largo nnd their cxomple powcrful.
'.L'hr.re can be no doubt thnt thcir tcuclency is
for good, aud tlu\t Lhosc whose lcisure hou1·s
nrc devoted to thcir pmctice and study, will bo
righly benefitccl by th~m in nll lhosc qunlilics
which combine to mnkc thc good ciuzen nnd
thc estimable friend.

NOTE.
To prcvent too muoh spnce bcing tnkcn 11p
in thc alphabeticnl portion of tbis work, sepa·
rntc cbapters aro givcn on the four renowne<l
Yiolin i\Iakers, Amnti, Stm<liunrius, Guamcriuij
nnd Stciner. The nnmcs and dates of ench of
thc members of thcso celcbrnted familics nro
howcvcr givcn in their propcr plnces, for
prompt referencc.
Wc hnve notin somo coses been nblc to find
nny rccords beyond tl1c nnmcs of cerlain makcrs.
Wherc\'er possible wc hnvc given <lates, pinces,
nnd stylc of work.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


DICTIONARY
OP

VIOLIN MAKERS.
A.
AOEVO, Cremona, Pupil of Guiscppc
Cappn. Thls nrtistc ruado vory good violins
in tba style of tbe Ama ti.
ADDISON, WILLIAJ\1, London, 1G70.
AIB.ETON, EDMU ND, Lontlon, 1730.
A good and ncat Mnker.
ALDRED, London,
Enrly Englisb Lute Mnker.
ALETZIE, PAULO, MonMo, 1720-30.
Famous for l~is Violoncellos.
ALBANI, MATT.EIIAS, born at Botzen or
Bnlsaui, in the Tyrol, about 1021. 'l'his
art.ist wns hlghly esteemed formerly,. nncl
Otto says thnt it is cxcccdingly difficult
to give so oxnct n c1escription of Lbem
as rendily to distinguisl1 thom from t.hoso
of Nicholas Amnt.i, wbo wns snic1 to be his
mnstor. In Lhc present clay, opinions nre
very flill'ercnt. Ncverth cless tl1 cre are

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


JG

sorne fine instrumcnts by this makcr, of


high moclel, with reddish brown vurnish
nnd bearing n grcnt similnrity to those of
Steiner, of whom he wns nlso snid to be n
pupil. Tbe "Dictionnry of Musicians"
spcnks highly of this mnker. This wns
decidedly the best artista of this n11me.
ALBANI, PAOLO, Pnlermo nnd Cremona,
W as also under NicholnsAmuti, nbout 16;)!).
\'
1 ALBANI, son of tbe above, nbout 1712,
1 was also a careful maker, nnd turncd out
somo good Instruments.
\ AMATI FAMJLY,

l F or fuller pnrticulars of these eminent


mnkers, sce separate A rticle.
AMATJ, ANDREAS, Cremona, born 1520,
¡. clied 1580.
AM.o\TI, NICFIOLAS, brotber of thc nbovc,
¡ celcbrntecl for his Bnsscs.
' Ai\1:AT1, NWI:IOLI\S, son of Anclreas,
AMATI, ANTONJUS nucl BIERONYJI.'lUS.
t Sons of Anclreas, 1550 to l G3,1, first mncle
1, togetber and nfterwnnls seporntely.
j
AMATI, NICI:IOLAS, boru 1596, died Hi84,
\ son of Fieironymus. Tbis wn:~ the grentcst
maker of the Family.
\

1

© Biblioteca Nacional de España
17

AMATI, ANTONIO JElWME, do.


HJ.lO to 1 G70.
AMATI, BIERONYMUS, Son of Nicholns,
bom 1()49, snid to be the last of Lhe Amati
fnmily. A violín of his is meutioued,
dnted l ()72.
AMELINGUE, Pnris, 18th Ceutury.
ANSELMO,PIETRO, Venezia, 18thCenttu-y
ARTMANN, GOTHA.
Followed Cremona pattern.
ASSALONE, GASPARD, Rome,
18th Century. Cremonn patterns.

B.
BAOB.MANN, LOUIS CHARLES,
Berlín, born 171G, died 1800. Considercd
to be onc of the best makcrs of Germnny.
Otto says, the I nstTuments by this Maker
are nextin poiut of q uali ty to the Cremouese.
Without going so far, with om present
incrensed knowledge of the pupils of the
Cremona mokers, it may still be admittcd
that Bachmnnn was au exellent maker ancl
was vcry cnreful in his proporlions, so that
Amnteurs hnve been often deceivecl iuto
thinl;ing thcm geuuine Cromonas. Thoy

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


18

nre of tbc flnt Strndiuarius Mo<lcl, mn<lc of


goocl woo<l, with nmber vnrnish, nn<l thorc
fore prcsent consi<lcrnblc similnrity to their
pntterns.
BAGANZI, see Ilergonzi.
l BAGATELLA, PIETRO,-Pn<lnn, 1760.
Snid not to be very good.
l BAGATELLA, ANTONIO,-Pndun, 1782.
1 Anthor of a Work on thc construction of
Instmruents, from which Bishop in bis
Trnnslntion ofOtto, hns appen<le<l a Theory
for mnl<ing n Violín on n very simple plan.
He mnde sorne excellent Yiolins after
Cremonn pntterns.
BAINES, Lonclon, nbout 1780.
BAK.ER, Oxford about 1720.
BALESTlUERI, THOMAS,
This cxcellent Mnker was a pupil of
Strn<lium~us, nn<l ma<le after his mo<lel,
The Author has sccn nn Instnunent by
this Artist, which is of the large f!at
pattern nncl has a mngnificent nncl brilliant
tone. The wood of the bnck nnd ribs
rnther plnin- tbc bol! y very fine open grnü1,
pnrfliog not very nent-vnrnish rcclclisb

1
·~ © Biblioteca Nacional de España
lD
ycllow. Pronounced by judges to be equnl
Lo a fine Stmdiunrius. It is dnted Thomns
Bnlcstrieri. Crcmonensis, fecit Mnntua,
J757. This instrumeut is n proof that
nmnteurs rony in futme look with snfety to
the pupils of Stracliunrius for violius to tnke
the pince of those of the greut mastcrs,
which are yenrly becomiug scn.l'cer und
de.uer.
J3ALESTRIERI, PIETRO. Cremonn,
rnther eurlier thnn Tbomas.
BANKS, BENJAMTN, Snlisbury.
Bom 1727, dicd 1705. Foster in bis ex-
cellent work cnlls bim "one of Englnnd's
best mnuufncturers. Too nmch cannot bo
snid in prnise of this justly celebrntcd
Mnker. The work of nll tbe better class of
instrumeuts is excelleut, the tone good of
all; but thntof theVioloncellosin pnrticular
is full nnd sonorous." Mr. Gnrdiner in bis
"Music and Fxiends," says " Bnnl•s of
Salisbury's Violoncellos are of the finest
qunlity of tone-not so strong nnd fiery ns
Foster's, but in sweetncss nnd purity ex-
celling them." They nre chiefly of tho
Amnti pnttern.-The bcstinstruments have

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


20

browni~h yollow V nmish with n ti nge of


red, othc rs dcep red of a blackish tinge,
VaruisJ, not brillinut.
BAN KS, BEN JAM IN, Son of thc former,
London, boro 175-1, diecl 182 0.
BAN KS, JAM ES and BEN RY , Salisbury,
othcr sons of the snme. Jnmes is snid to
havo bccn nn cxcellent workmfln in his
fathcr's stylc, nnd dntes abo ut 1805.
BAU RET 'l', JOU N, Lon don, nbout 1725 .
His labeis stnte him to li ve nt tilo Hnr p
und Ct·ow n, in Picnclilly. He mnd o som o
good instrumcnts, but did not purllc them.
Tho nuthor has seen n Víoloncello by tlus
mnkcr which wns C\'Crytbing that could be
de~ red in thGmntter of tone. Thc wootl
and workmnnship, however, were not cqun l
to thc tone, nnd this circumstance will
probnbly pnrtly ncco unt for tbe scttlcd
prefercnce now givcn lo tbc ltnlinn instru-
menls ovcr nll the old English mnl< ors.
BAR TON , GEO RGE , London, dicd 1810.
BEK MA N, SWEN O, Stockl1o lm, l70G.
B ELLOSI O, one of tbe Vcnetinu
mak ors, 1Sth Ccntury.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


21

BE NO IST , Pnr is, 1Ath C'ontury .


DE NT E, MA TTE O, J3rcscin, nbo ut 15AO.
Wcll kuowu nmoug virtuosi ns n mnk er of
mcr it in tbe slyl c of Gnspnr di Salo and
Mngini.
BERGO.KZT, or BA GA NZ I, FRA NC ISC O,
Crcmonn, lli8 7.
BER GO .KZ I, CA RLO , Crcmonn, 171 2 lo
I 750 •
Considcred by nuth orit ies lo be tho bcs t
pup il of Strncliumius. B o mndo inst ru-
mcn ts of the snme benuúful nnd bril lian t
tono whi cb hns rendnrcd the pro duc tion s
of hism nste r fnmous thro ugh out thc world.
Constructod ou similnr prin cipies, nncl
gcncrnlly of well-chosco wood, tbero is no
dou bt tho prod uctions of this exccllont
nrú ste will hercnftcr rnn k very high . Lik e
Slm diLinrius himself, Onrlo Ber gon zi is by
sorne considcr~d to hnve heen onc nt
tim en p upil of Nicholns Am nti. Eve¡·y
11mnteur woulcl, if it were possiblo, get n
Strn dium ius, an Amnti, or n Gunrnerius,
bnL ns the gen uiue violius of thcsc mnkers
nro very rnrc 11nd valunhlo, they sho nld
u

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


22

Jook for the veritable instruments of tbeir


pupíls, which ore now beginning to be
llighly esteemecl on nccount of their m -
trinsic excellence.
BERGONZI, NICHOLAS,
Son of Cario, but sa.id to be inferior to bis
fnther.
BERGONZT, MIOHAEL AKGELO,
Probably auother son of Cario. He, nlso,
has the credit of being n pupíl of Strndiu-
nrius, though that seems ratl1er doubtful,
because the latter die<l in 1737, flt which
time, if a son of Cado, he wou Id not have
been old enough.
BERNADEL, París, 18th Century.
BETTS, JOHN, called Old Betts, London.
nnd
BETTS, EDWARD, his nephew.
Thcse l.wo well knowu makers were snid to
be pupils of Duke, but often employed
other artistes, such as Oarter, Panormo,
B . Fendt, ancl bis sons, whose work,
chiefly imitat.ions of thc Oremonn iu-
struments, gainecl tl1em grent rcpntation
bolh nt home nnd abroíld. 1782 to 1823.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


23
BDITEHXA OLE, Gotlul, 18th Century.
Tbis maker wns a Gcrmnu imitntor of thc
Cremona Violins, tUHl is snid to hn.ve beeu
vcry succossful.
BOCQUAY , JAQUES, Puris, nbont 1G.20.
A vcry goocl mnker, aml ltighly csteemed
in Franoe.
BODIO, - - Venezia, 18th Ccntury.
BOLLE S,-
An cnrly Englisb Luto nnd Vio! Mnker.
1\fnco, 1G75, says " ono bnss of Bolles,
I hnve known valued 11t &llOO," equnl to
nt lcnst .GGOO of our prcsont moncy.
BO RELLI, ANDHEAS , Pnrma, I i-10.
BOULLAIN GER, London.
A cnreful maker, who Grst worked for
otl1crs, nnd now on his owu nccount.
BR.I!:MEIS TER, JAN., Amstcrdnm, 1707.
BROSOHI, OARLO, Parmn, 174'! .
Bltl!:TON, (Le) Paris.
BROWN, JAMES, born 1()70, died 183.i.
nnd
BROWN, JAMES, son of clo., boro 1786,
dicd 1860. Botb good workmen, but
without nny spccinlity.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


:ll

J5UCTISTA DTER,-ltnt i.bon. 18th Centun.


Us~Ll the fl•lt modol. Otto s:1ys Lhú
wood is not good, and thcrefore, though
wcll bLlilt, tho tono is uot fine; bm
Spobr puts bis violinsou bis listas exccllcut
iustruroents. llo mny, thcrefore, be rnnkcd
umong the good Gcrmau m~kers.
ll U IJI A \l, J AYlETT.-\, Brcscin, nbout HíSO .
.),lacle after th c stylc of Cospar di Snlo.

- o.
CAES ['A, l'll~TLW ANTON10 DELT.A,
T rcvisn, 18th. Century, imiwtecl Strudiu·
orms.
CA~IILE, CA)IILU.S de. hlnutua, cstccmed
ns u pupil of Strudiuurius .
CAPPA, GIACEiDlO or GlOFREOA or
probably two BrotltCr$, boru ut Cromonu
un el workecl uuclor 1\ mnli. Date thero nbout
li:iUO aucl woro in .l'iedmont 1().10.
Thcre nre some good Violoucellos of this
make.
C.\PPA, GOI SEPPE-Su luzzo- eudof l Gth
Century.
CA Pl'ER, or probnbly Cnppa, Muutun.
A Violín of this mttko W>IS solcl by nuctiou
in Loo don in 11)() 1, nnd stúd to be very
good.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


CAH L'E!t, .J OH ~ . London, lí89, mnde some
cxcellenLins truments which woro solcl both
undor bis own nnmo uucl under thnt of
Joh u Botts for whom ho hud worked.
CAHLO, GUJSEP.P 8, W lnn l7G9.
CASSINO. A:-ITONIO, llodenu,l 7th Ccntury
l'.\Sl'AG:\ ER Y, J EAN 1>.\UL, Pnris LG39
lO 1662. This nnist is considered Lo be
one of the bcsL of thc ol<l French 1\Iakcrs.
Onu nuthority snys thoy hnvo u fin~ silvery
tono but not powerful.
OASTAGN ERJ, ANO HEA, l)11ris. 18th
Ccntury.
CHANOT, Mirccoun, Fnmce, a good
mnker, 18th Ccntury.
CUA~OT, London,
CBAPPUIS , {or Cbnppuy,) AUGUSTIN E,
nbouL 1710.
CllAULES, THERESS, London.
Cfll!:ROTT E, Mirccourt, 18th Century.
CUEVlUER , P11ris, 18th Ccntury.
CllLUSTA, JOSEPH PA UL, liunicb, 1730.
OlllUSTOP flORI, BARTOLO MEO,
Florence, 18th Century.
CHWAPA, T H O.M'ASO. N apl~s. 1730.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


OLA TI K, - - - T.oudon.
COLE, THO~IAS, London. Fors tcr s~tys
no ins trument has beeu prcservcd of this
mok er, but tbot is o mist nke. Thc rc is in
Ll1o n eigh borh oocl of Sbo ffield . n vcr y lnrge
Ten or with a fine decp tone on<lthe follow-
ing curi ons lnbcl.
Mnde 1600. by
TR OMAS UOLE of
J.on don , on llol born Bill , who scl
1oth all sorts of ~us icnl Inst rum enta.

COLLIKGWOOD, JOSEPI:J, Londou, 18th


Ocn tury .
CORSBY, GEORGE, bclioved to be formcrly
a mak cr nt Non hnm pton , and now uncl for
a long Lime u deítlcr in Violins, &c., in
t'rin ces· Street, Sob o, Lon don .
00N WA Y, WiL LlAl\1, 17.15
COLLIER, SA ~LUEL, 175ii.
CRASK, GEORGE, of vnriotts places, has
mulle mnny Violins in imitnlion of t,he
Oremono. Makors, som a of which havo b een
sold by unsc rupu lous deal ers as genu ino
instrument,s, no exam¡Jle of whi ch we ha ve

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


27

seeu which wns purchnsed by a pro-


fessioual mnu, siuce dend, of n Violinist
th cn on a ~fusicnl Tour. It is on ly right
here to sny Lhnt we believe Mr. Crnsk to
b o entirely free from blnme in tbis mntter,
ns h e sells these ius truments os llis owu
productious.
CROWTHER. JORN. l 755 to 1810.
CROSS, NATHANIEL, London, about 1720.
Re wns pnrtner nt one time with Bnrak
N orn1an an<l usecl his monogrnm some-
tí mes. F-1 e nlso stnmpcd n Cross in
the iuside of bis instruments as well ns
nsecl it in bis lnbels. He made some good
Viol ins, which resemble tbose of Steiuer.
Flis mark in the inside of the bnck is
here given.
+
N. C.
A violiu of this make wbich we have seen,
has tl1 e great fault of hnviug Lhe bnss bnr
cut out of the solid, instend of being gluecl
in, thus contravening thc cstnblished priu-
ci¡Jics of the nrt.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


'

CO ~TRER.\S, JO SE PH . ~Iudritl.
J HG .
ly
An oxccllcnt makcr, wl10 wn ~ pnr ticulrtr
celcbrnted for his copies of StrndlUnriu•.

D.
DA RD EL LJ , P I ET RO , ~Inntun, ab ou t
1!íOO .
Mnde good rcbec~. vio lns nnd viols clu
os
gambn . Fe tis mentions som o of thcm
still cxistiog.
DEOO~lBRl~ , A:' lfB RO ISE , To
uronv, J 70 0.
s
to 173 5, wns S11id to be one of tho pnpil
of Strndiunrius nnd ronde sorne good iu-
st.ntmc nts of his pn ttc m.
the
D ES PO NS , AN TO I r e-:, Pu ris ,-o ne of
goo d French )fn ke rs, nbo ut l 725.
DJCKENSO~. ED WA RD , l
754 .
DT CK f'O N, JO l:IN , Cnmbridgo, 177 9
17t h
Dm HJ ., :;.;'TCHOLAUS, Dn rm stndt,
CenLUJ')',
DI TT ON , Lo ndon, ubout 1 72 0.
dd of
DO DD , TH Oi \IA S, So n of Edwnrd Do
O,
Sh effi eld , nnd who died in London in 18 1
w
nt the grcnt ~tge of 105 yonrs (sec Bo
iUnkcrs). Thom ns Dodd's iostru mc nts
is
hnv e had con ~idern ble rcputntion, bul i1

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


• believed he was not a rnt1ker himself, but
employed Bernnrd Fendt aod Jobo Lott,
through whose excellent workmanship bis
name, wlúch he put on the labels, became
well known.
DODD, THOMAS. Son of the above; he wns
drowned in J843.
DOMINISCELLI--Fen-nra, 18th. Century.
A good workman.
DUKE, RICHARD, London, 176·7 to 1777.
This Artist was vcry cclebrate<l in bis day
and his iustruments commnnded very good
prices. He frequently stnmped bis name
on the back, but as far as we have seen,
only on inferior productions. Very good
instruments may now occnsioually be met
with at low priccs in consequence of thc
great prejuilice in fnvour of the Itnlinn
ancl other foreign mnkers.
DURFEL, Altenburg, mnde good double
Basses. His violins nre also snid by one
nnthority to be excellcnt in point of tone.
DUJFFOPRUGCAR, GASPARD, bornin the
Tyrol, established in Bologua inliHO. ancJ
wentto París at the invitation of Francis lst.
E
.,---...

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


30
He afterwnrds removed to Lyons. This ap·
penrs to be the first maker of tbe genuina
Violín we have on record, nnd sorne in-
struments still exist to attest the excollence
to which he had reMhed. M. Vuillaume,
posscsses n Bass Viol, and other Parisino
Collectors possess iustruments by tbis
nncient nrtiste.

E.
EBER.LE, JEAN ULRIC, Prague, 1749.
Otto says this is one of the most celebrated
Germnn Makers nnd his instruments hnve
been froquently taken by experiencocl
oonnoisseurs for Italinn ; tho difference
being that tbey " have a sharper or ratber
not so round and f111l a tone." Connoisseurs
could not be vory expe1~euced at that time,
if they could mistake for Cremonese, in-
struments possessing this chnracteristic,
which is exactly what distinguishes the
inferior instruments from the genuine.
EBERTI, TOMMASO, about 1130,
ED LINGER, THOMAS, Prague 1715.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


31

EDLINGEU., JOSEPH JOACHU.f, Prague,


son of Thornns. Visited Itnly, nnd nfter-
wnrds built sorne excellent instrurnents;
died in l 748.
ERNST, FRANCOIS ANTOINE, born in
Bohernin in 1745. This artiste madc sorne
excellent instruments which are saicl nlmost
to rcnch tho Cremonas in tone. He was
also the Author of o. Trentise on Instru-
ruents. Tho celebrated Violinist Spohr,
nuthor of " the Violín School," is said to
ho.ve at one time used one of this mnker's
instrurnents.
EVANS, RICHARD Lonclon, 1742.

F.
FARINATO, PAUL, Venezin, about 1700.
FENDT,or FINTH, Pnris, J 763-80. Mnde
.
good iustrurnents after tbe Stradiuarius
modal, sorne of whicb followed bis style so
carefully as to bo.ve been tnken for those
of tbat -master.
FENDT, BERNHARD, boro 1775 died 1825.
N ephew of the nbove. He worked first for

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


Dodd ancl nfterwnnls for old John Betts.
He W>lS a cnpitnl workman nnd mude mauy
fine imitations of che Crcmonese instru· '
meots.
F.ENDT, BERNARD SIMON, Son ofthe
above, born 1800 died 1852. became pnrt·
ner with Pttrdy in thc well kuown firm of
Pnrdy nnd Fcndt.
FENDT, MARTIN, brother ofthe nbove, born '
l8J2, dicd 18-15.
FE~DT, JACOB, bom 18Ui, dicd 18,19.
FENDT, 1'RANCIS,
FENDT, WILLIAM, Son of Bemard Simou,
boro 1833, died 1852.
All the Fendt-s havo thc reputntion of being ex-
ceHem workmen.
FICE:ITOLD, HANS, 1612, is said to have
mnde goocl instruments.
FICK8H, JO HAN N CHRISTIAN, Cremona
1722.
FJCKER, JO HANN GOTLIEB, Cremona
1788.
FLEUHY, BENOIST, Paris, nbout 1720.
"F'LORENTUS, FLORINUS, Bologna, 1690.
Fo\lowed the Amati pntterns, nnd has a
good reputation in thnt sty le.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


33
FORSTER, WILLTA~I. Thc first Violín
mnkor of tlús now celebratcd name, boro
J 713. dicd HlOJ.
.FO HSTf~H, WJLLIAl\f, boro 1730, died
J 808. This mnker wns ver y celebrnted
for his Violas nnd Yiolonccllos. He ap·
pcurs to bave followed the Steiner pattcm
in 1762, and tbe Amnti pnttern in 1772.
llis common instrumeuts were not purflcd,
sccond clnss purfled but still much inferior
to the third class, "in which," says no
nuthorily, " evcrything wns embodied to
conduco to excellenco nnd bcnntiful nppear·
nuco nud to the finest tono; · nud again,
" bis instruments nre second to nono in
mcrit nnd the best Europc hns ever koown,
espccinlly his amber colourcd Violonceilos,
wluch uro renownecl for mollowncss, volume,
nnd powor of tone, eq uallcd by fow, surpassed
by nouc." We need scnrcoly s11y thnt this
opinion is rather stroogly cxprcsscd, and
mny be cousidered pt~rtinl. Without nt aJl
dctrncung from thc real exccllencc of Wm.
Forstcr's inslrumeuts, which is vcry grent,
wo mny confideutly nssert thnt the grent

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


34
Crcmoon Makers hnve had no rivnls.
Whetber in power, puri ty, and sweetness of
tone-or bcnu ty of wood nnd workmnnshi p
- the best instrumeuts of Nicholns Amnli,
Antonius Stradiuarius, aud J oseph Guar-
nerius havo never yet bccu equnlled. W m.
Foster"s Violoncellos have, however. (in
England at any rute,) been helcl in high
esteem both by plnycrs nnd amnteurs, and
have renlised good prices.
FORSTER., WILLIAM, the third ofthe name
born 1764, died J 824, known ns young
Forster. Bis iustruments are no t so good
as tbose of bis father, but still excellent
product.ions.
FORSTER, WILLIAM, the fourth of the
namc, boro 1788, died 1824. A good
workmtm, but not cqual to the second
Willinrn F orster
F ORSTER, SIMON ANDREW, son of the
nbove, born 1801, author, in conjunction
with Willinm Snndys, F.S.A., of a rnost
elaborate and excellent work from which
these particulars are taJ>el1, entitled" History
of the Violín and other Instruments plnyed

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


35
on wilb tbe Bow, from tbe rcmotest times
to tho present." H e is also like tbc rest of
thu fnmily, a maker nnd boars n good re-
plltntion.
FORSTER .-Of this notccl fnrnily Dubourg
in his nmusing and intcrcsting book, " 'l'hc
Violin," speaks in complirncntnry terms.
IJc snys, " The Forstcrs, old nnd young,
grnudfatber nnd grnndson. hnve, in tbeir
dopnrtmcut of nrt, n nnme thnt lives."
:F'OURUlEl-t, NICHOLAS , born at Mire-
court. Scttled in Pnris, clicd 1816; good
makor, nfter the Crcmona school.
FRITZCBE , SAJ.\IUEL, Leipsic, 1787, pupil
oC Hunger, and made similar instruments.
They nro of tbe ltalion model nnd have
nmbcr vnrnisb.
l~lUTZ, BERTHOL D, Leipsic, 1757.
FRANK.LAN D, London, 1785.
FREY. HANS, Nuremberg, luto maker, 15th
Ocntury.
FURBER, DAVID, nbout 1700.
FURBER, UATTHEW , son of David, 1740.
FURBER, JOHN, graudson of D11.vid, 1759.

'

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


36
FURBER, MATTHEW, son of the nbove,
died 1840.
FURBER, JO T:IN, son of Mntthew, 18-10.
G.
GABR.IELLE, GJOVANNI, BAPTIST:A,
Florenc(), 18th. Ceutury. considerad to be
a good Mnker.
GAGLTANO, Ol' GALIANO, ALESSANDRO,
Naples, nbont 1710, is gcnerall y reckoued
as one of the pupils of Stmdiuarius, but
wns moreprobably only one ofhis imi tators.
He made sorne good instrnmeuts of the
Stradiunrins modo!, which possess n brigh t
n.nd s pnrkling tone; they are, however,
general! y characterised by less powur of
tone, Strndiunrius hnving in Lhis particular
the aclvnntagc ovcr ncnrly nll his imitators,
some o f hi s personal pupi ls bciug perh aps
the only exceptions.
No-rE.-l:II. Fetis commenccs thc linc of the
Gaglianos wiLh Nicolo, 1700, ten years
cnrlier thnn Alessnudro, whom he nlso
calls Gennaro, aud ranks llim as a mu.ker
formed under one of the immediate pupils
of Strn<liunrius.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


37
GAG LTA NO, JAN OAH lUS, N•<ples, 1740.
Son of Ale~snndro.
GAG LIAN O, NICH OLA US, Knpl es.
Anoth er son of A lossnnclro .
1)-AGLlA~O,l:'EHDIN AND O, Nnples, ronde
to 1790.
GAG LTA NO, GUI SEP .PE, Nnplos, 1790.
GAG LIAN O, GIOVAN~I. Nnples.
GAG LTA NO, ANT OKI O, Nnplcs.
GAG LTA NO, RAP fiAE L, Nnpl es, son of
G iovnnni.
GAC LI ANO , ANT ONlO , Nnples, son of
G iovnnni.
GAG LTA KO l:'A) ULY .
l\Ios& of tho instru m ents mnde by the
Gnglinno family pos;,css n good qunlity of
tone. nnd An1ntcurs who bave no necessity
for thnt g roat powo r wbich Stmd iunrius
nncl Guar ncriu s coufcrred on their bcst
productiCius, will do well to secur e nny
genu ina Guglinuo which thcy mny mcet
with, rathe r thnn risk the ebanc e of getti og
lcss merit, uudo r a more pretc ntiou s uume.
GAL 811Z EN A, - - Piedm ont, 1790

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


38
GAN D, - - Pllris. A first- rnle mnl< or. H o
wns son-in-lnw to Lupo t.
GAI UN' A, liJIC HAE :L ANG!~ LO, l3olognn.
An cxcellcnt mnker, nbou t 1700 , cons idercd
by Feti s LO bo íl pupil of one of tboso
celeb mted nlak crs formed in the Crcmontt
scho ols.
GAT TAN AN! , - Pied mon t, 1790 .
GAV INIE S, Pnri s, 18th Ccnt ury.
GlW LER , .JOHANN ANTONY, Fissen,
Bnva ri,,, l fl th Ceniury.
GED LER , J OH ANN liEN EDI CT, same
plno o uud snme d•tto .
GER t\.'\S , PAU L, Cremonn, nbout 1615.
GERLI•:, J P:I\N, Nuromberg, nbont 15,10.
Mndc Lntes, Viols dn. Gnm bn, &c.
G ILK f.S , SAM UEL , Louclon, l 787 to 1827.
Pupi l of tit e f'ccoud Willinm Fors tcr. A u
excellent mnker. Bis work wos mos t
highly finis hcd nnd his vn.mish of n. rich
qunlity.
GILKES, WILLTA)f, horn 181 L Not equnl
ns {l. m ~ker Lo Snmuel.
GIORDA~I.: , ALBERTO, Cremona, 1735.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


39
GOBET rJ, FRANC fSCO, Vcuezin, nbout
1100. A pupil of SLrndiuari us, nod on
exccllcn t ttrtiste.
GOFlLLEH, }!AT fiW, Venez in, nbout
l72ií . A good maker tÜtcr Cremona
patterns.
GOFILLER, FRANCISCO, Veuezia.
J3rothcr to .Matteo, similar, S•lrn e date.
GHAGNARlUS, ANTONIO, early pnrt of
J8th Centnry.
Gl'tA N CINO, GIOV A N.NI, Milnn, middle of
17th Ccntury.
GRANCINO, PAOLO, do . do .
GRANClNO, GIOVAN.NI BAPTISTA ,
Milnn, son of first unmed.
GRANCINO, G!OVANN l BAPTISTA,
~fillln, eilrly. in 18th Oentu ry.
GRANOINO, FRANCISCO, son ofGiovnuoi
Baptistn. This aniste made to abo ne 1760,
or rather lnter.
GRANCIN O FAMlLY.
T hese makers prod uced somo very good
b nt n ot handsome ius trumen ts. Lindley
is said to bnve had a Violoncello by one

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


of the Grancinos, the tone of wl1ich wns
very fine nncl powerful, with light yellow
varn ish darkcncd by ago; tho wood of back
nnd sides very plain, bnt tbo bclly very
fine.
GROBITZ, Wnrsnw, nbout 171)0.
Mncle some good instrumentsrof the Steiner
model.
GUERSAN, París. An cxcellent mnker,
smnll model, carefnl finish, and fine tone ;
about l 730.
GUGEMMOS, Fissen, Bavaria.
GUJDANTUS, GIOVANNJ FLORENUS,
Bologna, nbout 1750. An excellent maker.
GULET T O, NJOEIOLAS, Oremonn, about
1700.
GUADAGNINI, LORENZO, Cremoua,l!iOO
to 1720. Pnpil of StrndtHlrins and bighly
esteemed as a maJ,er. Followed the style
of bis celebratccl tencher .
Gundngnini is oue of the makers especinlly
recommcnded by Spohr when ono of the
three great masters cannot be procured. A
good spccimcn of his work wiil nlways
commnnd a good price.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


41

GUADAGNINJ, LORENZO, P lnccntin nod


Milnn, 1712. Mmle instruments geuernlly
of Lho smnller modcl. Was n cnreful work·
mnu aucl fiuisbecl bis iustrumeots well, nod
uscd good vnrnish.
GUADAGNJNI, BAPTISTA. Snme pinces
and about snme dates, nnd ronde similar
instruments.
GUADAGNINI, GUISEPPE, Turin, 1751.
GUADAGNINI, GUISI~PPE, Parmn, 1793.
GUARNERIUS FA)liLY.
A more extended occount of tbese grent
mnsters will be founcl in n sepamte cbapter.
GUARNERIUS, ANDRE:AS, Crcmou~, bom
1630, dutes to 1680. Pupil of Hieronymus
Am:lti.
G UAIWERIUS, GUISEPPE,son of Andrens,
Cremonn, dates from 1690 to 1730.
GUARKE!UUS, PlETlW, nnother son of
Andrens. Rcmo>ed in tbe lntl(¡lr pnrt of
bis life from Cremonn to Mantun.
GU,\RNERlUS, JOSEPH, ncphew of
Andrcas. Known ns Joseph to distinguish
bim from l•is cousin of the snmc nnme, but
who is gcnerally kuown ns Guiseppe.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


J osepb was the great mnlwr of the family,


boro 1683, died J7-!5, nt Cremonn.

H.
HARBOUB., Loudou, 17fl5.
HARDIE, M ATT HEW, Edinbnrgl1, nbout
1820. l\Iadc so me goocl iustrumen1s which
occas ionly possessed grcnt powcr, but not
always very ucnt fiuish.
EARDIE, T H O~IAS, Son ofMattbew, E ditl·
bnrgb, wns also n goocl workman-died in
l 85G, from acci dentnlly falling clow11 stairs .
HARE, JOSEPH, London, 1720, is saicl to
h a ve been thc first in Fng!and lo introduce
tl1 e fht model, al! thc makcrs bcforc him
and for sorne lime after, following the ele·
vntcd model ofSteincr. llealso in troduccd
a varnish of g renLer tnmsparency tban was
gcncmlly used at t.hnt time in Euglnnd.
HARRIS, CHARLES, L ondon , about 18 15.
EARRIS, O li ARLES, Son of tbe above.
HART, JO HN, Qf Princcs Street, Leicester
Square, London, pupil of S amuel Gi lkes,
is n maker; and reijtorcr of ins trumems,

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


J3

in which latter cnpncity wc hnve plensure


in ~tnting bim to bo wortby of thtl
oxtonsive roputntiou he hus ncquired.
no is also a great connoisseur in old in-
strumeuts. and has tbo honour of luwiug
formcd most of tbe fine collections in tbis
country. Tbe lnrgest price C\'er giYen for
n Violín was for onc imported by bim nnd
which from its benuty, motlcl, Yaroish ami
pcrrl·ction of conclition iij known by tbo
nnmc ol' the King J oscph G utn·nerius. This
in;tnnnout is considcrcd quite unique ancl
wns sold for 700 gnint·n~. The celebrated
collcctiou of Charles Plowden, Esq., which
embraces four fine in~trnnu:n ts of Stradiu-
urius nn<l four of Jo,~ph Guurnerius, and
which is acknowledgNI lo be thc finest col-
lootion in the worhl, wns also formecl by
Mr. Bart. nir. Plowdun's taste being
highly cuhivatccl, he nticcts nuy instrument
which is not of tl1e V<'ry higJ,est order, nud
thl•refore it refiects grent credit on :\fr. H nrL's
juclgmen~ to baYe succcdccl in placing so
mtmv. fine instruments in tLe collection . of
so criticnl 1\ connoisscur We ~hall l1avc oo-

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


44
cnsioo to mention other celehrntccl iu-
instrumcots in the Chnptcrs ou thc Grcnt
hlnsters of the Art.
HASSE RT, Bmlolst ndt, 18th Ccotury .
M nde in strnmen ts of a hi gh moclcl, wllich
though ho usccl goocl woocl ancl lloishcd
tbem cnrefully, did not posscss vcry good
tone. V cry few mnk crs have succcdcd in
impurting su¡Jerior tone lo bigh built io-
str u men ts.
BASSE RT, , Eisennch, 18th Ccntury ,
brothcr of the nbo,·c-n doptccl n. diffcrcnt
system, nncl followcd tlle flatter rnodcl of
the Cremonn Scbool with considcrnb lo suc-
cess. 11 is instrum cnts nrc remnrkttblo for
bcnutiful wood, nnd Otto spenks Ycry higly
of them, snying thnL mnny of thcm cnn
only Lo distingui shctl from thc genuina
Itali:lus by experienccd judgcs. In the
prescnt dny we think Otto wns pnrtial to
bis own coumrymcn·~ work, nncl thnt thcre
nre very fow Gerrnnn instrum cnts whicb
Cttn be tnkeu for Ttnlinu by judgcs.
IJEESO M, EDWA RD, L ondon, 1760.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


45
BEL)IER, CHARL ES, Prnguc, 1740.
This nrtiste was n pupil of E berle, and is
consi<lcrcd n carefo 1workmnn, hut u sed too
light a hnss bnr. wh ich. un lcss n stronger
onc be substituted, dcprecintes thc character
of his instruments.
EILDE13HA~T. ~ICIIAEL CDRISTO-
PliER, Hnmburg. 17G;í. Estcemed as a
good mnker.
EJLL, WILLIAlf, London, 1740. Mnde
somo good inst.rumcnts, l>ut tl1cy are snicl
to be clcficicnt in qunlity in conscquence ()[
being builton n wrong principie, tbe centres
hnving too littlc wood.
BILL, J OSEPfJ, London, 1770, brother of
thc ''hove. Reckoncd a superior mnker to
his brot.her, nncl protluced sorne very
exocllent Violou cellos wbich obtnined him
n good rcputntion, nnd cnnsed !1im to be
clnssccl l1ig h nmong Englisb mn kers, but
likc the others, he is now deprecinted in
,·nluc below bis renl merits.
UIRCUTT, Euglisb mnJ¡cr, nbout 1600.
BOFF~TAN, :.\IARTIN, Lcipsic, is snid to be
ob iefiy kuc,wn as n skilful luto mnker. Bis
G

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


4G
Tcnors are cousidered good, nnd Otto snys
bis violins hnve nu cxcelleut qunlity of
tone when unspoi led, but nre not cstccmcd
ou accouu t of their tmgmccfulappcnmuce.
H OLLOWAY, J ., Londou, 179:t .
Il ORIL, (Tt,llitlll) nbout 1720.
B ULLER, AUGUSTINE, Shoonec:k, l 775.
HU.M:E, lUCHARD, Edinburgh. An enrly
Euglish lutc maker ; nbout J 530.
HUNGER, CBRISTOPfiERFREDERICK
L eipsic, 1787. A good makcr who followed
the I talia u sl) le, used good wood nud
nmbe¡-· vnrnish. This maker is classecl
nmon g the s uperior Germnn m·t.istcs, nud
bis instruments are snid to be benutiful.

J.
JACOBS, Amstcnhm, J 8th. Ceutmy.
This maker imitatctl tho Amittis ond pro·
duced some good iustnuncnts nftcr their
j\.J odels which nlso partook of their swect
tone but hatl little powcr. One nuthority
wc hn"e consnlted cnlls this m•lkcr :t pupil
of Arnnti, anil s tntes lhnL he used wllalebono
purfling.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


4'1

J AYE, BENRY, Loo don, 1615. Of this


mítkcr we hnvc not be en nble lo find nn y
account Utlless it be to h im thnt Mace
( l ü70,) refcrs when lle says, spcnking of the
mrtkeJ'l:l of Viols, "Oi' such there are no
better in the '"orld, Lhon tl10sc of Aldred,
Jay, Smith " &c.. Be wns certainly nu cx-
ccll cnt maker judgiug from rm iustrumcu t
wo hnve seen which has been couvertecl
into a smnll Yioloncello with .four strings.
Jt is hanclsomcly finishcd, wi th ornnroeutnl
purfling aucl good vnroisb nucl 1t wcll carved
hc1.td As a smnll violoncell o the tone is
nlso very good. Dnted "in ::>outhwnrke,"
J Gl:J.
JAY, THOM:AS, London, about 1700.
JAY, EENRY, London, 17ó0. It nppears
thnt this arl.iste wns bese known as a maker
of Kits, which were very well made nnd for
which he obtnined the es.traordiuary price
in those dnys of fJvc pounds cach. WJ1eu
wo rcmembcr that f'our pounds wns the
price thnt Stmdiuarius got for bis best
violins in bis life time, nud from nu ancc·
elote t.old by l\:Jr. Forster, thnt Cervetto

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


could not e\'en gct thnt price for sorne be
got direct from tho mnker, wo see ono of
tbosc cxtrnonlinnry frcaks of fashion for
wh icl1, to use tbo cxprcssion of my Lord
Dundreary, no fellow cnn account.
JAUCB, Drc~tlcn, 1\bout 1765,is snitl to
bnve made good in~trumcnts en Cremonn
models, and is genernlly placed nmong the
good Germnn makcrs.
JOHNSON , JOHN, London, 1753.
JULIANO, FRANCISC O, Rome, 1700.

K.
Ki\:\rBL, JOHANN, CORXELTU S, 1635.
KEl\NEDY , 1\LEXAND EG, Lon<lon, <licd
17!lá, nn<l con~idcrctl to be nbout 90 yenrs
of nge Tbis urtistc obwincd cousidcmblo
rcpntntion for good nnd nent work. IJ e
followed tbo Stcincr modcl, nncl uscd ycll ow
vnmish. It is uot known thnt ho mnde
nny other instrumcuts thnn \'iolins.
KENXEDY, JOfL.\', Loudon, <lied in 1816,
11nd cousidercd to bo 86 ycnrs of ngo.
~~~~de Yiolius nnd tenors of the Steiner
model.


© Biblioteca Nacional de España
49
KENNEDY, THOMAS, son of John, Lon·
don, benrs tbe re¡JUtation of n good uud
nent m-tiste, nnd is snid to hnve made nt
least 300 violoucellos aud other iustm·
menls in proponion.
KERLIN, JOAN, Brcscin, nbout 1•150.
This m·Liste is belicved by sorne iuquirers
lo bo the earliest maker of tho violín pro·
per, but Fetis says thnt the ouly instrn·
mcnt of ¡,¡s thnt is kuown, nud which wns
in the possession of Koliker of Pnris, nnd
dntcd l.J.JO, wns ilot renlly a violín, but a
vio l with chauged ueck nnd rnountcd with
four strings. It would nppcnr, therefore.
that lhe merit of tbo nctunl iutrotluclion
of the real violín belongs propcrly to
Gnspur di Salo.
RIAPOSSE, SAWES, Petersburg, 1'1.18.
KLOTZ, MATTHIAS, Tyrolese, nbout J 075,
considered by Felis to hn,·e been n pupil of
Stciucr, nuc1 lhc flrst Yioliu maker o.f this
wcll known nmne. He madc sorne iustru·
meut~, which estnblished bis repu tation as
n careful anistc.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


50 .
KLOTZ, EGITJ A. Thís maker, who appears
to havc been n son of Mnttbins, is often
cousiclerecl to be tho best makcr of t.his
Fomily. Beis commonly cnllcd the pupil
of Steiner, but thnt must be cloubtfttl.
More probobly be fo!Jowecl tho Stciner
traclitious as exemplifiecl by bis fnther. He
usecl nmber vornish, good wood, ond his
iust.ruments nre well marle and have bis
own name upon them.
KLOTZ, GIWRGE, brother of Egitin.
KLOTZ, SEBASTIAN, nuother brotber.
We believe tbis artiste to be the best mnker
of thc K lotz fatmly. He built lnrge sized
violius, wbich possess a fine tone nncl hn\'e
excel:ent vnrnish.
KLOTZ, MICL·L'\.EL,-1771.
KLOTZ, JOSEPH, son of Egitin, :1\:fitten·
wnld nn der !ser, 177-1. Otto says tl1is
nrtiste built after his father's system-but
wns better acquninted wiLh Lhe quali tics of
woocl, aud hís iustruments are therefore
superior in tone. but are badly varnished
in their original stnte.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


51
THE KLOTZ FAMILY.
Spohr enum c~rates Klotz among thc mnkers
whose instruments are W<.'Jtby of attention,
but does not indicate which of tbem in
particular. We bnve befare exprcssed Otfr
opinion th!lt Scbastian rauks higbest in
merit, which is corroboratecl by tbe most
· experiencecl connoisseur of tbe present
<l.ty. Sorne violins of tltis nnme havc
nchieved n l1igh reputntion. Parkes, in
bis " :iiiusicnl Memoirs," menlions n. Klotz
Violín bclonging to :Mr. Hay, the Leacler
of the King's Bnnd, for which a Noble
Lord ofl'ered ..g300 aml nn aunuity of
..g¡oo. This seems a most extraord inary
offcr, for any instnlmcnt, udess it wcrc a
very fino Stradiunrius or Guarucrius.
KOHL, JEAN, .Munich, Lutbier to thc Conrt,
ubout J 570. Fctis stntes thnt from some
old accounts lul Jlnds be wns ¡1nid two
ílorius for a lute, a stnmge discrcpnucy in
vnlne .froro t.l1o stntcrocnt of Hnce n ccntmy
hlcl'.-(See Bolles.)
KOLDITZ, lllATTIIIAS ,TOHANN,
Munich, 1722.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


52

KOLDITZ, JAQUES, Rumbourg, in Bohe-


mio, 1790 ; snicl to be very gQocl.
KOLIKER., l)nris, a notecl moker nnd
collector, nbout 1750.
KNITTING, PBILIP, íYiitt.enwnld, l7GO.
KNITL, JOSEPFI, Ñlittcnwn ld, 1790.
KRINER, JOSEPH, Mittcnwnld, 1785.

L.
LACASSO, ANTONIO i\fARIA, ll'filnn,
probably the samc as Lnusn.
LAGETTO, :P,uis, about 1650. Followed
the Amnti pntterns.
LAl\1BERT, JORANN IIENRY, Bcrlin,
1760.
LAnfB ERT, Nnncy, l7GO. A proliGc
but not vcry cnrefnl mnker, wbich gniuccl
him tbe unmc of tho Lutc Cnrpcnter.
L ANDOLPHI, CARLO, Florence, 1750.
An cxccllent moker, who foll owed tbe
Cremona patterns witb consiclernble snc-
cess.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


53
LAi\DOLP RI, FERDJNA~D, Milnn, about
snmo date.
Thcro nppenrs toLo &omc doubt whetber
thcro wns more Llutn ono Lrmdolpbi, his
nnmc being Cario Fcrdinnncl. but beiug
mcntiooed as of both florcncc nnd i\Iilnn,
nnd thc Christian namcs givcn sepnrntcly,
thcro mny hnve beco two. l:'etis only
mentions Cnrlo, nnd Joonlos l1im ut ?!lilao.
LAUSA, ANTONIO l\IA1UA, 1675. A
cnniLnl imitnt.or of i\Iugini nnd Gnspnr di
Sulo"s instruments, but is snid not to hrwc
succcdcd in t·ivulling thcm iu tone.
LAUTTE)I, L. W. No pnrticulnrs of tbis
mukcr; but we find n violín by him in
n Catalogue, describcd ns ·• fine nnd
hnndsome."
LEOLERC, - - Pnris, 18th Ccntnry
LENTZ, JOHANN NJOEIOLAUS, London,
r1bont HlOO. Considcred 11 good workmnn.
LE \VIS, EDWARD. London, nbout 1iOO.
An cxccllcnt muker, u&ed good wood, fine
vumish, chiefh. of a .yollow colonr, nnd wns
notable for bis exct'ilent ftnish.
ll

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


LINELLT, or LINAHOLLA, - Vcnczin,
nbout 1520. A rnnker of robecs, viols, nnd
viols da gamba.
LOTT, J'OHN FREDERICK, London, born
17'75, diecl 1853. An excellent workrnnn,
who rnnclc many instrumcnts for Thomns
Dodd. He is also very genernlly known
ns n first·mte donblc bass makcr.
LOTT, G-EORG E l7 REDEB.ICK. son of the
nbove, was nlso ilD exccllcnt workronn, nncl
is sair.l to have been chiefly omploy<·rll>y
denlers.
LOTZ, THEODORE, Prestburg, nbout l735.
bus n goou reputatiou ns n mnkcr of violins.
LUPOT, FRANCOIS, Stuttgard. nbout
1770.
LUPOT, NICH OLAS, son of Fr:mcois, born
at S tu ttgard, l 758 ; went to Orleons, 178G,
nncl Pmi s, l i !H ; diecl 1824. Tbis artiste
deserves the title of the King of tho Frcnch
mnkers. He followed Lhe moclcl of Stra·
diuarius, used excellent wood and good
varnish, much in the style of that master.
Bis violins ore verv• fine in tone and resem·
ble the Italiau more tbnn any other mnkcr'a.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


Tolbccque, che violinisl has two very fine
specimens. J:iis instrumenls hnve beeu fre-
quently selccted by theFrench Conservatoire
ns ¡n·izes for their pu pils. They now fotch
high prices. Dubourg ca!ls him " a studi-
ous nrtist, whose instruments are in request
when a good Oremona is unattninnble."
He nlso says, " sixty gmnens havo becn
refused for one of bis best violins." Spohr
in his "Violín School," also recommends
his instruments. This m·tiste publisbed a
work on the constrnction of violius, calh¡d
" La Ohelonomie, 011 le pnrfnit Luthier."

l\1.
MAGGINI, GIOVANNI PAOLO, Brescio,
1500 to lli40. This celebrated ltrtistc wus
a pupil of Gnspnr di Salo. Bis iustru-
ments ore higilly esteemed, and m·e both
rure nnd vnluoble. They are genernlly of
a lnrge p11ttern, with elevnted modcl, reach-
ing almost to tbe edges; unrrow ribs, double
ptufiing, frequently ending on the top aml
bottom of the bnck with au omament in

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


56
t he sbnpc of a lenf-nnd fine ycllow·
isb brown or golden colourcd vnrnisb, of
good qunlity. Sorne few are snid to have
deep brown V(lrnish. Tbey possess a tone
of n peculiar charncter- decp, solemn, nnd
somewhnt plaiutive. Dubourg describes
it as " lcss soft than tbat of >t Strndiunrius,
and Jess poten t thnu a Gunruerius,npprouch·
ing that of n '' io l, nnd hns in it n touch
of melancholy." :From their size these
insu·uments lwd uot baen in grcnt fuvour
with violiuists uo til tbe celebrated DeBeriot
introduccd one, which fwru i ts spleudid
tone bronght theru at onoe into csteem, aud
for wbich he has beeu offercd almost fnbu-
lous sums.
.1\L\GGINI, PIETRO SANTO, Brescia, son
of Giovnuni Paolo, 1630 to 1GSO. Followe(l
th e snme style as his fnther, but was more
pm'ticulnrly famous for his double bnsses,
wbicb tbe Italinns considcr to be the best
ever ruade, aft<'r those of Gnspnr di Salo.
lv!AJEI't, ANDREA FEROINA.NO, Snlz·
burg, 1 U6 . Little is known of this maker
except thnt he mnd e the sruaU instrumcnt

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


57
on which the immortnl .l.foznrt first lenm ed
lO plny tbe violín, wbich evcnt, conld be bave
forescen, would no donbt hn,:e compen-
sntcd him for tho waut of more general
fa mo.
)IALDONNER, Bavnrin, nbout 1760.
MALLE R, LAUX, Vcnice. This art.isto
wns nn cnrly and highly esteemed maker
of lotes. l\Ince in his curious nnd very
intcrcsd ng book, " JI,Iusic's .\lonument,"
mendons him ns one of tbc best nutbors,
i .e. mnkcrs. He al so snys be has " seen
LWO of bis In tes(' piLtiful, battcred,cmckcd
'l'biugs,') vnlucd nt !LOO ttpicce." J\face's
book w11S publishecl in lli70. Thiuk of
oC! 00 for n lote two buudred yenrs ngo,
wben tbe vnlue of moncy wns at least si x
tunes less thnn it is now ! Tbis would
mnke the compan1tive vnlne of a "bnttered··
old lnte about ;{)OOO, a sum (witb the ex.-
ceplion of the Kiug J oseph G nnruerius,
mcntioned elsewhere) excccdiug the higbest
price IYe have henrd of in modero times.
E,-en the most splcndid ~nd perfect violins
of Stm<liunrius hnve never renlised as mnch

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


as this "pittiful battercd" lute r· In thc
litco of this fnct (ns wc suppose it is) we
oonnot be surprisccl that cmhu~iastic runa-
tours should in tito prcsont dny give such
]argo priccs for tl1c splonclid productions
of t be great Crcmonn :\I~tkers.
:MARIANI, ANTONIO. Pesnro, 1570 to
1G20. An imitator of Gnspard di Snlo.
l\IAR.ATTJ, Veronn. J G90. l\Inde good
toned violins, but {he wol'l¡mauship has
littlo character.
MAHQUIS DE LA! H., - - A Frencb maker
about 1800.
MARSHAL L, JORN, Lonclon, 1760,
MARTIN, Loocloo, 1790 .
.llAUCOTE L, CITARLES. Londoo. t\n
excellent workman, who hns produced
some bcautiful iustnnocnts.
1-:lAUSIEL L, LEONARD , Nuremburg.
1'725. A capital imitator of Steiner, whos~J
stylc he followed so closoly as to render it
(as it is stn.ted) difficult to distinguish the
ono from tbe othcr. This is onc of tbc
mnkers praised by Spobt· in bis " Violín
School," as wortby attcntion when a good
Orcmoua cnnnot be got.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


ó!J

l\:IAYRHOF, ANDREA FERDINAND,


Snlzburg, 17-10.
MEDARD, HENRY, P~tris nncl Nancy. A
Freucb maker, who is gonerally cousiaered
to have beon n pupil of Nicbolas Amati,
aud wns esteeoJed nenrly equol to bis
master; but Fetis iuclmles him in his list
of the personal pupils of Au touius Stra-
diunrius.
111 I!:RLIN. JOSEPH, Londou, about 1780.
A very iugenious pcrson, who obtniued tbe
honour of beiug mentioued io i\Iadnme
D'Arblay's "Diary and Letters." Bis
violins were after the oteiner pat.tern, nnd
well ronde, bu t di el not npproach tllC Stciner
tone.
MEUSIDLER, .TEAN, Nuremberg, about
1ó40. A mnker ofviols, viols da gamba, &c.
MEZZADIE, ALEXANDER, Ferrara, about
1700. A good mnker wl10 followed the
Amati style, and is rcokoned by Fet.is llS
one of tb at schooL
MIER, London, l 7SG
MILANI , FRANCISCO, Milnn, is snpposed
to be a pupil of Gundngniui nnd followed
his style,-alJout 1760.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


60
MILLER, London , nbout J 750.
MO HR, PHILIP, IInmbnrg, 1050.
l\IONTADE, GREGOlUO, Cremonn, 1735.
Considered to bo ll pupil of Strailiunrius,
but more probnbly an imitnlor.
lVrONTAGNANA, DOM1NTCO, Venezi n,
1725. 'fhis exccllcnt artiste mnde ins tru·
ments gencmlly of a lnrge sizc, nnd u sed
wood of a lnrge and bcnutifu1 figure. The
,·arnish excecdingly brillinn t nud of a rich
yellow or yellow red colour, nncl the tone
everytbing 1.hat can be clesired. Mr. PerJ;ins
ha.cl a violoncello of th is mnke, w]Jicb wns
originnlly sold as n J oseph Gunrncrius,
nnd was said in thc catalogue to l1e un ·
commonly fine nnd hnndsome. This is
nnothcr of those carcful nrtistes, \\'hose
production s are now in higl1 estecm whcn
one of thc three grent mustr.rs cnnuot be
obtained, nnd which will very probnbly
berenfter runk with thcm nud become very
famous.
MORRISON, JOHN, London, 1780 to 18 19.
MORELL A, MORGLATO, Mnntun, about
1550. Fnmons for rebccs, vio ls, nnd viols
dn gamba.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


61

N.
NA.MY, Pnrio, about 1800.
NAYLOR, ISAAC, Leeds, 1788.
NEWTON, ISAAC, 1780.
NICHOLA8, Geneva, 1790.
NIGGEL, SYM.PJntTUS, .Puris nbout lú50.
NORMAN, BARAK, London, 1690 to 1740.
He goncmlly uscd a monogmm formed of
the lcttes NB. interlnced. This urtiste has
lvng becn n fnvourite, and he certniuly mude
some good iustrumoms, which iu the pre·
sent duy nrc deprcciatccl bclow thcir real
wonh, os is the case also with othcr E ng-
lish mnlers, whosc productions have had
to give way before tbe prevailing preference
for Italinn instrumen ts. Be was portner
at onc time with Nathnniel Cross, and the
instruments tben mude benr their joint
names on the Jabels.
NORRIS AND BARNES, pupi ls of Thoxuns
Smith, 1785 Lo J818.
NOVELLO, VALENTINO, Venezitt, nbouL
the rui<ldle of 18th Centnrv.
-
1

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


G2
NOYELLO, 1IARCO A~TOXIO, Venezin,
snme date. Both thcsc mnkers are in goocl
esteem.

o.
OBUE, BARTOI.O~mo, Verona.
ODOARDI. GUISEPPE . cnrly 18th Century.
OTT, JEAN, Nurombcrg. Lute makcr, 15th
Centnry.
OTTO, J ACOB AUGUSIUS , born nt Gothn,
17G2, died 1830. Author of the celebt·nte<l
Book on the Construction of tlte Violin.
He m acle sorne good instruments which, in
his book he SB)'S he " proY~d" by a mnchinc
which played them in thil'lls, founhs, nnd
fifths for n cominuc<l periocl, thus mcllow-
in~ nocl pcrfct:ting tho tone. We <lo not
bcliove in this doctrine. From all pnst
cxpericnce, thcro cnu be no doubt thnt
whutcver pnins or troublo n maker mny
tnke to bring his iustrumcnts, while now,
• lo bcar the chnrnctcr of old, bis labour is
r¡uite uselcss. Thcrc is no instnnco of nn
instrumeut bccoming fumous for its :fino
tone till it hall nttnincd n goocl old ngo.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


Ga
Sorne mo<lorn mokers use cbemical mcans
to mature thcir violins; but th is process is
utterly destructive to tl1em, as thoy become
quite rottcn through the action of tbe ncid
aftcr n lnpse of years. Timo nlone cnn
ripen nnd mellow nll musical instruments
mnde of wood, tbe violín and the organ
especial! y.
P.
PANORlltO, VJNCENZIO, boro nenr Pa\-
crmo, l73.t. lJc nppears to hnve Jcft his
nnti"e pince, nod nfter n tcmpornry sojouru
in severnl towns cnmc to Engl.uld nbont
1772, ancl cliecl in Hll3. He wns nn cx.-
celleot nrltste. Bis instr!llncuts ure cnrc-
fully consLructed on Cremonn modol$, nud
possess ·~ fine toue. ll c rnade a few
violoncellos which are highly prized, t.heir
toue being extremely rich n.nd powerful.
Tbey are ofthe Stmdiuarius pattern, mostly
of hundsomc rnaple for tbe bnok aml ribs.
All his iostrumeots 11re of n good Itnlian
quulity of tone, aod are among tbose which
are risiug in vnluc ns the grcnt mnsters bll-
come rarer nnd denrer.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


PAXOR1f0 , JOSEPIT, ~on of Yinceuzio,
nlso 11 good worl¡ m nn.
PANO it:\fO . GP.ORGI~ T.EWTS, nnother
son of Vincem:io, 11 cc lcbrnterl bow makcr.
Pi\1\0HMO , Edwnrd.
PANORl\IO . GEORG P., p•·obnb ly grnndson
of Yiccenzio.
PA:\IPBILO~. EDW:\HD, J.ondon. 16q5.
,\ very cleYCI' nrti~tc. :\fnde violins ofrnthcr
smnll model, sornewhnt high built, rich
yollow vnmislJ, nnd ~omclirnes dou blo pur-
flcd. Tbo Editor hn~ lmowu ono of hi~
i nstruments, wbich wns in tbe bnnds of n
rich nmnteur, in whosc housc ho has henrd
it played and \·ery much nppro'\"ed.
PANSANI, A~\'TO~IO, Rome, 178-:í.
P1\ RKER, DANrEL, J.ondon, lilJ, is con·
sidcrcd ono oftho good old English makers.
H is instrum ents havo n clonr nnd poworful
tone. A flrst·rnta nuthority cnl!s him nn
oxcellent workmnn ; nnothor snys tbough
he wns otherwise good he nsed n bnd brick
red vnrnish.
PASTA. GAETANO , Brcscin. enrly in 18th
Ccntury.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


65
PASTA, DOi\UNJCO, Brescin, same dato.
Snid to havo followed t he A m a ti patterns,
nnd deserted the Brescinn stnndnrcl of
Gnspnr di Salo and Mngginí.
PEARCE, JAMES and THO:\fAS, Lon ·
don, 1780.
PE1:!l3ERTON. J., London, 1580. An

English mnker of consiclcrnble to.lcnt. Js
suppo~ed to hnve been the moker of the

instrumcnt presented by Queon Elizabeth


to the Enrl of Leicester.
PFRETZSOHNJ;;H, GOTTLOB, Cremona,
J 740.
PFRETZSCHNER, CARL FREDERICK,
Cremonn.
PICBOL, Pnris.
PIQUE, Paris. An excellent mnker,
nnd tho master of Lupot. Spohr recom-
mends Piqno's instrnments, nncl Dubourg
sttys tl1oy were given ns prizes by tl1e
Fren ch Conservatoire in the beginning of
the preseut Cbntnry.
PIEHHAY, or PIERRET, OLAUDE, Paris.
A chnrming workmnu. His violius havo
lJeen frcqueutly mistnken for Italinn by

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


()6

inexpelieuccd judge~. The~ an• of a deep


red colour nnd fincly finished, with nn {'X·
ccllent qunlity of tono.
PIET E, NOEL, Pnris, nbout 178,;, pupil of
Sannier. Au m·tiste wcll spokcn o f.
PLAC K, FBANO[R, Scho:nbnck, 1738.
Considcrcd n good mnker.
POLLUSHA. 1\NTO.:O.l'O, Romo, 1751.
PONS, - Grcnoblc, F'rnncc, 178 7. Jl.fnao
lurgc pnucrn violin s with lrigh modcl,
which bm·c no grent vnlue.
POSS BN, LAU XhJIN , Bnvarin, nbout 154.0.
M:acle rebecs, viols, aml viols du gnmba.
POWELL. ROYAL andT HOli AS, London,
J78-í.
PRE~TON, JOHN , York, 1780.

R.
RACCERJS, - - ?IIantun, 1670. bclic,-ad to
hnve been n. panncr witb one of thc
Gnglianos, nnd mndo ~imilar ins1.ruments.
RAJ:', Bavnrin.
RAi\illEAUX, Porig, a pupil of Gnnd,
nud an cxccllont workmau.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


67

RA P HAEL, N ELLA, Bresoia, 18th Cencury.


This artisce wns o.f thc school of Mnggiui,
uucl his iustn1ments nre snid to bave the
scrolls sculpturcd, lllld lo ha ve Íllscriptions
ou the sides.
RAUCH, JAQUES, 1\fnunheim, 1730 to
1740. Consiclered to be a vory goocl
maker.
HAUCH, SI!:BASTIAN, l '(42to 1763.
RAUCH, Breslau.
RAUCH, \-Vurtzburg.
Octo pnüses the instrnmeots of tbe two
brotlters of Breslau nucl Wurt;¡;burg. He
snys thoy nre excclleot violius but hnve ¿~
shape nucl model peculiar to thcmseh-es
ancl enth·cly cli.fferent to thc Italian or
Stcmers, but possess wheu uninjured a full,
round nud p,owerful tone. If Otto hnd
told us whnt instmments were like instead
of wl1nt thoy we1:0 not like, bis book woulcl
hnve bcen more vahtnblc.
RAUT, JEAN, Bretugue. Be was nt ilennes
till l 7!JO. 1\Iadc good iustruments roter
the Guarnerius school.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


ú8

RAYJ\IAN, JAOOB, Londoo, IG,!I . Tbc


instrumeots of this mukcr wero very highly
vnlueLI formerly . . He is coosidercd one of
our best old English urt.istcs.
REICHEL, JOHANN GOTTFRIED,
Absom. An im itntor of Steiuer.
REICBEL, JOHANN CO.KRAD, Ncukircb,
J 779.
REISS, Bnmburg. A cupitul imitntor
of Stei ner, aiJd ronde cxcellent iostruments.
REl\:IY, París.
RENISTO, Crcmonn, 1740, pupil of
Cario, Bcrgonzi. H is i nstrumouts ure very
similar to those of his master, but rather
bighcr modelled, nod thc workmaosl1ip
somewhnt rougher.
RETANTINO, No pnrticulars of this
makcr.
RD1BOUTS, PETER, Amsterdam.
ROOK, JOS E:PFI, London, 1777 to l 852.
A good workman, who imitated Forster.
ROSS, JOHN, 1502. An eurly uwkcr of
!u tes.
ROTE:, CHRISTIAN, Augsburg, J G75.
ROVELJN, 18th Century.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


G!l

RUDGER, Cremonn-n ot one of tbc


Huggcri Fnmily. 11!nclc somo good instru·
mcnts of the higb build, nnd <lccp si<les,
nnd usccl !loe vnrnisb.
lWGGERl, FRANCISC O, Crcmona, 1010
to J GS L Tbis cclcbmtccl mnkor is cou -
sidcred to h11\·e beco n pupil of Autonius
Amnti, nnd ronde mnny cxcellcnt instru-
ments which bear a higb rcpntnlion. Tbcy
rnuk ncxt lo the Anulli. Their qunlity is
~imilnr, nucl t.he sty lc of work is casi! y secn
to bolong to tbe snmc clnss Thorc nre a
Jew violius by this mnkcr or thc same pat-
tcrn as the Gmml Amnti~. which nre snicl
to surpnss tbe lnller, lumug more wood iu
them, which wns detrimcnt•ll whcn they
wcre mnde, but which ngc l1ns mcllowed,
nnd tbey now possess n stroug ancl fl'Co
vibration. Many of tho lluggeris hnxo
l'nruish little inferior lo thntof Stradiunrius
nnd Gum·nerius . This nrti;te rnnks higltest
in thc faruih· in thc r:>timntion of the con-
uoi:>Scur. His work is t'xtrcmely clcan.
The ucxl is Go\'nnui Hnpti~tn, mthcr higher
lmilt nncl souncl holcs mthcr broncler. Tite
l(

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


70

scrolls are lnrger thnu thosc of Amnti but


of tbe snme typo, Therc tu-e ID>tny splen-
clicl violoncellos of these makers aud n fow
tcnors. Somo of tho formor nro vory lnrgc.
Francisco Ruggeri is mentioncd by Spohr
in his list of instrumcnts to be sought for
in tbe nbsencc of thc three great mnkcrs,
Nicholns A mati, Antonio Strndiuarius nnd
.Joseph Guarnerius.
RUGGEI.U, GUIDO, Cremonn. 1G7!l.
RUGGERI, GIOVANNI BAPTISTA, son
of Francisco. Brescin., lG96. lVIenlioned
abovc.
RUGGERI, PIETRO GIACOMO. Bresci~t
1700 to 1720. Thc cc lcbratecl violoncel-
list Pintti plnys on nu instmment by this
maker, and the tone is uncommonly fine
nnd sonorous ns nll who hnve heard him
lmow.
RUGGERI, VINCENZIO, Crcmonn, 1700
to 1730.
llUPPERT, FRANCIS, EJfrutb, ronde sorne
excclleut instrumeuts. of n vory flat
modo!, but. genernll y omittcd the lin ings

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


aud coruer blocks ns wcll as tJu~ pudling.
Tbcy are neverthuless esteemed lll Gcrmany.
They bave a dark browu amber vnrnisl!.

S.
SAINT, PAUL, París, tlbout 1650. Au
cxcellcnt 'French mnJ,er.
SALO, GASPAR DJ, Brescin, dates from
J ()(JO Lo 1010. Tbis colebrnted mtiste wns
the contempornry of the nncient Amatis,
nncl is thought by sorne conuoisseurs to
have bccn thc master of Audrcw. However
thnt mny bo, as thcrc can be no ccrtilinty
of the fnct, ihe vnrnish ou which the great
Cremoncsc innkers estnblisbed thnt notable
reputation which disti uguishes them to ihc
present dny, bears a slTong nnnlogy to that
of Gnspar di Salo, however tl1ey mny havo
derive(] it. In tbis respect, also, Gaspnr
cxcclls Maggini, his pupil and follower, who
w11s evidently not initiated in to tbe sccret
of lllllking thnt excellent vamish which
charncterises bis master.
Thc pnttcrn of the in~trument& which
tho iwo curlv' and fnmous chicfs of ~~~

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


72

Cremonese nnd Brescinu Schools built, is


however totaUy diffcrcnt. Tbose of Gaspnr
ilre !arge, massive, doub le purflcd, and with
lnrge sound boles. Andrcw is nolecl for n
smnll paLteru, and if he studiod in the
Brescian workshop, he discnrdcd the slyle
he found thcrc (varnish excepted) nnd
niruecl nt nltogether n different objcct in his
own producLions. Those of Gaspar di Salo
nre constrocted with capacity nnd strength
to produc() a considerable volnrue of tone.
The Cremonese AJ·tiste on the other hand,
mndc instruments which, both in their pro-
porlions and ndjustment, wcro cspeciull y
adnpted for the productiou of n swcet but
not powcrful tone. Gaspar's instruments
seem to foreshadow in thcir tono nnd power.
those of Stndiuarius andJoseph Guaroerius,
wbile the Amatis seem generally to hnve
been contentcd witb producing a tone of
surpnssing swoetness. Gaspar nlso suc-
cedcd in giviug to his productions Lhnt
fine tone wbicb seems to bave be en especi-
nlly nimed nt by the enrly makers, but ns
he nlso from tbe size and strcngth of his

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


73
iustruments, produccd more tone, he mny
be considercd fnr tbe superior of A udrew,
the first of the Amatis. It is on this acconnt
thnt in tbe presout clny, Gaspnr di Snlo is
esteemed ns tbe grcatest mnkcr of bis time,
and connoissenrs vnlu e his instrumcnts
nccordiugly.
Thcrc are not many violins by this grent
master, bnt of tenors ancl clonhle bnsses
more. These are very fine and rich in
tone. He was uot howevcr f11mons for
giving so very high n finish to his works
as was aftcrwnrds attninecl at Crcmonn.
His vioüus nrc dcscribcd as ratber
long, nncl with a gentle ele\'>lLÍou from the
sides Lo the centre. The sound holcs
stro.ight and lnrge, well cut nnd parallel,
aud double purfiing. The vnrnish is gene·
mil y of a rich brown. T hese nre the chicf
ex tema! cbarncteristics, bu t tbey ha ve
ahvays possessed that "which passeth
show," aod commnndccl the esteem of thc
dilettnoti in thut rich qunlity of tone which
is the first csseulinl in n perfect iosLrumeut.
Sigoor Dragonctti, thc grcutcst <loublo

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


71

bnss plnyer of onr tlny, u~ed one of Gns·


pnr's instruments. wbich wns present~d to
him on nccount of their ndmirntion of hi:!
womlerful tnlent, by th c ordcr of thc Con·
• vent of St. i\fnrk nt Vonicc. Sbortly bcforc
his deatb ilie Dukc of Lcinstcr offered bim
.f!700 for it, n princcly &um, but it wns re·
fused, ns Drngonctú did not fee! justified
in pnrt.ing witb ít, nnd ha ordcred in his
will tbat it should bo returncd to thc con·
vont nt Venice, which wns nccordingly
clone. Ole Bull hns n very cclebrntc<l
violín of Gnspnr's mnko. Ju tbe first
pince, it wns sculpturcd with Caryatides,
by the grent Flor~ntioc nnist, Bcnvenuto
Celliui, nt the speciul com n•and of anothcr
e1ninent p erson, Cardinnl Alclobr!llldiui,
who prcscntcd it to tho muscum of In s-
pruck in tho 'l'yrol. In l ilO () that city
was ussnulted by tho frcnch, the muscum
wns plundered, nnd this violín carried to
Vienna, whcre it becnrnc the propcrty of
nnothcr notable persou, the Councillor
Rchnzek, wbo wns fnmc;us for his callee·
tion of nncient nmsicnl iostrumcots. lie

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


75
lcft it by will to nnothcr still more cele-
hrntcd pcrsoo, Ole Bull, thc distioguisbecl
Nonvcginu violinist, by whom it wns oxhi-
bitcd in Loucloo in 1802, nnd wiLh whom
it still remnins. To our description of
Gnspnr's instrumcnt~ wo shou ld ndcl tllnt
his tcnors nnd double bas•es tll'e of n
rnthcr broader form lhnn his violins.
SALLE, -- Pnris, 1800. This nrtiste was
nn cxecllcnt workmnn, nnd fnmous nlso ns
n jutlgo of old instrumonts.
SANONI, GIOVANNJ 13A L'TISTA, Veronn.
SAN1'T, GIOVAl~ NI. Nnplcs, 1730.
SANCTUS SERAPHIX O, Vcnezin, nbout
1730. An excellent workmnn, whose in-
slruments possess nlmost the beautiful
finish of Strndiutll'ius. He used hnndsome
wood of small :6gure, nnd his vnl'llish is
oftcn bcnutiful in tho extremo. The modd
howel"er npproaohcs thnt of tho Steiner
school, nnd the tone is thcrcforc genemlly
wnnting in fullness nnd roundncss. Be
mndo nlso a few Yiolonccllos with similar
chnructoristics.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España



7G
SAPINO,-- Cremonn. Pupil of Guiseppe
Cnppo, m acle instrumenls nfter lhe style of
the Amnti.
SANZO SANTINO, Milnu,
SAUNIER, --boro in Lormine 1740. An
cxcelleut arliste whose instruments are
reckoned nmong th e best of the French
school.
SC H EINLE I N, MA tTHf ASFREDERlCK,
Langeufeld, bom 171 O, died 1771.
SCHEINLEJN, JEAN MICETAEL, Lan-
geufeld, boru 1751 . Jl.bcle instnnnents
whicll are srud to be good but not strongl y
built.
SCHMIDT, - - Cnssel, meutioued by Otto
as li ving in 18 17, nud pmisecl by him ns
nn cxccllent mnker. H is instruments are
of the ílat model of Stmdiuorins, but havo
U1c edges lnrger nud Lhe purfling further
from the si<les.
SCBONGER, FRANCIS, Erfurth, mncle
higb modelled instru mcn ts, but of poor
tone.
SCHONGER, OE ORGE, Erfurth, son of
the nbove, moclellecl his instrnmenls in the

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


77

1 wliun stylo and produced some .,.ery


~uperior exlllllplcs.
SOlJ C>ltN, JACOB, Snhd.Jourg.
SO I:WRN, JOHANN, Juspruck, 16!:!8.
SOUOTT, MARTIN, Pmguc.
S HA W, London, 1G5G.
snJ.PSON, JO~'>, London, 1790.
SI.:II.PSO~, J. and J., oon of thc •tbovc.
SDlO~, Salzbourg, 172;¿,
::>I!IION. l'nris.
S~1 1Ttl, liENHY, Loudon, l u;¿ !J. Thi;;
wny be n celebmtcd runkcr of viols, &c.,
mcnúoucd by :Mucc, 1GiG, ns ouc of the
bcst then knowu.
SlliTH, Tf:LO.:IIAS, Loudon, 1756 to 1799.
This well known mnkor wns n pupil of
l'otcr Wnmsley. J:lis violoucellos nre of
the St.cinor model, nud somo of them ¡Jos-
sess considerable power, nud wore formerly
highly ' esteemed, but thcy nre no'': con-
sidorcd to be deficicnt in quality nnd
wnuting in thc rich fine tone of the Italinn
nnistes. Notwithstand ing, thcy are súll
f11vo urilcs in the country ; the editor
L

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


78

knows two of his violonccllos wh ich hnve


been respectivcly sold for .e3o and ;Q40
wi thi u a few years.
SMITH, WILLIAM, Loudon, 1771. .
SOLOMON, - pupil of Bocquay, n good
French m·t.iste.
SPEILER, 18t.h Oentury.
STADELMANS, DANIEL, 11-lti, Vienna.
STA DELMANS, JO HAN N JOSEPH,
Vienna, J 784. Fame spenks very higWy
of ~his mnker, wl10 closely imitnted Jncob
Steiner and ranks ncx t to him nmong thc
Germnn mnhrs.
STEINER, JACOB, of Absom in the Tyrol,
bom ttbout 1620, clnte of denth not known,
but nt nbout thc ae<e . rctired w a
o of se,•enty
Con ven t.
See tiepnrnte chnpter on this celebrated
nrtiste.
STOSS, FRANOIS, Bnvnria.
STORIONI , LORENZO, Oremona, living in
1782, snid t.o be the last of the great
Cremona mnkers. Forstcr says his instru -
ments rcocm ble those o f J osep h Guarnerius,

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


79
nntl that Vieuxtcmps' solo violín in l RG I,
wos by this master, nnd wn~ vcry much nd-
mired. Ris violonccllos nro vcry powerful.
'l'ho nuthor knows n violín whicb nn nu-
thority snys is by Storioni. lwt which tho
ownor considered to be by Antonius and
11 icronymus Amnti. Tho snme nmhority
snys there are only two in Englnnd of tbis
mnke. I t. possesscs n splcndid fine full
nnd riclt tone, beautiful woocl for tl1e belly,
bnt tho hack rnther plnin, varnisb deep
ycllow with reddish tinge. Workmnnshi p
not. very fine. Wc mcntion thosc littlo
known nrt1stes' instrmncnts whcn wc IHn·e
sccn them, bccause tbcy are now rising in
vnlue nnd nre esteemed ns likely to affortl
good instrum ents to thoso wl1o canuot
n[orrl those of thc t.hree grcnt mnsters.
STRADTUARIUS, ANTONIUS , Cremonn,
bom 16,14, died 1737.
Sce sepnmte cbnpter for 11 fullc1· nccount
of this celebrated artiste.

STRADIUA RIUS, BOl\IOBON O, Crcmonn.


son of Antonius; mnde instrumcnts uuder


© Biblioteca Nacional de España
RO
the tli rection ofhis father, wl1icl1 were signed
"Snb disciplina A. St1'Cldiua?·ius."
STRADIU AIUU S , FRANCISCO, Cremonn.
nnotber son of A ntonius, nnd signed in the
same mnnnor ns bis bro ther.
STR AUBE, B erlín, 1770. Constructed
nfter the Jtnlinn model. !lis instruments
are scnrce ncd goocl.
STRNAD, GASPAR, Prngue, 178 1 to 1793.
Th is mnker bears n good reputation.
STU RIO NUS, LAURENTI US. Seo Storioni.
SUBSANO, SPTRITUS, Coni, 1764.

T.
TAYLOR, London, l 770 to IS20.
TECH LEB , DAVID, first estnblíshed hím -
self nt Snlzburg, and nfterw>lrds went to
Yenice, where tbe story goes that l1e wns
so persecutecl by otber mnkcrs thnt he fled
to Rome, nbout 170(i. He mado somc ex-
cellent and b enu tiful instrnm ents . Th ey
h nve fine yellow v.arnisb and rescmbl c
those of the T yrolenn school of A lbnní nnd
otbcrs. Lindley bad a violoncell o by this

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


81.
rnaker wltich wns very fine, nnd powerful
in tone. Another wns sold a few years ago
by auction, for .E;iO. We hRvP. seen a
violín of this rnaker, with very beauti ful
wood nnd higl1ly finisbed workrnanship,
thc tone of which wns very purc and
polishcd.
TENZEL, One of onr catalogues con·
tnins a violín by tbis maker, bur. we hnve
no pnrticulars .

TEO DI TI, Jeno~m. Rorne, 1750.
TESTATOR, IL VECCHJO, Mi\,m, nbout
1520. A clnim has been made for Lhis
mnker Lhnt he was th c first to give thc na me
of violino to tlw recluced viol
TERRESJO, An ltalinu who dic:d in
1853, wns n most emiueut judge ofinstru-
meuts. B is whole existence seemed to be
• centered in his nrt, nnd his eye becarne so
prnctiscd thnt when tnwell ing to discover
old ius~·uments, he took tbem nll to ¡Jieccs,
sides. bncks, hends, nnd nll parts, formi ng
n conglomeratc mnss of pieces of vRluable
violins. T he object of so doing wns to
n•oicl the cust.oms' el ues wbich nre of course
heuvyou old iust.rumcnls. W hen hc rencbed

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


1:12
his destill!ltion, he would replncc Ü1 Cill with-
out the nicl of u single marlc Aftcr his
donth his house, or rnther his hermitage,
wns visitcd by connoisseurs, who foud it
strcwed with difforcut parts of instrumcnts,
sorne being found in tbc most out of the
wny plnccs. He hnd the m1~jor pnrt of nll
tho greM iostrumcnts througb bis hnnds.
Among othcr vnlunble instrumentll found
in his housc afler his denth, was n Onspar
di Salo doub le bnss nnd u Borgonzi double
bnss- tbo lntter unique. Both these
instrumonts are now in l\lr. Han' s posses-
sion. 1'ho Gnspnr di Snlo is very pcrfcct
nnd its tone is unsu rpassed. 1'hc Ber-
gonz i is quite a curiosity, from its bcing
the only one of bis makc known. He
visited this country durin g thc Exhi bitio n
of 1851, nud was cleeply grntifiecl upon •
seein g so many high clnss instrument~
nmong the dilcttnnti hero, nnd thc taste
nnd zest the English hnvo iu forming col-
lcctions.
TES TOR E, CA.RLO GUI SEP PE, Cremonn,
nbout 1700. This nrtiste mnde somo very

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


83
good instruments after thc Gunmerius
pnttern. The wood of the backs of bis
violoncellos is mostly pear tree, aucl the
bellies are of splendid wood. The tone is
vcry powerful, but not alwnys so smooth as
might be wished. This is nnoiher rising
nnme. The cclebrated double bnss plnyer
Bottesini, uses one of this mnker's instru·
ments which possesses a splendid tone, and
is sufficicnt to stamp Testore as an exccl ·
lent maker. If any of bis swaller iustru·
mcnts possess as goocl aod fina a tone as
this double bnss he must be ranked among
the best I tnliau nri.istcs. Use will probably
wear away the want of swoothness nt pre·
sent complnined of in sowe of them.
TESTORE, CARLO ANTONIO, 1\:Iilan,
nbout 1710 to 1730.
TESTORE, PAOLO ANTONIO, Milan,
about 1720 to 1740. Both the abo ve
have the reputation of being good makers.
Of tbese m-tistes we ha.ve a note wbich
states tlwt theil' moclcl was flat, resembling
Joseph Gunmerius iu shnpe, but the var-
nish very tnferior und voicl of colom.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


TOOROWGOOD U ENUY , Lond oo, tilo
18th .:eotury.
TO.BIN, l.ond oo, J800 LO 183G. Tltis
wnke r cu~ most benuúful hends , 11nd hi,.
work wns ncutn ess in thc extrem e, so much
l>O indecd us to rob iL of decided clwm ctcr.
TON rNI, FELI CE, Boi!Jgn11.
TO~ !NI, ANTO KJO, l3ologna.
TONINI, CAHLO. Bologna.
TONl.XI, GUIDO, Bolognn.
Wo have no speciul informnLion ou tbes.:
muke rs, but they nro gonurnlly rnnk o,)
IIUlOD g' ~he good J tnlinu mnkcrs.

TO;\'O.XJ. CAHLO, Vcnczin, IG!lfl


TON O NI, G J.OVA NKJ, Vcnez in, 1 G!l!l. Tite
.
iuslru mcnts by Tononi nte wonh y of thu
highc st prnise. Thcy are howc,·er vcry
scnrce. TJ,ey nrc of che lnrgc pnttcr n, nnd
lltltmodel, with good vtu:nish, und e\•ery·
~bing about them, includ ing n super ior
tone, to cntítle thom LO be r nnkcd ns cxccl·
lcnt insll'llmonts .
TORI.XG, Loodon.
THUNGO, - - Cremoon, lGGO.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


85

u.
URQUART, TI:IOMAS, Lonrlon, IH50. An
cxcc iJcnt old English mnkm:. He us~d
benntiful vnrnish (for English) and ronde
mauy small violins which are uscful to
young plnyers, being old nnd the pricc
ren~onnble.

V.
VALT.l~ R, - - Mnrsei lles, 1US:J.
VJUWN, .Puris, about 1725. Highly
ostcomcd in France.
VIARD, NI CHOLAS, Versaillcs, nbout i 730.
VIBRECHT, GYSBERT. Amsterdnm, 1707.
vn.IERCATI, PAULO, Vcnezin. 1700.
VOGEL, WOLFGANG, Nurcmberg.
VUILLA Uli!E, JEAJ."\1', 1700 to 1740.
Worlccd with Straclunrius, nncl mncle somo
good instruments undet· his own namc.
VUILLAUME. JEAN HAPTJtiTE, Pnris.
No1v living. Famous for his copies of
Crcmonese insrrumcnts. This nrlistc ob-
tniucd by personal rcscnrches in Cremona
LIJo pnrticulnrs of tbe life of Strndiunrius ,
which Fctis has embodjctl in hi s book.
~~

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


w.
WAGNER, JOSEPH, Constnnce, l i33.
W AMSLEY, PETEU, London, J i27. A
cclcbrnted nrtistc, who mmlc many exccllcnL
instruments. Thoso with thll dark browu
vurwsh are thc most vnluable. Thcy were
mostly of the StcinPr puttems. Mr.
J . Rodgcrs, orgnni~t of Doncnster Pru·ish
Church, has n vcry bcnuLiful tenor by this
mnkcr, wb ich is bnilt in the slu1.po of n
iloublc bnss, and with vory peculiar soun<l
boles instend of thc usual S S.
WEAVER, SA.UUEL, London.
WEISS, JACOB, Snlzburg, li6l.
WENGEH, GREGOHIO FERDJNA~D,
Stdzburg, liG l.
WEYillANN , CORNELIU S, Amsterdnm,
1082.
WIGHT:.\fAN, GEORGE, 17G l.
WITHALJ\I , LEOPOLD , Nurcmberg, 1765
to 1788. Otto snys this mnker's insu·u·
ments nre wonhy thc nttcntion of tho
virtuoso. nnd aro extreme!} likc those of
of Stciuer, nnd diffi cult to distinguish from
tbem.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


87

WISE, CHRISTOPHER, London, 1656.


WORNUJ\f, London, 1794.
WRIGHT, DANIEL, London, 1745.

Y.
YOUNGE:, JOHN, London, l7U.

z.
ZANETTO, PEREGRINO, Bresci,,, about
15,10. A mnker of rebecs, violas, and vio ls
da gamba.
ZANTI, ALESSANDRO, 1\:fantua., nbout
1770. Reckoned among tbe good I talian
mnkers.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


B O vV l\I A K E R S .

lL will nol be consiclorocl out or place in thc


cout'>'c ofa biogrnpbicnl nccount ofthc principal
mnkers of violius, to giYc a short notico of
somo eroinc nt pcrso ns witho ut whoso labou rs,
tho ''iolin itsclf woulcl ncvcr ba•e bren dc•clopc;d
as iL bns bccn, to wit, nolin bow mnkcrs.
J\'luclt of thc clega nt fioisb nnd rcfiueroent of
tono nnd st~·lc which di:::tinguish thc grcnt
plnyers of tho violin, if not du-: oltoge ther to
t.ho bow, b y which tho tone is produccd, is ot
nll event s grcntly nidcd by it. A Pagan ini
will ba>c n Tourt c bow, nnd so will e>ery otber
grcnt master, if he con get one. There must
bo somb tbing thcrefore in thc bow, ns wcll ns
in the violín, more thnn mects tbe eye of n
cnsun l obscrYer. Wo h1we not hcrc spnco lo
en ter into Lhc subtle nicclics wbicl1 dislin guisb

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


89
the bows of Tourte of Franco, of Dodd of
Englaud, and others. Suffice i t to sny thnt
whoever bonsts of an excellent violín should
match it witb n superior bow. One is incom·
plete wühout the other. Thcre nro mnny
excellent mnkers, but we must content our-
selves with briefly noticing tho rnost prorní·
ncnt. Suffice it to sny in tbe wny of advice
nud warning that whetber the amateur huy no
old or n new bow, Jet him soe thatits flexibility,
which is its grent roerit, is perfect, nnd tbnt it
is st.ill strong though light and strnight. Mr.
Bishop in his cdiüon of Otto says the finest
bows are tboso of Vuillnumc! Be does not
oven roention nny others. Tourte nnd Dodd do
not deem to be worthy bis reroerobrance! Tl1ere
must be nevertbeless soroetbing in the bows of
these ronkers wbich commnnds grent respcet,
for nny perforroer of skill will give (if he can
get oue, thnt is the difficulty,) ten or twelve
times the amount for a perfcct Tourte, which
will buy a Vuillautne! Thcre is no doubt that
Vuillaume manufactures gootl bows- but to
rnnk tbem highest is so pnlpnbl.e a misre¡n·e-
sentílt.ion tbnt \>e hnve thought it necessnry to
enter a protest ugniust it.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


90
TOURTE, FRANCIS. J>nris, born 17-H,
tlicd 183.'í. This is conceded, by ull the best
judgcs, to be the grentcst mnker we havo ever
known, in fnct Lhc Stmdiunrius of the bow.
1::1 is faLher nnd grnnclfnthcr wcrc instrumentul
in improving the bow, but Frnncis Tourte
brougllt it to the grentest pcrfcrtion. His bows
aro light nnd flexible, )'OL !'trnight. They are
highly finished nnd modo of thc fincst Brnzil
wood. He bimsclf Rold his bows mounted
wiLh gold, ot 12 lonis, (,!!l l ls. úcl.) encb; with
silvcr 3d- louis (.ll3 5s. Gel. It is snid the
renson of bis chnrging so much was tbnt he
found so greRt a clifficulty in getting wood fine
enough to sntisfy his crilicnl judgment. ond
thnt he nlso mnde no scruple to break nny
which did not r.;nch his stnndnrd of perfection ;
l1c wns thercfore compclled to chnrge tboso
sums .for sucb ns he pennittocl to go forth.
Whoevcr wisbes to match bis cherisbcd
Crcmonn with nn equo.Uy fine bow will get a
Tourtc if he co.n
LUPOT, of París, was nuother excelleuL
mn.ker. Bis bows are not quite so light ns

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


91
tboso of Tourte, bu t they ttre in nll other re·
spects higltly esteemed.
DODD, ED\VARD, born nt SlJcffielcl, and
died in Lonclon, at the age of 105 yeurs, in
1810, wns distinguished asan improvcr of the
bow in 1~nglancl, about tho samo time that the
Tourtes were founding thcir great reputntion
in Fmnco. The great mnker of tbis name,
bowo\•er, ancl who bus nchievetl the honourable
title of the Tour te of Eugland, is
DODD, JO HN, che son of Edward. The
bost bows of this maker nre Jlighly esteemed,
and pnrtnke of nll tho exocllencies of thOsf;l of
Tourte. Soroe of tbom, however, are rather
short, which is perhaps tlleir only defect.
Aftor these come the bows of Panormo,
Pecntte, Tubbs, Vuillaume, and othcr English
nntl Foreign artistes, whose bese bows are
much csteemed.
As betweeu olcl nncl ncw bows, we would
observe tbat in gcnenll modern bows are neady
as useless as now violins. The wood of which
most of tbcm are made is very inferior to that
of the older attistes, aud there is always ncloubt

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


02
whetber they will stnncl coutinuecl use and re·
maiu straight and flcxiule. Wích an old bow,
if it is stmight, there is no fcnr. with orilinary
care, of its remnining so. A good bow is us
important ns n good violin.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


TUE

GREAT CREl\IONA MAKERS.


THE AMATI FAMILY.

Crcmon~t! Who has not l1 cnrd of this now


cclcbratcd Ittllinn city ? AUtl yct but for a
fiddlo mnkcr it is very probable indeed thnt it
wou la ncvcr have been known bcyond tho circle
of its own local interests nnd its rolations with
ueighbourin g cities. Now, howevcr, its nnme
is n spoll to conjure with. A Cromonn. Violin
is, to n rich amateur, 1t lontlstono thnt is s ureto
nttrnct tho sbining metnl from tbe deptbs of
bis purse. Sc>en hundrcd pounds hn•e been
givcn for a Guarnerius Violín ! Think of thnt
ye <l1lcttnnti who are so proml of yonr pictures
and marblcs 1 E ven tlHl poor fhldler has bis
Mecen. fnr awny, nnd it is cnllccl Crcmonn.
N

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


!lf THE /1)!.\TI FAUILY.

Likc pictures, tbe Crcmona Violins are real


works of ~trt, and liko them nlso, were once to
be bnd for ttifling sums. Cuyps and Paul
Po tters, Stmdiuarii uncl Gunrncrii were once to
be hnd for three or four pounds ench thnt ara
now wortb as mnny hundrcds. A Cremonn
instrument bns even bccn considered a wortby
gift to pass bctwccn crowncd beads, Pope
Pius Y. lutving prcscntc<l n violonccllo by
An<lrcns Amnti to Chnrles IX. of Franco.
Vlocting however aro thc honours of time !
()rcmouo. has lost its most fnmous namus from
nmong its citizens, nnd witb tbem its most
disúnguished characteristi c. For nearly a
hundred years no mnker of grcat skill has nrisen
to dispute the glory ofdiC pince witll the Amnti,
Strndiuttrius . and Guarncrius, by whom tbe
fitmc of Crcmonn will bo cctrded to the lntcst
gcnCri\LÍODS.
1 t is now abont thrcc ccnturies since therc
Oourisbed at Cremona its firsL grent violín
mnker. Andreas Amnti 11ppenrs to hn>o becn
born there in 1520, nnd dic<l in 1580. Tbe
fnmily wus un ancicnt one, nnd is mentioncd
ns enrly M 1007 in thc rccotds of the city. It

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


THE AMATL FAMJLY. V5
is n remnrkable fncl, aml shows in n strong
light the clifi'erence of mnnncrs nnd customs in
different c~mtrics tl1at both Amnr.i nnd Strndi-
uaritts seem to hnvc been of nncient and
hononrnblc families, nnd yet notwiLhstancling
their ndoptiug an avocation which woulcl in
Englnnd be thought to tnrnish an old family
name, they Ji,•ecl ancl cliecl rcspcctccl nnd
honoured by lhoir fellow citizens. There is
no account of how or of whom Anclrew Amnti
ncqtúrecl the arL of violin mnking ; but it is
clettr thnt by some menns he had nttllined to n
considerable rtmotmt of skill. U uder thc head
of Gnspar di Salo, wo luwe however hnznrded
a conjecture thnt he bnd becn to Brescin for
the first p1·incipl es of tbe art, but that he hncl
ndopted little thnt he founcl th ero except thc ,
vRmish and the goneml rout.ine of the work·
shop. Sorne of bis instruments are describe~
ns beuutifuUv •. mndo, nnd to llave nmber varnish
of excellent qunlity of a deep ricb yellow tinted
with bcown or light rccl colour. B is violins
appenr to bave been cbiefly of the small patteru
and high model. Tho bncks nre mostly cut
the reverso wuy of thc gmin to the prcsent rulo,

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


96 THE AMATI FAMILY.

fonning whn.t aro now termecl " slab'' bncks.


They possess a doliente graceful tone of won-
dorful sweetness, which has nlso becn more or
less the chicf chomctcrislic of tbe other mnkers
of th is family. Wi~h refcrcnce to tbis peculi-
arity, nn emineut writcr observes thnt in tbe
times in which the Anuu.i lh•ecl, the tone wnR
not required to be of thnt powerfnl chnracter
which modero plnyers derunnd, nncl thnt such
no immense tone as many latcr instruments
possess woulcl noL then have been tolemted.
This is very probnble, and may account nlso for
the elevntcd ruotlel whicb wns adopted both by
Anclrew aud sorne otbers of tbe Amati. Tllis
modo! conjoined wiLb their beautiful workmnu-
ship and geucrally smull sizc, combincd LO
produce that elegant clclicious swcct tone which
of nll other makers, the Amnt.is especially
possess. They nlso, all of them, tnade a greater
number of instruroents of the smnller sizc thnu
what is known as the gmnd pnttern, no doubt
because tlle tone proclucecl by thcm wns found
geoernlly s ufficient. They were also mnde to
cnrxy a much lower bridge and a lighLer bnss
bar than are now uscd, nnd tbe propoxtions

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


TRR .\l!ATI FA~ILY 97

w~t'tl nrnmged accordingly. On this point


l\1. .\lnugin, nutbor of n Trunlitie, entitlecl
Mílnuol du Luthior, mttkcs somc rcm11rks wbich
wo hn1•o lranslated ns pottinouL nnd valunblc.
Spcaking ou LIJe subjcct of rcpniring old iu-
srrumcnts, he snys, "Thcrc is no ,-ioliu maker
now, who does not put, whcthcr in the instru-
ments he has to repnir, or in thosc which he
motkcs, n mucb stronger bnr thnn those wbich
wcro cmploycd by tbe grcnt ruukers themselvcs.
'J'hoy must hn,•ofo\t tite nt~ocssity of tloiug this
or thoy would not n\1 nct io this "'"Y- Now
whnl is the rensou of this modo ofworking? I
bnvc sccu in thc hauds of rich nruateurs. seve-
ra! mstruruents which ha,·c bccn preser"cd with
n religious cnre, nbsolutcly in tho forro wbich
Amnli nml Stradiuarius hnd given to them.
'l'ho bridgcs of these violins bncl only au inch
nu<lot fmotion of hcighL nbovo tho belly, whilo
now-nclnys briclges havo n hoight of nu inch
ancl (sny) thrco-eighths. Now, the belly being
put into l'ibmtion by stdngs nL n grcnt distance
ft·om it, nnd these strings l'ibrntiog by them-
sclvcs moro at the <listuncc of fourtecn lincs
thnn uL twclve, it hns bcon founilnecess ary to

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


os TB E Al\lATl f! MILY.

streugthen Lite bar wbicb, wilhout that, being


clrawu into too grct1t n Yibmtjon, would give to
the strings sol aucl re n cottony souml wbich
would havo quite spoi led tbe gooduess of the
instrument.'" 1\:I. l\iuugin does not stty why
higher bridgcs are now nsed, but tl1ere is no
doubt on tl1is poiut. All judges concur
that the pitcb bnviug been so great.ly rnised
since dlC old instrumcnts were built, a
strongcr bur has becn found ncccssnry, to
counterbalance tbe incrcnsed tension of thc
bigber bridge.
Andrew Amati gave to his instruments n still
more decidecl swell than thc lnter members of
l1is fumily, his succcssors no doubt fiucling a
diminntion in tbc riso of the mocle! LO produce
a fullcr if not a sweeter tone. Th is principie
WftS grndually CatTied forwnrd till it culminotecl

in Antonius Strncliuarius, who brougbt it to


perfection ancl dcmonstrated that thc flat moclel
11roducecl the grentest vibration aud consquently
the most powerful tone. Otto in bis celebrated
work on the Construction of tuc Violín, does
not meution Anclrew Ama ti, but says that thoEe
of B.ierouymus were the oldest Crcmonn

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


TIIE A~fATl FAMTLY.

Violins. 'This JS ouc of the mistnhs in bis


original work which renders it compnraLively
usolcss. Connoisseurs nnd collectors have dis -
sipated those errors, nud we now lmow to u
certainty that to Amlrcw Am>1ti of Cremoua,
and Gnspar di Salo of Brescia, ( of whom nlso
Otto wns ignomnt,) we owe the establishment
of these two grent schools of vioEn mnking .
From thcir g reat age, the instwments of these
two grent makers are now very mre. 'Jhcy are
most of thcm nbout three ceutmies old, and
tbough thcy appenr to have made a cousider·
ablc number, thcy havo througl t tbc inlluences
of time aud accident gradually disnpp<!ttrcd.
Sorne of Andrew A mati"s instmmenls are still
left however in tbo llands of dilottanli aud col-
lectors, and ret.flin that distingu.ishing cburac-
teristic of delicious nntl sympnthetic quaEty
which has beeu the chief charm ofall the Amati
procluctions. Auclrew had a brothcr called
Nrc.aoLas, of whom little nppears to b e knowu.
After ANDREW, as grent makers, come his
two S011S ANTONIUS t\Ud HTERONVMUS, wbo
ilouris.hed from 1050 to 163~- . ANTONWS
macle many sm.tll pnttcm yioliHS, which pos-

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


100 TBE A)IATI fAMlLL

sess in the higbest degrec che distinguish ing


chnrnctcrislic of thc fmuily- a ,;weet but not
powerful tone. He also constructed some of a
l ~rger pattern. ANTONTUS nncl H!ERONY)IUS
conjointly built a numbcr of lnrge pattern
violín:;, wltich are of high finish und bcnutiful
woocl. Tbcy are vcry bigbly esteemed, nnd t1.
well presor vccl cxamplc will comrnand a largo
p1i ce. NtCHOLAS wns tho greatest artisto of
tbis deservedly celebrnted fnmil y, nncl mnny
iustrumcnts still exist to attcst th e exccllencc
of h is work mnnship nnd his kuowledge of tbe
proportions requisito to produce a fine tone.
H e also built mnny small pnttern instruments,
lrnt h e nppears to luwc nlmost. nnticipnted
Stradiuarius nnd sncceeded in prodnciug sorne
instruments of the granel pattern which
posscss n very powerful as well ns _swcet tone,
anrl are consiclerecl to rival in evcry rcspect the
famons instrumcnt.s of thnt grcnt mnstcr. Sorne
of bis violins possess n dislinguishing rnnrk in
n ritther nbrupt rise in tbe centre. Otto de·
scribes it as a "sharp ridge.'' It is not ex-
nctly so, but is still very difl'erent to the;
grnclnalswell on the otber Cremo M instrmncnts.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


THB Ali1ATT PAMTLY, 101

His best violins, whicb nre known by the title


of Grand AIMtis, are those which appro:ti mnte
olosoly to the! vcry best instruments of Strndi-
unrius nud Gunmerius. Tbore can be no cloubt
tbercfom, tl1nt iu these fine speciweus of his
skill, he hnd hit npon the snroe principles
which nftenvnrds gnided those disting nisl1ed
artistas in the coustruction of thosc most re-
nowned viol ins which now command tl1e admi-
ration of violinists throughout the world.
W e hnvo sni<l tbnt the chief charncteristic of
the AmnLi violins is a swcct but not •nowerfo l
tone. It is necessnry to quulify nud expluin
this remnrk. From thoir excolleut construction
aud benntiful woocl, which has cviden tly been
selected wilb the !Fentest care for its resonnnt
qunlity- their age nncl long an<l careful use,
tlHlir tone is divested of nll extraueous propcr-
lies, ancl become fine and pure. Notwith-
stancling thereforo tbeir original smnll tone,
wbeu fittecl wiLh tbe moclern nppliances of
lnrger bnrs nud highcr bridges, somc hnve beeu
fotUld quite competent for all purposes. In
l SG 1 the celebrntecl instrument by Antonius
Amati, which was presented by George IV. to
o

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


102 THK AMATI FAMILY.

Francois Crnmer, wns sold by nuction, nnd it


was statecl in the cntalogne thnt that grent
p erformer nlwnys Jed the Ancient nnd other
coucerts on that iustrnment. The fact no
cloubt is thnt it is thc fine nnd pure qunlity
of tone tha.t tells, nrising from nge, consta.nt
use, nncl benutiful woods. They scem to be
uow divested of nll extraneous cbnrncter-
istics a.nd nre becorne refined nnd etherenl, nnd
are in fMt the nightíngnles of liJe stringed
tribe. 1'hnt the Strncüunrius nnd G'lmrnerius
hnve equnl qunlity combined with rnúre power
arising frorn tbeir flntter model is undoubtcd,
nncl therefore tbey are the rnost valuecl. It is
believecl that the finest specimen of tbe skill
of Nicholas Amati is iu thc possession of Olo
Bu JI It is of thc lnrge pnttem, nncl possesses
n magnificent tone, as mnoy of our readers
hnve no doubt hcnrd.
We thiuk we shnll piense our rendcrs by
inserting verbntim tbe following excellent de-
scription of the Amnti instruments, furnished
to us by nn able nnd experienced conn01sseur.
Be says : -

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


THE A.Mo!.Tl FAMILY. 103

"NrCHOLAS .1\!v!ATiand theBROTHEl\SAMATI.


The tone is with few exceptious sweet in quality
and seldom powerful, but ndmirably suited to
the nmatem·. The workmauship is of the
higl1est order, which conduces to this result.
The wood must ha ve been selected with groat
judgment. The bellies are nearly always of a
fine reedy nnture. Somet1mes tbe backs are
whole backs (in one piece), at others in two,
more often the lntter. The varnish of a beau-
tiful amber colour, nnd there are a few instnnces
of fine red. Thc sidos gencrally rnther shallow,
heads of exquisito form nnd well defined. Tbe
caro bestowed upon them 11lone bespcaks the
hnud of the nrtist. There are severa! mngui·
ficent tenors aod violoncel!os, and perhnps
three or four do u ble basses. The tenors :u·e
sometimes seen of lnrgc size. The Amati
fnnúly made s~veral sets of instruments for
foreign court~, which bear their particular
nrms, mostly benutifully pninted on tbe backs.
Tbe violins known ns Grnnd Amatis are tbe
best, nud were mnde by Nicho! as Amati. They
take their nmne from their size. He nlso made
mno y long pattern instruments, and nlso

..
© Biblioteca Nacional de España
] 04 THE M1A'fl FAMILY.

severa! three qunrter violius, which hnve con·


ferred a grent hoon upon juvcnile violiuists
who are able to purchnse thero, by giving them
nu opportuuity of enrl y becoming familiar wilh
the iueproncl1nble Itnlinn qunlity of tone.' '
In reference to the reronrk ronde in the pre·
cecling poragraph, it is recorded that n set of
instruroents, no doubt one of tbose therein
nlludcd to, wa,:; ronde for Charles !lth of l'rnnce
~y Andrew Aronti, consisting of twenty·four
violins, six violas, nnd eight bnsses. 'Ihese
were lost froro Versnilles in 17()0, nud hnve
not b een recoverecl, except two which M. Cnr-
tier discovered some yenrs siuce. Notwith·
standing thnt Andrcw Aroati wns the :first
roal;er of auy note, except Gnspar di Snlo
of Brescia, it is olear thnt he luul nttnined
an nstonisbing nmount of skill, as therc
is nn nccount of n violoncello which wns offered
by rmction at the sale of the celebrated Sir
Wro. Ourtis's iustruments by Mr. M usgrnve,
who in the catalogue statecl that " a document
was given to the proprietor when be purchnsed
this instruroent, stating tbat 1t was presentecl
by Pope .Pius 5th to Charles 9th of France for

..
© Biblioteca Nacional de España
TRE AMATI FAMlLY. 105

]lis chapel. It has bccn richly pninted, the


arms of Franco being on the back, nod the
mollo 'Pictnto et Justiti!L' on tho siclcs. Tbe
tone of this violoncello is of extrnordinnry
powcr nucl richness." Mr. Forster supposes
this lo bnve becn one of the instruments roen·
tionetl before, but thnt would destroy the vnlue
of the documeut given to Sir Willinm, because
if Anclrew Amnti mnde it for Pope Pius 5th,
who presentecl it to Cltnrles Oth it could not
bnve bccn one of those made by him expressly
for thnt monarch. It is clenr bowcvcr tht\t
the tono wo.s both granel nncl fine, nnd there·
fore the first of the Amnt.is mus t havo nttainecl
grent ability in his art. Wc hnve before mcn·
tioned the celebrntocl Nicholns A mnti viol ín,
dnted l(Ji'9, formerly the propcrty of the same
dis tinguishecl collector, Sir W. Ourtis, aud
which hns since been sold by 1\![r. Hart to the
great violinist Ole Bull. Tbis is considered
thc finesL specimen of the Amnti skill nnd wns
thus clescribcd iu the catn.Jogue of the snle-
" This is justly considered ns one of tho most
beautiful and finest instruments in the WHOLE
WORLD." Thc CounL de Oastelbarco of Milo.n,

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


106 TBE AMATI l'AMlLY.

possessed a qunrtett of iustruments by Nicho-


las Amuti, whicb hnve since beon sold in Loo-
don (see the urticle on Stracliuarius.) M.
F etis describes these as admi·rable, but as o m
readers will see, thc English connoissours do
not appenr to have coincidecl generully with
the crilic on their qunlity, as only one of them
produced any grent prico. T here is a splendid
grnnd Amnti in the hnnds of an amateur in
D erbyshire, which ·formcrly belongecl to Mr.
Honkey the bunker, for whom it was purchnsed
with othors by Vio tti, who ded icated scvernl of
bis compositions to him. This instrument
possesses in un cmi.nent degree the 11dmimble
quajities of the Amnti tone, with nlso consider-
able power. Anotber of the same set in the
same hands is n splendid Stracliuarius of the
large pattern with a magnificeut tone. There
a re many fine exnmples of the difforcnt mnke1·s
of this celebrated name in this country. E ng-
lish connoisscurs suffer those of no otber
:nation to eJS:cel them in tbeir coDections.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


ANTON IUS STRADI UARIUS .
A most interesting nccount of Antonius
Strndiunrius, who is genernlly thougllt to be tbe
grcntest mnker of tbl'l violin- bns been pub-
lishNl by l\1. Fctis, nnd trnnslntcd iuto English
by 1\rr. Bisho¡J of Chelteubnm. In nddition
to rccords of bis family, which wns no nncient
onc in Cremona, obtained by ill. Vuillaume in
bis persc,·cring labours in scnrch of informa-
tion, nnd which be plnced nl tbo scrvice of M.
Fetis-the lntter entera deoply in to whnt we
mny cnll tho science of violín mnking, nud
prcsonts us_ with mnny intorestiog nnd valunble
experimonts which have been mude on 11-ag-
monts of the grent instrumcnts, in order to
nsccrtnin the exact principies which cnabled
Strndiunrius to build with such undeviating
nnd brillinnt success. Tha book is well wortby
the perusal of al! nmateurs of Lile violín .

• •

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


108 ANTONIUS STRADIUARIUS.

ANTONlUS STRADlUARIUS wn.s boru in


Oreroonn, in 1644, nnd died thcrc in 1737,
hnviug lived in thc penceful oxercise of his art
to the grent age of ninty·lbrce. There is n
violín still extnnt which benrs bis s ign11ture
nn<l provcs this fnct. In the enrly -pnrt of bis
l ife, he was a pupil of Nicl10lns Amnli, n.nd
soro e of his enrl y productions benr bis roaster·s
na me, ns seems to hnvc becn the custom. Thesc
iustJ:umeuts bn.ve thc Amnti chnrnotcristics,
nnd hnve some of the backs cut tbe coutmry
wny of thc gmin, forming whnt are kuown by
the nnme of " sln.b·' bacl<s. He nfterwnrds
enlarged his model nnd ndoptcd n ilatter
pnttcrn, nnd fin~ ved nt tho grcntest pcrfection
nbout 1700. From thnt period to 1725,
everything be made bore the impress of
t!Je grcat master. Tn shnpc, the Cll ttiug of
the S holas, the varnish, nnd the accmncy with
which nll thc pnrts wcrc ndjust<ld in·hnrmouicnl
rebtion, from thnt time he excellcd nll \\'!10
hnd gonc befare him, or wlto havo since nt-
tempted tho ilifficult tnsk of vioing with him .
All these instrnmen ts are of the Jlat pnttern,
which is now proved to be best adapted for the

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


ANTONIUS STRADTUARIUS. 109

production of a rich, deep and powerfut tone.


It woulcl appenr thnt thc more clcvated model
usecl beforo his time, nlthough it nllowecl of
very fine qunlity of tone, tended to preven& thnt
slroug vibration wbich is the cause of great
tone. 1\l. Felis insists thnt the 1•iolins of
Strndiunriqs were as good and fine in qunlity
of tone whcn macle ns they are now, contmry
to the estnblished opiuion that limeis neces-
snry ns well ns use for rellning ancl perfecting
all violius. He gives nu instnnce of a violín
made by Strailiuarins, now in Pnris, whlch he
statcs has never becu p!ayecl upou-but we
must beg to donbt this ft~ct. Though we aro
xcnuy to nthnit, thr.t the careful adjustment of
the düferent pnrts all(l the seloction of fine
woocl, woulcl teud to perfect tbe tone of tlJCse in·
strnments, much sooner tban o ther~ lcss cnre·
fully fnshioned, yet in tho ins tnnce he brings
forward in support of his theory, it does not
appenr quite so clear thnt tbe violín nevcr had
bcon ¡¡Jnyed
. upon. Ou. the contrary, there nre
mnny yenrs uuaccountcc1 for, in his descliption
of it, during which it migbt hnve nnc1ergone
considerable use. It appenrsnlmost impossible
l'

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


110 A:;TOXIUS STRADIUARIU S.

thnt while in the hnnds of various posses-


sors, so fine nn iustrumout should ha-,o been
suffercd to líe idle in a Cllhinet, as thougb it
worc n picture to be looked nt, but not touched.
From its cond iuon, howcver, it is clenr thnt it
bnd nlwa} s bcen in hauds that prized it, f01· be
describes it ns bnving quite the nppenrnncc of
n new instrument. In this rcspect, ther<1fore,
wc must slill ndopt tbo opinion of tbe most
omincnt judges, iucluding thnt recordccl by
Spobr, tbut it requires both time nnd use to
pcrfcct nll instrumonts of tho violín class. I t
would apponr moreovcr thnt tl1is has always
becn a settled bcli~f, for oven i\fnco in his
"Music's :\Ionument;' publisbed in 1 G7G. says
"Wo chiefly mine old instrumcnts before nbiV
for by experienco thoy nrc found t9 be far tllo
bcst." Asto thc condition of this instmmcnt
whicb F etis stntes to be quite uniquc for its
perfcction aml nppnrcnt nowness, our
countryman, Mr. Gar<lincr, in his interesling
worL:; " )!usic and .Fticnds," snys thnt :Mr.
Chnmpion, nn amateur hnd gi'l"en 300 guineos
for a Stra.<liunrius violín und tenor, of a beauti-
ful ycllow colour iucliniog lo ornnge, nnd which

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


ANTONftlS 'STRADITJARLOS, ] l'l

appeared to have been untoucbed sincc the


day they were made. Here tben in this country
is n double instnnce of tbe sume fact as to con-
d.ition, for wbich :11:!. Fetis claims for thc París
instrumcut the title of uuique. The fact is
thnt these fine violins l1ave for many years
been so highly appreciatcd that tbeir possessors
have takcn Lhe most extrnordinary care to pre-
vcnt their being damaged or disfigured, a.nd
there are mnny instanccs of violins in equally
perfect cond.it.ion.
After 1725, at wlüch date Stradiuarius was
80 years o id, his work lost sorne of its cllarac-
teristic excellencc though still of great merit.
His sons, Homobono aud Francesco, now
assistcd bim, but lle appenrs &till to bave
signed them, occasionally adding to their
nnmes bowever, the words sub disciplina A..
Stmdiua1'ius. He had mauy pupils, thc
chief aud the best of whom was· Carlo Ber-
gonzl. There were also Gobetti of Venice,
Guadagnini of Cremoun. Michael Angelo Ber-
gonzi, aud othcrs mentioned iu the ·d.ictionnry.
Fina exumples of the works of his pupils are
now becomiug very valunble, nnd are well
worthy n~tent.ion.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


112 ANTONIUS STRADIUARIUS.

St(adiunrius mude n fow instruments inlaül


witb ebony nud ivory round the eclges. Thcre
is n quartett of them, al! henring thc samc dntc
1 !i81·. Oue is in thc collcction of Charles
Plowdcn, Esq. ; tbc oLher Yioi in belongs to o.
gentlemnn in Stauordshiro; the violoncello
belongs to thc Qucen of Spnin, nnd Lho tenor
was once the property of Si r W m. Curtís.
l'bis is a vcry curious nncl remnrkable sct of
instnnncnts, vcry highly finishcd nnd in fine
preservation. Therc is al so nnothcr vio!in inlaid
which belonged to the In te Dr. Camidge ofYork,
bearing date 1713. A. Fountaiu, Esq., has in bis
possession thc hlst violin which Stmiliunrius
made. This insLrument is known as tho
Eabeuock 'Viol ín from the previous owner's
nnmc from whom i\fr. Fountnin b:1d it. Charles
P lowden, Esq., has a qunrtettof splendid instru·
ments by Stradiuarius, of wbich oue violin is of
the Graml Pattern, dntecl 1719 ; nnother dated
J 711 ; which are perfect in model nod prcser·
vntiou, nnd both first·clnss ; the thinl is a re·
mnrknble violio, with richgolden vnrnisb, dateil
1709-a pcrfect instrnment, wh ich hns been
twice sold for SGOO, wns formerl y tbe property

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


ANTONIOS STRAD!OARIOS. 113
of Emilin.ui nnd is still known by his name.
The fourth violin is tho inlnid instrument men-
tioned nbovc. Besides tbese, M r. Plowden
possesses n maguificetli violoncello by Stradi-
unrius- n remnrkable specimen both for b eau ty
nml tone ; nnd al so, four violins by J oseph
Gu~rncrius which will be-men tioned under the
head of thnt master.
Therc is in Derbyshire a very fine Stradi-
unrius which wns purchnsed b y Viotti for his
friend llfr. Haakcy, from whom tb is nnd the
Amati mentioned elsewhere went to bis brother,
a distinguished nmateur, w]JO died some years
ngo. Wm. Rownrd, Esq., of Shefficld, has a
fino Strndiunrius violín, of the most beautiful
yellow varnish, splendid wood, fine tone, nnd
p erfect condition, whicb formerly helonged to
Salomon.
·we mny also mention h crc th nt tbe late
emincu t violinist Ernst, plnyed u pon a very fine
Strad iunrius Violín wh ich wns presen ted to him
by A. Fonntaiu, Esq., nn nrdent admirer of
tbnt fomous player. J oacllim also uses a
Strndiuarins. Servnis, tho great French per-
former, uses a Strndiuarius Violoncello, wbich

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


111 ANTOt"WS STltAOfOARIU S.

is said to be the hundsomest known, a.nd wbich


cost him 500 guineas.
The vnlue of tJ1o bcst productions of tho
genios of Stradiuarius is JIOW very great. Mr.
Bctts, of London, l1nd ono for wbich he rcfu sed
the enormous sum of .!!500, nod Dragonctli
nlso refused :!!800 for n clouble bass. The
highest price, .8600 howcvcr wns given twice
for thc '·iolin now bclonging to :Mr. Plowdco.
But oven such p1ices bm·c beco exceeded by
thnt of tl1e celcbrntod J\iog Joscph Guarnorius
meotioued elsewherc, whi oh renlised .:!l700. It
must not be understoo<l howevcr that su~h
priccs nre the rule, for it is only for extraordi-
nnry specimens that nny such great sum cnn
be ohtain ed. Exccllcnt instmmcnts nre ú·e·
-c¡ucntly sold for mucl1 smnller nmounts, nnd it
must nlso be romcmlJered thnt none but thoso
mndo from ubout 1700 to 1725 renlise snch
·enormous sums. His carlicr productions,
wbich resemble those of his master, ancl which
are known by the nnmc of Strndiunrius Amntis.
cnn be had occasionnlly for moderatc prices.
An undoubted violin of nny pcriod of this
,grcnt mnster's mnke, is \VCl! worthy tbe ntten·
.tion of tho virtuoso. They nre nll good, bttt

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


ANTONIUS STRADJUARTUS: 115·

the grnnd pattern of this wonderful g~nius,


possessing equal sweetness with greatly in-
crensed power, are onl y now to be bo.d by
conuoisseurs of unlimited menos.
As an illustrntion of thc tnoro modemte
pdoes which these fine productious command,
we think it may interest our renders to give
horc thc result of n public saic of Cromona
instruments belongiug to the Count de Castel-
barco of :1\Iilan, a. distinguighed amateur. 1\I.
FeLis in bis work stntes thnt the Couut pos-
sesscu " two qunrtetts of Stradiunrius, very
remarknble iustrumeuts ; nnotber of .Joseph
Gnnrucrius; a fourth of )[icholns Amati, nnd
lastlr n quartctt of Steiner," of which he
specinll y parLicularises thc Tenor as " bein g a
moclel of perfection ns to workwausllip, and.
the tone of which is of extreme bcauty." These-
iustruments were sold by auction by Messrs.
Puttick nnd Siwpson, on tbe 2Gth J uno, 18G2:
We quote thc reporto!' tbo "Times," by which
it will be seeu that om· Euglish conuoisseurs
did not apprecinte them so highly as l\f. FeLis.
The " Times" clid not mentiou thc Guarnerii
and tbe Stoioer nt all, we presume becauee t.be·
pri ces were uothing remarknble.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


116 AXTONIUS STRADJO.~RIU.5.

LOT.
1 Violín by Strndinnrius, 1712 i:70
2 Do. tlo. 1090 .1!56
5 Tenor do. 1715 :8100
6 Violin do. 1701 .1!13.5
S Do. el o. 168-í :8135
9 Do. do. 1713 .!:90
12 Do. Kicholns Amnli, ....39 gs.
13 Do. Andrew Amnti.. ...... 3() gs.
26 Violoncello, Strndiuurius l607 .1!21 O
2R Do. clo. I G87 ,!: 115
30 Do.-Nicholns Amnt i.... l G87 Sl30
S I Original LcLtcr by Strndinnrius ~8
At thc same snlc n Gmnd Amnti Yiolin,
j ewelled nt thc comcrs, .!!(;0; Violin by Gunr-
n erius, 38 guineas.
In nddition to tho nbo\'e wc mny meulion
thnt thc Strndinarius Viol ín, which once bc-
longcd to a membcr of thc Mcclici Fnmil y, wns
sold by anction n sbort timo ugo, at tbe U otc l
de Drouct in Paris, for 5,7-ll:íf., abont .1!230,
nn excellent pricc for n Pnrisian connoisscur.
Wo hnve nlrendy mentioncd mnny fine instru-
ments by Stradiunrius which nre in the bnnds
of connoisseurs nnd porfonuers . We will

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


ANTON I US STRADIUARIUS. 117

now menlion a fact wbich in tbe estimation of


all true lovers of tbese fine violius is to be grently
regrettcd. It is not tbe only instnnce, ns pro-
bably our renclers are nware thnt tbe celebrnted
Guarnerius Violín of Paganini, is now lockecl
up in n museum 11t Genon. Thero is nt a
musen m in tbe cit)' of Florence, a qunrtett .of
bcnutiful instrumcnts by Strncliunrius, consist-
ing'of two violins, tenor, ancl violoncello, which
wore presentcd to the institution by nn Itnlinn
Noblemnn, whosc ancesto rs purchnsed thcm
from the master himsclf. Thosc instruments
are most benutiful and in tho higbest prescrvn-
tion. But of nll oLher curiosil.ies, Cremona
Violins nre the most unsuitable for a musen m.
becnuse they lie tbere dead, and aro no more
thnn nnmes. Tbe soul of music wbich is em-
bodied in them is imprisonecl witbin woocl aucl
crystal, nnd is no more henrd of meo. Let no
one leave his Cremona to a museum.

Before closing our ncco unt of tbis great
master, it may uot be unintoresting to stutc
thnt in llis lifc time, he appears to have chnrged
· nbouL .84 for a violín, nncl thnt he ronde so
many clnring the comse ofhis long nncl indus-
<1

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


) 18 A:\T0:\105 STRADTUARIU S.

trious cnreer, tbnt his fcllow citizens spoko of


him ns ricb. "As rich ns Stmtliuarius,'" wns u
connnon remnrk, ns wo seo by 1\I. Fetis' notico.
AnoLhcr nnecdoto is, thnt Cervetto, nn
ltnlinn mcrchant in Lontlon, hntl a consigo·
mcnt of 'l'iolius from tbc mnstcr him~clf, aml
ns he coultl not gct four pounds cach for them
lte returncd them. This nppenrs strongly to

disprove the assertion thnt bis instrumcnts
wcrc ns gootl wbcn mntlo ns they are now,
cspccinlly wben wc find thnt in 1GG2, ~10 wns
gi,•etl for two Cremoun violins for King Charles'
bnnd, no doubt thc clclcr Amnli's, wllich nt
that date would be gctting mcllowcd by time.
I t is cle:tr thnt King C'harlc~. or tbe lcadcr of
his bnnd, knew th~ vnluc of Cre:nonn inslru·
mcnts, for rcckoning thc diffcrcnco in lhc vnlttc
of moncy nt thc two pcriotls, ~20 thcn would
p urchnso &:120 worth of goods now. I t is
th crcforo extrnordinnry thnt i f thcy wero ns
good new ns when they nro old, the paltry sum
of four pounds coulcl not be got for tbem. The
rcnl lrutb no doubt is tbnt wbocYer tbo
mnl{cr, time must be lho refiner, nnd o'\'cn
gonius like tltnt of Strndiunrius nnd Gnurnerius
,,_.,
~ .

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


ANTONlUS STRADIUARI.US . 119

could not impnrt thnt grnml, rich, nnd mellow


toue which distinguishes them without the :Ud
of old Fnther Time.

T.E!E 0REMO::-IA VAR!ilSH.


Those who desire to mnke tbemselves nc·
quninted with the chief cbnrncteristics of thc
grent CremoM mnkers should tnke every oppor-
tunity of cxnmioing genuino instrumen ts. In
nddition to the other externa! indicntions we
ha ve pointecl out, one of the most important,
which is nlso the most difficult, if not im-
.
possible to imitnte, is the vnrnisb, including
tho colour. Nono of tlwm sccm to ha ve
adl1ered to one colour only. The present
master for instance covered somc of bis fiuest
' 'iolins with R dccp ricl1 ycilow, nlmost ap-
proncbiug to ornuge. Others ngnin will be
fouud of n fino ¡·cd, hnving sometbing of n
most lo>ely ligbt cheny tiot. Now these
colours wcro mixcd by tho best mn,kers with
ambor vnrnish of the purest nncl clearest con-
sisteucy, nucl both colours nud vnrn ish nre per-
fectly free from thnt mnddy sort of appearnuce
whicb so often d.i>figures mocleru iustrumeuts.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


120 ANTONIOS STRAD!U.l.RJUS.

The effect is thnt of perfect transparcncy. You


look nt a olear perfect rich colour, as it wem,
through thc purcst crystal. This is one of
the most certnin indicnt.ions of a genu ino in-
strument. The moderns unfortunately seem
to hnve lo:;t the sccrct of mnking this lovely
tmnspnrent clcnr coloured vnrnish, and the
consequence is that a connoisseur of nbility
and expcricnco never doubts when he sees nu
instrmuont whcther it be the work of a great
master. IL is howe,•er supposed thnt al l tbe
genuine producLions of tho chief Cremoua
mnkers are now known, nnd we would not
therefore have our rendcrs flatter themselves
they can pick up any of them in a casual way.
Vigilnni eyes and shnrp judgments have long
swept over Europe in scnrch of thcm. But
the ndvautage is Lhis-that a knowledge of the
best enablcs,, the amateur to disccrn a near
appronch to i t, and thus distinguish Lhoso
mnkers wl10 are not so well known, though,
being the pupils o.nd followers of tbe grent
mnsters, they nre well worthy of his choice.
L nrge dinmonds are rare and very denr. A
smaller gem must suffice the amateur of
moclernte means.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


THE GUARNERIUS FAl\1ILY.

This is nnother glorious nnme in the aunnls


of Cremonn. 1\fnny of the fhst counoissours,
now hesitnte whether to npply the epitbet
groatest to Gunrnerius orto StraditHtrius. The
palm is Lhercfore dil' iclcd between tbem. Cer-
taiu it is however thnt innsmucb ns money
rules the world, if we resort to Lhnt test, Guar-
nerius is the brightcst gcm, for it is racorded
that he hns sol<l for .S700 nnd Stmdiu nrius for
ouly .SGOO. Most of the rich connoisseurs
tbereforc desire to possess botb. The grent
plnycrs, to whom money is more au object,
divide their nífcctious between them, nud are
sntisfie<l with cither one or tbe other, ns chnuce
or opportunity mny <lecide.
Tho first of this celobratcd fnmily was An-
drens, who was born in 1G30 and died abotlt

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


122 THE GUARI'ER!OS FAMlLV.

1695. He appears to hnvo bcen a pupil of


Nioholns Amati, and shows much of ltis
tcachcr's careful finish. llis iustruments nro
gcncmlly benuti fully mn<lo, of good aud hnntl·
somo wood, with cxccllcnt vnrnish, principally
of amber colour like thnt of thc Aruatis. lT o
nlso occasionnlly, but much more seldom, uscd
red colourcd vnrni sh. This :utiste Í3 not
faruous for producing n grc:tt tone in his in·
strumonts, und he is thcrcfore not elevated to
tho first clnss, b ut ho mnclo very good violius
which are 'Well worthy thc ntlention of tbo
amateur. We havo sccn n very Gne spccimcn
in tho hnnds of A. Brigbt, Esq., of Shefficl<l,
wbich 'Wns purchnscd of :\Ir. llnrt, nnd wbich
is deoidcdly the best instrurncnt 'We bave secn
of this master. I t is rcmarknbly handsome, of
n bcnutiCul yellow colour, the bnck of onG
picce with rnthcr smnll Gguro, thc ribs simi lm:,
tho hcnd most carefully ou(l nccnrntcly formed
nnd the belly of fino wood. The tone is nlso
moro powerful thon Andrcw·s -riolins genernlly
nrc, nnd it is nltogctbcr n very fine example of
bis work.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


TllE GUARNERIOS l'A..\!l L Y. 123

GursEPPE GUARNERIUS is considerecl to be


the son of Andrew, nnd his instrument.s
nro gcnerally signed as fiilius Andr(e, very
probnbly to disLinguish him from bis more
celebrme<l cousin nncl nnmesake, who is bcsiclcs
general iy lmown by the nnme of J osepb del
Gesn. Guisoppe's instmments are vcry similar
to his cousiu's iu qunlity-but less p owerfnl
aud probab!y not so rounü iu tone. They
baYo however, a firm well defined k ind of souod,
which is always plcusing both to the plnyer
nncl Ülo henrcr, the fonncr ncYcr fecling that
tllo tono will g iYo wuy und~r bis bow. There
are a grent numbor with " slnb" bncks. Thc
varuish is of first quolity, auü his violins are
yenrly becomiug more val uitblo nucl of grenter
importanco. We havo seen a violoucello b y
this master, which is 'l'ery fine. The back, ribs
nnd hcnd of very bcnuLiful smnll ñgurcd wood.
The belly of very fine grained wood, thc b nte
lookiug lil¡e fine threads of silk st.rctched nt
regular inten-nls the wholo widtb nnd lenglh of
the iustmmeut, nucl with uu e.s:ceedingly rich
red vnruish. It possesses also o. fine quality
of touc, nud is dnted 1713.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


124 THE GUARNERlUS FAmLY.

PIETRO, another son of Andrens, dates from


1690 to 1720 . In the latter part of his life,
he nppenrs to havo removed from Crcmonn to
Mnntna, bis labels benring date from thence.
Ho wns n pupil of bis father, but is said not to
have equalled him in cr.rcfnl finish . Bis in-
struments, however, commnud considerable
respect nucl fetch n good pricc, n violonccllo of
bis bciug rccorde<l to have sold a fow yenrs
ngo fod2J20.
JoS!U'H, nephew of Anclrens, born in 1G83,
and died ú1 l7J5, is the Just und best of the
rncc of violin muken¡ of this nnme. flc wns
distingnishe<l by the title of Joseph del Gesu,
through his using ou bis labels, thc monogram
I .H .S ., with a cross O\'Cl' or through the H .
Bis enreer nppenrs to havo beeu of a very
chequered complcxion. From nll thc t\Ccounts
that hnve come clown to us, l1e seems to have
been a mnu of iHegular hnbits and ccccntric
genius. I n conscqucnce of these pecttlinrities,
bis instruments uiff'er grently in their chnrnc-
tensllcs. Neilher the modol, thc wood, nor
the vnroish po:;sesses mucb verisimilitndo at
diffcrent periods of bis cnrecr. They nre all,

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


TFIE GUAR~ERII:S fAliU.Y. 125
howcver, mnrkcd by the stamp of gcnius, and
give but little troublo w 11 well informcd con·
not~sonr. Evon under thc most distressi ng
circumslnnce s, wbeu on some nccount, he was
conflncd in prison, and wns obligccl to be in-
debted to his gonler's claughtcr for tho materials
witb which he worked. lhcy still bcnr the
chnrnctcristi cs and originnlity of n great master.
Tite flnish, bowever, of lhosc whicb be made
nt this poriod wos in ferior to tho otbers, being
rntl•Cr conr·se nncl slovcnly, nud thc work alto-
gelhor li ttle indicnting extomnlly tbc signs of
tbnt rcnl cxcellence whioh tbcy possess. A t
bis bcst pcriod, howe\·er, his instruments nre
of rRre bclluty and merit, nnd cqunl or pcrbnps
excclthose of Strncliunrius. Tho wood be then
used wns of fine qunl ity, aud the \'nroish rich
ancl lustrous nnd ver y oftcn of s imilat· lovely
tints ns thosc of tbat mnstct·. Mnny of his iu-
st.rurncnts nre of rnt!Jcr smull p1mern, but in
bis bcst period, he producccl so me of large :>ize
nnd of cxtrnordinnry power nnd gmml~u r of tone.
Among thom '"as the f>tmous fn"ourite ,;olin
of P11gaoini, thc renown of which, snys M.
Vuillnumc, " was eqnal Lo thnt lÜ its mnstcr.''
ll

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


126 THE GUAR!iERIUS FA~ULY.

This was thc instrumont on whicb, the


most celebrated of nll violin phtyers thc world
ovcr snw, prothlcecl thoso oxtmordinary eflccts
which nston is hed tho wbolo musicalworld, nnd
wbich will never bo forgotten by tbose who
henrd them, nor pcrhnps excelled by nny othcr.
Thc~o instruments nro however unformnntely
very rnre, nnd ns rich connoi$seurs will hnve
them if possiblo, th o vnlu ~ of thcm has como
to be very grent. Wc hnve elsewhere men-
tioned the mngnillocnt violín known by the
nnme of the KingJosopb Gunrnorius, for whioh
Mr. Bart receivecl tho cnormous sum of ili700,
which is the largest nmount evcr obtnined for
n violín on record. This ~pl endid ,;oJin is of
largo pnttern, with benutiful rich ornnge yellow
vnrnish und splendicl woocl. It wns importcd
in to tbis country by Mr Bart, und hns been
in the hnnds of tbose oothusinstic nud judicious
collectors, Mr. James Goding nud Mr. Stewn.rt.
Joscpb Guamerius nppenrs to hnve endcn-
voured to produce tbo gmnclcst tone, combin-
ing mnjesty nnd reflnemont. 1\Inny peoplo
tbink be did so without thougbt or design, but
wo think otherwise. In tho first pln.ce be sotlms

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


TBE GUARNERTUS FAM!LY. 127

to hnve fixecl ou Gaspar di Salo nnd Mngini


as his wodels, for if n compnrisou be mncle we
Rhnll find tbere are many points which re-
semble theso instruments, for example, the
peculiar shnped sound boles, the mnnner in
whiclJ thcy are plnced nnd the f:lat model, all
of wbiol1 tend to produce power, whilc he ob-
tained the qunlity from tbe wonderful ingenuity
be exercised in leaving tbe tbicknesses of tbe
wood in ·evidently the correct pinces, wbich
wns Lhe necessary step in ndvnuce. H e cer-
tainly ronde mnny rough instruments which
are nscribed to bis imprisonmcnt, and wbich
are uow cnlled the Prison Guarnerii, bu t the
vatnisb on these even is not surpassed. He
made mnny of a rich yellow colour, and others
of red, tbe Jatter of wbich are matcbless iustru-
ments. Bis beads are not fine! y cut, but the
cbaracter he gave tbem has never be en excelled.
In the first rank of Joseph Guarnerius in-
struments we must no doubL pince that bclong-
ing to Pngnnini, which would, if ü could
be obtained, commnnd an extmordinnry price,
a.nd there are nlso roan y otltcr nohle productions
of his skill extant. The King Joseph Guar ·
nerÍlL'l we have before men tioned. Mr. Plowden

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


128 THE GU.UHil;;RIUS FAMILY.

hns four very valunble violins by this master.


One wns formerly thc property of Mr. Goding,
nnd wns esteemecl by him tl1e fincst in l1is
collcction. Another is quite eqnnl, more highly
finisbecl nnd has his splendid red vumisb. Tbe
thircl wns f¡,nuerly the propcrly of Ole Bull,

nnd is considered of tbe finest moclel of the
mnster in bis more un finished nnd lnrger sized
instruments, dnted 1714. Tbe fomth, Jcss well
known, but perbnps more perfcct, certainly in
• tone, 17112. These fonr iustrnmonts nre cou-
siderecl by most of the virtuosi, to be probably
the fiuest cxnmples extnut of this grent master.
Certain ly there nre few collectors who can bonst
of h nving so mnny fino violins ns tl1ese fotn· by
Guarneri.ns, ancl the fonr by Strndin!lrins pre-
viously described. Mr. P lowdcn has nlways
gone on the principlo of getling the vcry best
iustrnmcnts of ench master, and bis tnstl:f nnd
judgroe.nt nre wcll eviclenccd in h.is collection.
'l'hc lat.c Earl of Fnlmouth possessecl so me very
vnluablo instruments such ns the Ki'esewetter
Gunmerius nud the Jnruovick Gunroerius, so
nn.mccl ofter tbeir owncrs, nnd nlso n fine Mngini
Tenor, ni! ofwhich wcre purchnscd by ~r. E.art.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


TflE GU ARNERIUS FAMILY. 129

The late lamentad Prince Consort had a very


fine tenor by J oseph Gunrnerins, which was
higbly fiuished and had belonged to Drago-
netti. Tbere are mnny other fine specimens
of Gunrnerius in this cou ntry. E nglisb col'
lectors, with that splendid contempt for cost
which d1stinguishes thero, nllow no fine instru-
ments to leave tbe couutry if they k now it, nnd
tbe couscqucnce is that iJl the present day,
and for sorne time bnck, Eugland rnnks first
in the number nnd vnlue of the Oreroona.
Violins she possesses. N ext comes Frnnce, who
has sorne nble connoisseurs; tben Russia aud
Gcrroany. Italy, strange to sny, has s uffered
thero nll to le1tve her, and tbough the nntive
country of St.rndiuru:ius and Gunrnerius, it is
doubtful whether other nations bave not at-
trncted all th~J fiuest instruments outof herown
possession. The grent rise in the value of
these extrnordinary instruments is no doubt
due to the fact that tbey were built very strong
in wood, tbe effec t of which would be lo de-
precinte the tone wbeu they were built, bnt
which, now time has umelioratecl thero nnd the
'vood has become cnpable of free vibration,

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


130 THE GUARNERlUS Ft\MTL\'.

has refined th e qua.Jity and incrensed the tone.


Fifty yenrs ngo, a Gunrnorius of tbe best time
might bave been bought for ,e¡;o tbnt will now
commnnd .e500. Neither does it nppcnr that
they have yet reacbed their climax, for they
are yearly iucreasing in vnlue as tbe examples
we bave mentioned clenrly show.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


'l'HE

GREAT TYROLESE MAKER.


JACOB STEINER.

The time hns been when the instruments of


tbis master, wbose nnme is perhnps yet as widely
knowu as tbe Cremonesc, were very higbly
esteemed in England. In Germany it is s~
yet, nud many of the nmntenrs of tbnt country
tlatter tberoselves that Steiner ranks first in the
roll of fnmous violín mnkers Tbeir celebrated
violinist, Spohr, bowever, in bis remnrks on
the subject inserted in bis Violín School does
not coincide witb the opinion of his fellow
countrymen to tbis effect, for he puts Steiner
in the second rnnk, reserving to the first
Nicbolas Amati, Antonius Stradiuarius, aud
J osoph GtHirnerius. In tbis decision he also

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


132 JACOB STEINU.

gener:lll y expresses the opinion of the travelled


professional víolinists of bis owo country as
well as all Europe. Btit it is wcll known thnt
in Germany a well presen•ed instrument of
Steiner·s best periocl will scll for much more
money tbnn uny wh ere else. lo· Et1gland
more espr.cially we adopt exuctly thc reverse
vnluation. Steincr will not now commnnd a
greater prico thnn many of tbe pnpi ls of the
great mnstcrs, ancl perhnps to so me oxtent tbis
mny arise from the ímmense uumber of spu-
rious iust.rumculs beariug bis nnme, which the
inferior Tyrolese makers put fotth to the world
and palmed ou a creclulous .¡JUblic as bis
g0nuiue instruments. Perl1nps no master has
been more oopied and im itttte<l, both in Ger-
mnuy and olsewbere. In Euglaud the violiu
makers iu the begiuuiog of tbe eigh tccnth oen-
tury, mostly copied. the p~tttero and moclel of
Steiner. There must, therefore, be some good
and powerful rcnsou for this general cleprocia-
tion in vnlne nocl reputatioo ')'hich Stciner hns.
suffered. Tbis the cnuclicl iuquirer readily
flnds iu the fnct thut the instru mcots of Stei-
ner, which were generally construoted on a

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


JACOS STt~l NER 133

higb uud peculiar model were only calculated


for the production of a tbin thougb sparkling
tone, wbilo the It-aliuns uimed, particuln.rly in
the fintter instrumcnts, to obtniu a full rich
nucl round tone. This distinctiou is n,pparent
even in tbe older Cremonn mnkers, but if we
comparo tbose ofSteiner witb thoso of Nicholas
Am11ti, of Strncliuatius, or Guarnerius, the tbin
tone of the foro1cr nncl thc ricb round tone of
tbe latter become instnutly most striking.
The conscquence is tbat the ricb amnteurs who
form collections, nncl the g1·eat pcrformers
whose interi!st it is to piense by tbe qunlity of
tone as well as the gmce nnd finish of tbeir
execution, no longer purchuse tbc Steiner
violins except as ¡untters of curiosity in the
cnse of a very fine example. We do not know
any great player who uses n Steiner iustru-
mcnt, as wo sbnll show in nnotlH:r cnticlo. W e
therefore onl¡ now clnss Steiner nmong the
grent mnsters, from bis pnst reputation, nucl
for certain spocial instrum0nts.
J a con STEINl':ll wns n native of t.l1e Tyrol,
nncl was bom at Absom, ncnr Insprnck, nbont
1020. I t is srud thnt nn olcl instrument by
S

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


13J JACOU STI!:l:\Ell.

Kerlino, which he found in thc house, gnvc


him bis first tcndcncics townrds thc nrt of
violín mnking. Cortniu it is bowever Lhnt
wllile yet n youth he ohtniuocl employmont in
thc workshop of Nicholns Amnti. Tbis wns
un cxcellent school for t ho young aspirnnt,
nncl nfter ~ome yPnrs ho ronde some inslru·
mcnts which, with the cxception of sixtccn
which will be mentioncll lntcr, aro considered
to be thc finest SlJecimcns of bis tn.lent. These
fino violins are tho procluct of bis Cremonese
iuspirntion, nnd bcnr n writton !abe! signecl by
bimsclf nnd dnted from Cremo un nbout 1o.u.
These instruments nre modelled higber thnu
thosc of bis master, thus showing a singular
di1·ergence from the principie of grndGn.l de·
crease in tho height of tbo model of the
An1ntis, from Andrcw to Nicbo.lus. Tbis
clivcrgence from that principio, which ended in
lhc flnt model of Stl'l\diunrius, must be con·
sidered to be tho renl cnn~o of the loss of
fovour whicb the Steincr violins, lhougb beau·
ti fui in otber respects, ho.ve undergone. Steiner
cxnggcrnted the old practico instend of fol·
lowing thc new Jights of scicnce, and wbile

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


JAC013 STE!NEU. 135
the latter have yicldcd tl1e brightest rcsults,
tho former hns taruished tbe real tnlent of this
otherwJse excellent artiste. l'robab ly another
renson for the defect.ivt~ tone of Steiner's in-
struments in compnrison wiLh the Cremo-
naso and Brescian, is the practice of model-
ling bis violins with nn extrnordinary and pe-
culiar rise to nbout the foo~ of tbe bridge, nml
then keopiug it nearly flat. Otto describes it
tbus, " thc broachb of tbis raised part is nbout
thc same as thc briclge itself, and tben it falls
off towards the cdges. 'l'hc modcl is precise! y
similar townrds the neck aud 011 the broncl
pan (beueaLh tbe fingor bonrcl.") This dc-
SCl'Íption is only iwperfect in this po int that
su:fficient st.ress is not lnid on Lhe words ja.ll
o.ff. lt is literal! y a falling off, and on the
principies of Rcoustics must of necessity mak e
tbc tone thin. Andrew Amati; ou the con-
trary, bnilt nenrly as high, but beautifully ancl
gradually slopcd thcm down to the purB iug,
nnd h is ínstrume11ts, though small in tone, ~re
yet full, rouncl nnd swcct. 1n other respects
Stcincr flt this period wns 11 most careful
mnker, •tnd ltis instnuncnts show very fino

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


136 JACOB STEINER.

ñnish ancl workmanshp. Tbey are of the


smnll pnttern, wi th the S boles rather shortet
thau tho Cromonas, somcwhnt nnrrow nnd
benutifully formecl; the hencl also smnller ancl
pnrticnlnrly rouncl nncl smooth. The varnish
is similar to that of the Amnlis, and ~he wood
of tbe belly has a fine opeu grnin.
After the procluction of these instrumonts nt
Cremona, Steincr removed to his native placo
and hnving married the claughter of Antonius
Amnti appcnrs to hnve lost his ambition, ancl
mnde mauy very inferior instruments. Bis
J1istory at tllis period is somewhnt melnncholy.
Pressed by the necessities of a fnmily aucl the
wnnt of active pntronnge, his genius lnnguishecl
nncl he becumc negl igcnt nnd carcless in his
work. T his continued for somtl time till for·
tune ngnin smiled upon him, when not being
coropelled to sell for immediate wauts he agniu
resumecl bis careful finish and bcgnn to be
dislinguished as a good mnker. At nbout this
¡Jeriocl Klotz nnd Albnni becnme his pupils,
nnd he produced some excellent iustmmeuts,
which are ofton custinguislwd by thc scrolls
being ornnmented with lions heuds whicl1 nre

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


JACOB STEINER . 137
benutifully cnrvecl. These nnd tbe beads of
oLlJer nuimals are supposed to denote the crests
of his pntrons nt this period. They are dated
from nbout 1650 to 1667 at Absom. Fetis
snys the Frcnch violinist, Alara, has a violín
of this period of the grentest beauty, nncl thnt
tl1cre is in París n genuino Steiner, wh ich be
bns henrd Sivori play upon, which nlthough of
a very smnll pattern has nn unusually brilliant
tone.
Now comes lhe most brill iÚut period of this
artiste's history in a musical sense, tbough
somew!Jat romantic nnd m ystcrious otherwise.
Uctiring to n monastery, it is said after the
denth of bis wife, be there passed Lho romaioder
of his life, bnt tbcre docs not appear to be any
positive informatioo when ho dicd. Wbile
there, bowcver, be resolved to distiuguish the
close of bis cnreer by the constructiou of some
violins of Sllper-eminent 'beauty ancl qnnlity.
This he nccomplished by the nicl of the supe-
!'ior, wbo obtaiuecl for him sorne very fine
wood, out of which those mosL I11mous instru-
ments, kuown by the umne of Electo?· S teine-n;
were mnde by him. These nre the violius

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


138 JACOB STEINEJl .

whicb by common conscnt most entitle th is


artiste to rank with tbe great mnsters. They
are of tbe very highest qunlity of tbe Steiner
tone, which Dubourg describes ns "11 pure
1~nging etherenl tone, comparable to thnt of n
woman's perfect voice-a shnpe of clegnnce-
stuclied finish in overy detail, aud a diaphonous
vru:nisb of golden lme." Such aro tbe ohamc·
teristics, snys tb is cnthusinstic ndmin~r of tbese
productions of Stciucr's tl1ird or last cpoch.
Tbere were si:xteeo of thcse violins, one of wbich
be presented to encb of the twelve E lectors, t\nd
the remaining four to tbe Emperor. Unfortu·
nately tbirteen of tbem appenr to have becn
lost, and the remainder hnve nll been in royal
bands, the E mpress Mm·in Tbercsa., tbe Duke
of Orlenns, granclfnthor ofKing Louis Phitippc,
nncl Fréderick William of Prussin, ond been
presentecl by them ((!l>.cept the lust) to em inent
foreign violinists.
We ha'l"e now prcsentcd a concise sketch of
the career of this celeb rntecl artiste, nncl it is to
be regretted thnt none of his more celebrntcd
violins are known to be in tbis country, toen·
able us to juclge more accuraLely, whether he

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


JACOB STEJNER. 139
succcded, in nny of thcm, in producing any
closo npproximation to thc rich round tone of
tho bcst Crcmona makcrs. Tho bcst of those
known to Eugljsh counoisseurs nrc chnmctcr-
iscd by thc tl1in though brillinnt tone we have
cleticiibed, wruch, wbcu compnrccl with thc
Itnlian mnsterpicces, has lccl to their general
deprccint.ion in the estimntion of tho highest
authorities ancl the most dislinguished per-
formers on thc violín.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


WHY ARE CERTAIN VIOLINS OF
MORE VALUE THAN OTHEB.S?

In consi<loring this question, scvernl diffi-


cultics presenL thcmsolvos to thoinquirer. We
o.ro nll nwnre of the ínfiní tc díversíty of tnstes
in tho first instnnce, nnd in the ncxt, accurnte
judgment is n mnttcr which <lopcn<ls on the
nuion of so mnny qunlitics that ít is rnre índccd
to find two opinions complctely nliko. Nevcr-
tholotis we do find that tbere nre 11 few instru -
ments which by universal consent have becomo
thc standard of tastc. They aro " tbe glass of
fnshion ancl the mould of forro" in thc violín
world. An nppenl to thcse fnmous violins
must therefore be of somo servicc in this in-
quiry, whicb is oher y considernblc importance,
becnusc its objcct is to decide whnt is thnt

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


CAUSE OF \IA LUE. 14 1
tone which confers that immense valuc wbicb
sorne violins have realised as distinguished
from tbat which possesses only a merit of so
inferior a chamcter ns to become scarcely
vnluablo in any degree. In otbcr words, what

are the distinguisbing charactetistics of to ne
of tbe violins mnde by Nichol as Amati, An-
tonins Stradiuarius, aud J oscph Guarnerius .
.These three makers are now the Rnphnels, the
Titinns, and the Clnudes of the musical world,
aud n few thoughts on thcir werks in conuec-
tion witb this subject may help us to adccision
on ~is difficult point, at least to thc grcat
bulk of amateurs. We will divide the inqniry
ínto three heuds.
l. Power.
2. Swectness.
3 . Purity.
Iu considering the fu·st poiut, power, the
amateur will have to bewnre of a vcry possible
místake he muy full into. Therll ie appa1·ent
power uncler the ear, arising from coarseness.
Ibis is a species of powcr which is observnble
clúeflyby the plnyer. Thelistener, csp.ecially if at
a little distance, <loes not heur this power. The
T

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


1!2 C.\üSE OF VALUE.

tonu is clogged and thickcncd with the resinous


p•\rticles which hnvc rcmuinctl in thc wood nnd
whiclt porhnps, from its nnturo mny ncver lcuvo
i t nltogethcr, anu thc l'ibrntion is not thereforo
¡llldect. Another causo of f"lsc pon·cr is n
ccrtnin imperfect build whcrcin the parts nre
not propcrl~· cnlculatcd ns in the fine Cremonn
productions. Thesc two t•ln~scs of instruments
nre vrry npc to dcccivP uoprnctised enrs. But
n momoni."s compnrison with ono ofthegenuin o
grcitL masters will s how thom in n most tmmis·
tnknblc mnnuer thc cliJli~roooc. What then 1s
rcnl powor? It is simply musical Lonc, clivcsted
of nll nd,·enútious qunlitics. Whcn tone of
titis clnss is hcnrd n cnr, thu cll'cct is chnrming
lO thc cnr. \\"hen htnrd nfnr off. it seel1's to
swt•ll out nud bccomo rnnguiücont aud tclliog.
Who thnt has hcnrd n grcnt plnycr on n fin:)
instnunont, thnt bns nol bcon nstouishcd nt
lho immcnse q_unutity of tono which nriscs
from thi~ e:x:ceedingly finr qunlity. ~ud it ÍJ
ir. :his w11y thnt even thc smnll Amnli$, built
wheu grcnt nmount of tono wns uot wnutcd nncl
would not bnYc beeu npprccinted, nrc still most
cleJightful ns solo instrumenta. Its purity

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


CAUSE OF Hl.n:. IJ3
ond fino quality carry it to n mnch grcatcr
di ;t.onc~ und prodncr a grcntcr effect.
tl•nn woulcl m·ise from lnrgcr instrnments of
!eH~ curcful build nn<l cuphonic IJUnlitic5.
Hcrcin ¡, discovercd tho dJil'creuctJ bctw<:en
violins of the t!uee grent mn<rer,; nnmPrl nnd
othcr~ of thc snme nnmc Jf n ~mnll XichoJng
Amnti be comparcd wlth n Inrgc model. it will
bo found t iftt !he quolity is similar. but the
qu11ntity i:; grenter, nud thcrofm·c !he instru-
mcnt bccomes more val11ablo. Agniu. in n
Si.mdinnrius or Jo~eph Gur.rncrius of the best
pcriod, which are of tlJC Hnt morlel cnd ruo«t
nccur.llt' bLUid. we find a pu1·c rin¡:ing and de-
liciously rich qunlit~·· withont ronglml'!'s or
conr>cncss. tha.t fincls its wnv thr~ugh e.-cry·
thing to n great distnuce, C\'Cil in n crowdcd
coucert room. Tho diffcrcnccs in the three
g¡·co• mnkcrs scem~ to bo now dccidcd to coo-
sisr. in fullncss of tone noclquunLiLy of powor.
Tl1e Amntis are esscutinlly Fwcet nnd .,·ocnl.
Thc Strncliunrius-of similnr qunlity. grelltly
iorrcnscd in body nud of n more riugiog bell-
liko cllnmctcr. Thc Gunr1wrins of the hcst
modcl is eveu still more powcrful. But they

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


}•.1-1 CAUSE OF \'AJ.UE.

nll possess that '!SS;entinl purity 11nd richne~s


of tone witbout wbicb thcrc i~ no real excel
letlco. On tbis hend wo Jlnd, thoreforf', thnt
powc1·, pro1•iding it be occompnniecl by tho
othcr cssentinls of sweotnoss nnd pmity, con fe• s
on ~iol ins tbe grcntcst ,·aluo. A Nicholns
Amnti of the grand pnUern-n Strndinarius of
th e large flat modcl, or u Gunrnerius of similnr
chnrnctet·istic s-nll of wbich hllvc beJn built
"'ith tbe greatest cnrc nnd attention' to tho
rcsonunt qnalities of thu woou. nncl posscss
all theso essentials-n ro therefore thc instru·
monts tbnt ha>e aud will nlwnys commancl the
g¡·c•\tcst ndmiration.
Tb e n ext essentinl point in " r-on<! instru·
mcnt we have to considcr is swcctncss. Tbis
combines chnrnctcti~tk wbich H·' not tsscn·
Linl to power. A ;iolin mny possess tbe lntter
without the former. Tbe tono mav be of a
qunlity wbich will telJ nnd cnrry, but not of
-
thnt soft delicious Toice likc .nntnre whicb wc
cnll swectncss. The most ndmirnblc instru-
ment::. of this cbarnctcristic hnve been >ariously
compnred to a finte or to tho female YOice.
The lntter is tbe best compnrison. For tho

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


CAUSE OF V.HUE . 145
brigb test cxnmplc~ of this quality nlone we
musL look to che small violins of Anton ius
nnd rtic•rouymus, und nlso of Nicho lns Amnti.
TLey .u·, of thc mo~t dclicious qunlit y, uud for
solo instru ments canno t be oxcclled. They
rcsponcl with t he motit chnnn iug cffcct to the
most touch ing and pns~iooute cxpression. A
grcnt pln~·cr can rcnlly sing on these with such
n delightfu 1 effect us nlmos t Lo com¡lEmsnto for
the v:ant of spcceh.
Thc third poiot is purity of tone. Wo may
be snitl to h:wo touchcc1 upon t!Jis nlrenrly in
or
treatil lg the othcr two. ]~ni. it is ncccs snry
to a\lude to tbis :.ltiO, becnu~o it is possib le to
hn"o purity of tono witho ut SII'Cctncss or power .
There nrc mnny instru meuts which from nge
nnd use hnvc lost nll hnrsh ncss or rough ness
of tone, Lut nrc ~t.i.ll of n. thiu pierci ng qunlit y.
'l'h.csc mny be snitl to be pnro in tono, b nt. not
posses~ing thc otbcr requis itos tbey fnil in
comm nndin g nttcnt ion. Wbnt we lutvo to Jook
for in n ,·iolin is thnt round uoss nnd full ncss of
qunlit y which nre comb ined in thc tcrm sweet-
n ess. Tone cnuno t be said to be sweet whieh
is thin or piercin g. lt lncks onc essen tial

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


].¡ G CA USE OF \'ALUE.

chnrnctcristic. h is on tbis nccount thnt in


tho present <lay mnuy of tbc S<eiuer iustru-
monts hnve lost fttYOUr. T lwro oren fcw which
posscss both swúctnc~s ,,,Hl puriLy, nnd tlwy
muk witb tho smnll Amntis. But the bcst of
tbcm nrc wnnting in powcr. Tbis clutmct<'r-
istic is only hennl in pcrf.:ction in the Strndi-
Utmus or thtl Gunrncrius of Crcmona. nn<lthc
grent Brcscian moJwrs Gnspnr ili Salo uud
!lfngiui. An amateur should Jook tl1crcforo
in purclwsing nn iustrnmcnt whet.her it pos-
scsscs Lhese thrce ci.Hu·nctcristics or nny 01·
which of them.
Wo lutre now shown whnt are t he essentinls
of n fine instrumr•nt. but ns !he gcuuinc pro-
ductions uf these grl!nt mnswrs nre mostly in thc
hmHls of rich umntcurs il is scnrcely possiblo
to becomc thtl hnppy pus~essor of ono of tho
porfcct insLrumeuts. WhnL th<'n sbnll wc do 7
Tho rcply is simple. Stu<ly the cbnrnctcrislics
we hnvc <lescribed, nnd .'·on will find in somo
of the pupils of tbu Amnti, Stradiuariu~, or
Gunrnerius a ncar np¡>ronch to tbis cxcellcnctl.
In fact it is wcll koowu that in the scarcity of
origin uls fine exao1plcs by thc pnpils buvc

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


C~~SF. OF >ALUE. 147
frcqncntly becu soldas tho work of the mostcrs
thcm~ch·rs. The Dictionnry wo bovo compiled
will tc ll Lhc nmntour wltnt nnmcs will most
ptobnbly supply thc qualitics bo drsi res. Cr1tC
and nltontion will do tbo rcst.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


ON THE PRODUCTION
OF

GOOD TONE IN VIOLINS.

In tho preccding chaptcr we ha ve enden·


voured to solve tbo question wbn t aro the
qnalitics that coustitute goocl tono. Wo now
propose to inquire how good tone is provided
for in tbe constructiou of tbe violín. We <We
uot ahout to cntcr into the scicutiflc qucst.ion.
We wish mere! y to givo to the general amateur
n knowledgc which is often only acquired aftcr
ycnrs of patient study :md tria! of inst.rumcnts,
by rertain general principies which wi ll seldom
or ncvcr be fouud to be incorrect in fact, nnd
tllen only through iustrumcnts bcing bt1ilt on
false rules in other respec'ts. In good iustru·
ments these rules may be said to be infnllible.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


PRODU CTfON OF OOOD 'rONE, 149
It is a curiou s fact that Gnspar di Snlo and
l\Iagini, both enrly make rs, started with th e
princip io which has sinco bcen brought. to the
greate st pcrfecúon by thc Cremona mnkers,
nnd bnilt on thll flnt moclcl. Tbcir instru -
ments nro consequenLl y fouud to possoss m ueh
ofthe fineand powcrfultone wl¡jchdist.inguisbes
Strad imlriu s and Guaruerius. Tbe cnrly Ama-
tis, in the second place, bnilt on a higbe r
modo!, nncl their instru ments possess n swcct
but noL powerful tone. Steincr, tbirdly, built
on 11 l1ighcr modc l st.i ll, nud his instm men ts
bave 11 tbin picrcing tone. We can only draw
one conclusion from these facts- namcly, thnt
tbe ncnrer wc nppronch 1111 en tire tlnt in the
modo! of o. viol ín the fullet·, round er, nnd more
powerful the tontl; other points of carefuJ work
and good vnruisb being tnkcn into considcra-
tion. T his fact bns st.rongly imprcsscd itseli'
on tho minds of scientific inquirers, nnd the
result bns beco, ns tests of thc principio, tbc
produ ction of fin~ violins. 1'hese l11wo been
tricd uud reporlccl satisfactory in tho rnnttor of
tone. Bnt tbero nrc othcr points to provido
for whioh n ílnt box does uot nllow . To gaiu
u

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


150 PRODUCTION OF 0000 TO~E.

the requisüe mnss of nir to produce good tono


n fint violín has to be modo of n clumsy nwk-
wnrcl shnpe. In thc benutiful modelled violiu
this is ¡n·ovided for in tho riso of thc baclc nnd
.
. The ribs mav thcrcforo bo more or less
bcllr.
sbnllow nccorcling to tuo height of thc modol,
nnd yct pro\·idc t\ l>Uffickntspnce for thc ncccs·
snry nmount of oir for the production of ¡;oocl
tone. We arrive thcn nt this one certnin fnct,
thnt tl1e flattcr tho modcl of n violin thc grcatcr
thc probnbility of n good fino tone. It is of
such violins thcreforc thnt wc :find tho grcnt
performers possess tbemsolvcs. This may bo
snicl to be nn infalliblo rule, nnd nn examina-
don of the instrumeuts of thc most celebl'lltcd
mukcrs fully confirms it.
Wlty thercfom tlitl the elder Amati, contcm-
pornry nnd probnbly pupil of Gnsp!ll· di Salo,
chango tho m o del nncl sizo of tho instmmcnL?
l'his inquiry brings us to thc seconr.lrule for
the umnteur. Therc cnnnot be t\ doubt tbnt
he ndopted this plan bccnnse the flnt modcl
produced a more powcrful tone tbnn w:~s thcn
rcquire<l. He tbereforc, no doubt acquaintccl
prncticnlly, if not theoreticnlly, with tbe

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


PRODUCTlON OF GOOD TONE. Híl
p1inciplcs of acoustics, raised his modcl nnd
decrcnsed his sizc to providefor thc production
of that emincntly sweet tone wbich charnctcrises
his instrumonts. The nmatem: thcrcfore who
desires tone of this description, but docs not
want powcr, will genemlly find it in the model
of medium height, ~Jrovidi ng ns in nll othcr
cases, Lhc work and the wood are good. Of
this modol are sorne of thc sweetest toncd
violius to be formd, of which the Amatis are
thc typo.
Fiunlly, mnny ins trumeuts nrc to be found
constructed on Stcincr's plan with very elevated
modelllat on thc centre, and falling off nbrupt.Jy
towards Lhe sidos. Thcsc nre all coutmry to
>tconstic principies, nud their thin pierciug
tone is to be ascribed to the want of thnt hnr·
monious communicntion of vibrat.ion which
thcir peculiar constntctiou inevitnbly indicates.
L et, therefore, the amateur who v.~sl1es to be
bis own pmveyor, exnroiue, with these priu-
ciples impressed ou bis mind, whntcver iustl'll·
ments he cno gain access to aml the result wi ll
be t.hnt he will selclom err in this maLter.
Aiter this he most st.u(ly the charncLerist.ics
of goo(l wood, cnreful finish, nnd fine vamish.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


15.2 PRODUCTION OF GOOD TONE.

A kuowledgc of thcsc is best acquircd by ex-


nmiuing the inst.ruments of the great mnsLers.
To go fully into thcsc nlso is not necessury
hcro, buving airead y commented on them under
their respective hends. One rcmnrk is, how-
evcr, necessnry here. Many people foolislJly
imagine tbat cwy violín may be made to pro-
duce as swoet sounds in the bands of a skilful
player as n bigb clnss instrumcnt. Tbis is a
grcnt mistakc, and a convincing proof of its
filllacy mny be drawn from thc fact thnt all the
grent soloists plny upon high class violins.
They do this moreover at n time wheu tJJey
would gladly snve the expense were it possiblo.
A few instnnces may interest the reader.

GllEA'f PLAYERS AND THEIR lNST!lUMENTS.

Jonchim plays opon a StrndiuRrius, Vicux-


temps on a Guarnerius, Ole Bull ou a Gttar-
ncrius nncl an Amitti, De Boriot on a Magini,
( of which be hnd two very splendid
examples, the second being now in the pos-
session of thc author,) Oarrodus a Guilrnerius,

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


PRODUCTION OF GOOD TONE. 153

nncl mnny oLher living instanccs. PHttti a


Ruggerins violoncollo, Scrvais n Stntdinarins
violoncello. Past examples may be uitcd iu
Pagnnini, who playcd u pon n Gnarnerius, Mori
a Guo.rnerius, nud l:ipnguoletti the snme. Ernst
uscd a Stracliuarius. Drngonetti plnyed ou a
Gnspar di Salo aucl a StrndiuariLts clonble bass.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


GENERAL NOTES.

In the last nrticle, we have given some


general rules for judging of the probable tone
of an instrnmeut from its model. A few fLrrther
remarks ou t.his and other importnnt topics will
well supplement whnt we l1ave said.
l.- Accurate judgment in violius can only
be obtnincd by long cxpcricncc and secing
ma.ny instrnments, nnd if possible thosc of n
high class. There are mnny littlc points which
to a casual or enreJes¡; observer nrc invisible,
but which a prnctised corrnoisseur detects im-
mediately, and thcrcby is euabled to declare
the mnker. A difficulty will often piesent
itself to a tyro in thc knowledge of ''iolius,
from the fnmily likeness which it is possible
to trace, for example, between Amati, Strndi-
uarius and .Bergonzi. These havo a genexal

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


GENERAL NOTES . 15!")

resemblancc which iudicntes tbe coming from


ooe school. Tbis applies also in many other
cnses-but ovexy master has somo distinct
diffcrenco which is perceptible lo tho practised
eye. Thc faces of :i flock of sheep are to a
stranger al! alike; to the shepherd, cach l1ns
its personal individuality. It is the same with
violins, wbich can bo read by the practised
studcnt as egsiJy as we know ench otber by tbe
countennnce.
2.-It iserroneous to imaginethatCremonese
instruments can be s uccessfully imitalecl, a very
popular story about raganini's Guarncrius to
tbe contrnry notwithslnnding, as the lawyers
sny. An attempt to impose an imitation on a
p1·nctisecl judge is a!wnys procluetivc of an un-
plens~nt result. To fnl l from tbe sublime to
thc ridiculous is especiul\y awkwarcl, aod re-
sults in becoming very particularly ricliculous
yoursc!J. This 1nust be whenever n modem
mnker nttempts to mnkc no nncient violin.
Tbere are practica! clifficulties impossil:le now
to get ovcr-such ns tbe vamisb. The socret
of making tbe graml old vnrnish is lost, nncl
thercforc whatever is put on by n modern tclls

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


156 vENERAL NOTES.

the tale and críes nloud t,o tbe judge-This is


a cheat!
3.-Jt is casict to imitntc nn old painting
than an old violin, though that is difficult
enough to n good judgc, but sueh nn insuper-
able obstncle as thc olcl amber varnish docs
not puzzle tbe picture forger.
4.-Jn choosing nn iostrumcnt it is bettcr
to select oue of n flnt modo!, t.bc sides of me-
dium lwight, "~ell proportioned t\nd with good
oil varnish.
5. -We are ioclined to thiuk that all the
great instruments of the great makers nre well
koown, and that thcre are none lying by un-
known to fome.
6.-Mostof thc more celebruted instruments
are given a name of disLinction, sucb ns the
Yellow Stradiuarins, thc Bloocl Re<l Knight
Gunrncrius, the Ole Bull Gunrnerius, tbe De
Beriot Magini, the Emmelitmi Stracliuarius,
the General Kidd Strnditlnrius Violoucello, the
Servais Strndiuarius Violoncello, and others.
TbE>se can be recogoised like t.be human fncc.
7.-Tbe renson why Itnlinn iustruooents nre
so superior to all others must be ascribed to

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


GENERA T, NOTES. 151

their exquisita make, the cnreful ndjustment


of the vnrious tbicknesses of woocl aml the
Ynrmsh, the secret of which r1ppenrs gonc for
CYcr. Pcrhnps nnother rcnson mny be unmacl
in the woo(l being so ripe ancl clry ns to permit
free vibratiou.
S.-The Creroonese obtnined theír colour in
oil. The moclerus get it only in spirit, which
impnrts n llarclness to the tone. Compare a
Creroona with th"' Gerroau nnd othcrimitotious.
Cnn't you hear l1ow perceptible the dilTerence?
The formcr is mcllow nnd 1·ich-~he lntter
f!inty nncl hnrsh. This nrises no doubt from
the Ynrnish.
0.-Thc Cremonesc violoncellos were mostly
mnde decper by balf nn inch nt the bottom
thnn nt the npper pnrt. Guiseppe fil Andrere,
Gunrnerius, Stradiuarins, Lnndulpbus, and
othcrs obsef\'e(l Lhis rule. The tone is snid to
be grently improved by it.
10.-Soruo persons thiuk it is very clifficnlt
to obtniu an I tnlinn ''iolin at a modera te price.
It is not so. Tbere are mnny whose mnkers
nre not known. anclalso third clnss instrumcnts
.of goocl qualities, which can be o btaine(l from
\'

-
© Biblioteca Nacional de España
158 GENERAL NOTES.

;f!IO to Jl25. It is better to purchnse one of


these than a baked copy or Rnew violín. Then
ngaiu nmnteurs may rcsort to tl1e ole! French
makers, sorne old Engl ish aud tho Tyrolenn,
which mny be !wd chenpcr still.
11 . -A rcspectnbie dealer who is known to
bo n counoisseur of cxperience, will ucver scll
you a moclern copy for an old Itnlinn violín
wi th a long story of how he got it in so me
wondcrful wny. Bis chnractcr is nt stnke.
Bewnre of ignorauce which nssumes the mnsk
of lmowlcdge, or of designing rogucry wllicl1
apes the appenrance of iunocence.
l2.-The prescnt cxccllcuco of the oh! in·
stnunents nrises from their h:wing bccn mn¡le
thick in woocl, which time bns nmclior~ted nnd
mellowe¡l, nnd now pcrmits free vibration.. It
is mnch to be deplored that mnuy instruments
have not been suffered to remniu ns th o makers
left them, nnd thnt othcrs under n. fnlse uotiou
of giving au old tone hnvc hcen made too tbiu.
13.-Hnd Mngini, Gnspnr di s,,Jo, nnd other
\·ery old mnkct'S usc¡l ns Jittle wood as soma of
their suc.::essors, where would their instJuments
have bceu uow? We nre at the ¡1reseut time
rcaping the beuefit of tbcir forcsight.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


GEXERAL NOTHS. 150

14.-Thcre is endent proof of tbc decp


inlorcst thc bigh clnss mokcrs took in endcn-
VO\tring to n<lvnnce thc intOl'CRtR of their nrt.
For oxnmplc. Strndiunrins sometimos put thc
wiclcst grniued wood on thc founlt string side,
fccling it wns the wcakcst mld nccdcd the open
grnin. Sometimos be put it on thc first string
sido. IIc wns endently trying expcrimems.
But he mostly ndoptc<l the formcrplan.no doubt
corrcctly. Agoiu, they mndc instruments lnrgcr
nt tho bottou1lhnu nt thc u¡1pcr pare, gr:dunlly
rc<luciug in sizc nud <lepth, nn oxpcrimcut which
obsermtiou h:ts sincc found to bo correct.
Thcy nlso ronde instrumcnts thicker under tho
bridge to ennble them to bcnr tbc grcat tension
to wbi('h thcy nrc subjcct, nnd ronny other
points &bowing how perfect thcy bccnmc. Tbcy
Ioft littlc for modero ingcnuity to discovcr.
Hí.-Old instnunents of churncter sbould
bo grcutly prized und cnrcfull y prcsen'ed, for
it sccms probable tbat thero will be no others
to tnke thcir plsces, from mnny wcll known
enuses.
l c.-hlnkcrs of the prcscnt time havo per-
verted their talents to discover n menos of

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


160 GEN ERA L NOTES.

pro duc ing the c¡ualitics of old iost rum cntl i in


nrw oncs, an nchicvemen~ utterly impossiblc,
ns the ir cfforts show. .hlany mak o inst rum cnt s
wit h tho gre alcs t cnrr . cop yin g tho plon:< nft ho
old ma ste rs- but inst cnd of nllowing Fat hcr
Time l.o ripe u thcm . thcy use un nr itlto •lry
up tl:c wood, or bakC' thcm . Thc se l\I'C kno wn
by n pco uli nr smcll which tcll s thc tale, und
thc y gct wor~c inst cnd of bel ter. Agoin, tho y
deom iL wise Lo get n colo ur nt any prico,
whi ch con onl y be don o in our tlay by tho uso
of spiri t m rnis h. Did they use oil vnrni~h.
our successors wou ld ai nll cve nts ronp tho
beucfit, if not oursolves. Th e gre at mn ster s
wcr e wil ling to wni t for fum o nnd triecl nou e of
tllcsc clodges. Oth crs agu in puL thc vnr nish
en n:;cl rnh it off iu pla c!!s to rcsemb lc thc
wcnr of nge . 1\I\tch bet ter would it be lo cover
tito ins trum cut with vnrnish UJJ.(l leavo age to
clo the rcst . Suc h sch emc s are futilo autl re·
flec t discred it oo tl10se who ndopt Lhcm .
17.- Tb e reg bol es sce n in ole! Itnl inn
violonccllos iu the middlo of the bttck are
whcre a peg was put lo fa~Len thc inst rum cnt

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


GE~ERAL ~OTES. 161
round thc neck whilc plnying in tlJe Cntholic
Churchcs.
1ll.-Strndinnrius in his cnrly cnreer fre·
quont.ly cut hi s wood lo forrn whnL nrc culled
slnb bncb, ( explnined clscwhcro,) nml some-
timos uscu penr trce for Yioloncellos.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


REPAIRS OF INSTRUMENTS.
We caunot pnrt wilh the reader who ]Jas
thus far accompnnied ns in our lnbours, with·
out making a few remarks on tbo importnut
subject of repairs. So mnny fine instrnments
have been ruined nncl tbo benuty of so mnny
more tarnishe<l by the mal-addresse nnd igno·
rance of some so-called restorers aucl repnirers,
that we thiuk we sbnll be scrving thc ndmircrs
of the violin by warning them ngninst entrnst·
ing valuable instruments to incompetent hnnds.
A few not.es will serve to illustmte the chief
subjccts for cnrc and sorne importaut items in
fitting instruments properly.
1.-So·called repairs have been frequently
so clumsily done, as to dnmage old nnd valuable
instruments toan extent impossible to rcmedy.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


REPA!RS OF INSTRUMENTS. 163
2.-Therc nre many instances wbe(e wood
hns bccu tnken out of tbe instrument uncler
thc idea of iroproving tbe tone. This is a
fa tul error, and wbcn the mischief is discovered
it is replncecl by new wood. Others hn\'6 clone
the sume uncler anothcr erroneous impression,
tllat it will gh·e strength to thB instrument to
enable it to benr the incrensecl ¡Jressurc cnusecl
by the higher pitch usecl nt thc present time.
Whatevcr the notion, the result is aJwnys hnd.
The grnin of the new woocl docs not come leve!
with Lhc olcl, nncl causes a suelden check to the
vibration . . The glue nlso l)"ing bctwcen tho
olcl nncl the new wood deudens thc sound.
Somc repnirers hnvc been guilty of this prnc·
tice to n grent extent, nncl many fine inst(U·
ments bave bcen thus damagecl. L et no one
uncler nny pica tamper wilh the tbickncsses oí
woocl in n goocl violin.
3.-Tho sound bar used by tbe old mnsters
( ns we hnvc before stntecl) nnd otbers of tl1at
periocl, wns much shorter tbnn is now used,
ancl consequently nll hnve been cbnngecl. The
present bar is quite sufficient to bcnr tbe in·
creased pressure requircd in our time, without

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


l(H REPAlRS OP INSTRO)!ENTS.

resorting to nny othc{ menns. Il nn nhcmtion


be req uircd nn ex¡Jerienced rcpnircr onl y can
know the kind of bru· rcquired.
4.-The necks of tlto old iostrnments wero
sbort; they hnve thcrcfore to be Jengthcncrl
if found in their old stnt~. A goocl repnirer
will splice o. neok in so as to bo scnrccly per·
ceptible. Much of the ense ancl comfort of
playing depends bow this is done.
5.-The sound post is n very import•tnt itom
in fitting nn instrnmcnt. Thcre is n mnrvellous
power in this simple contri vaneo. It should
fit as though it were pnrt of the back nnd bclly.
An instrument can be freqncntl y cured of t\
bncl clescription of tone by the sligLtcst ~lOYe
of the post. Thosc subject to whnt nre termccl
wolfy notes can be rcmcdiccl or the bnd notes
shifted to lcss important ones. It is n mistnkc
to suppose thcre is n particular plnco for the
sound post in all instruments alike. I t deponcls
upon the model of tho instrument to n grent
extent. H igh modcls requirc ~he post nenrer
the foot of the bridge thnn ílntmodels. Others
require the ¡Jost thick or thin. Thc rcgnlat.ing
of the post shonld only be entrustocl to the

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


REPAIRS 01' INSTRU1H~NTS. 165

skillcd band, nnd wc would impress upon


nmateurs th•\t ic is bcttcr ncvcr to sbift the
post thcmsclvcs. Mnny instruments havo
bacl tbe souncl boles spoilccl and thc surface
of the woocl inside gored by unskilful tamper·
ing witb the post.
G. -Thc bridge is anothor very important
ag~nt in regulat.ing nn instrument. No gene·
rRI rule will serve for this matter. Some in·
st.ruments rcquirc the bridge thick, othcrs tlliu.
Somo u clase grain and othcrs the contrary.
Tlle bridge should be fittecl us accurately as
thc post, aod as though it. grew from the belly,
the feet touching cqunlly all round.
7.-Tail pieces are better quite free from
ornaments, which frequently cause the instru·
ment to jar disngrceRbly.
8.-Tho stTings are of grcat importnnce.
Tbey sboulcl be >t<ljustcd to be in pcrfeut fiftbs.
This is csscntinl, otbcrwisc it is impossible to
play doubiEi notes correctly in tune. It may
be done with n littlo troublc. WJ¡en tbe in ·
strument.is in tune on thc opcn notes, pince thc
finger ucross the strings, for exnmplc, nt ]3 on
tbe sccon<l striug, nncl F on tho ñrst st.riog.
w

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


J 66 REPAIRS Of INSTRO)IENT S.

Ifthe fifth is irnpcrf¡•ct, tune onc string n ~hade


higher, nud lry ngoiu. lf tl1 eo perfecl iL re·
quir0s a smnller string. [f not. tune a shndc
lowcr than the perfcct opcn fifth, if theo righL
whcn tricd as beforc, ít requircs a thickcr
string ."'
• \\ro h:t\"e sccn o littlo iastmmcnt ::tdl"ertlscc:l tu
nccomplisb tlús import.•nl mftttc< without troublo.
TnE P.r:nrr.cT l~l.PTn's OoAOE.-uThis u::;erul gnugo ia
marked witb r;uch prccis.ion ns Lo rcndcr all sb·iug~t
gnugcd by it in o.ccord::mco with cach othct· }Wodueing
)>orfoct fifths, enabli11g tho pctf01·mcr io cxccnte pussngcs
of doublo notes witb tbo grcnlo•L fucility and co•·•.,¡ctucas,
n~ tho sume timo effecting n consic.lcrablo saving of timo
no<l ••reuse by cnli<~ly supcn:ecling tbe old methocl or
obt:Uoing fifths by chnnging tho striugs." It is m:wu-
fnctur<!<l and sold by Mr. Jobo HIU't, H, Princo's-stroot,
Lcicesl<!r-sqnnrc, Lon<loo.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


1

ADDENDA.

LA RCIIE, Brusscl~, l S.i7. Copyist of


old ffi11kers Onc of tboso who endeavoured
to produce an old tone by the use of acid,
nnd con~equently spoiled thc wood.
ALBANESJ , Cremoon, 1737. Similar
to Te,torc of }Jilnn, but broncl pnttern His
instrumcnts havc n largo tone, but poor
vnrnish.
GOBIT, Veoice, 1716. Mncle similar
iustruments to Ruggcrius, nod usecl benuti-
ful varnisb.
GABRIELLI, - - Florencc, 1 1<10. linde
cxcclleot Violonccllos, ycllow varnish.
Writtco labels.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


168 ADDilNDA.

ANTONIAZZI, GAETANO, Cremona, 18()0.


This makcr scnt a violín to tite Exhibition
of 1862, but is much bchind his predc·
cessors.
F ALCO, Cremoua, 17 52. Mado wcll
proportiouecl instruments.
HARRIS, CHARLES, Lonclon. An admir·
able workmnn. Bis iustrumcnts are nmong
tho fiucst of the E nglish.
GAGLIA~O, NICHOLAS, Naples, pupil of
Siradiuarius. We have anote (omittcd in
its pro11er place) that tlti~ mnker exceUed
in violoncellos, m!lny of which are covered
with fine l'ich. varnish, scldom secn on
instruments by tbe Gagliano family.

In our noticc of Stradiunrius Violins at


page 113 we should have saicl ihat William
Howard, Esq., of Shcffield, possessed two fine
examples-onc as described aud thc other of
the betmtiful red vamish, Lhe lattcr formcrly
thc property of the celebrated violiuist Su.lo-
mon, for whom Haydn wrote bis twelve grand
symphonies.
PEARCB> PRl NTEP., SUF.PEIELD.

© Biblioteca Nacional de España


[JUL Y 1864.)

GENERAL LIST OF WORKS


l'UOLJSHJ.W U\~

MESSRS. LONGMAN, G REEN, ANO CO.


P A TEHNOSTER IWW, LO)IDOX.

IHstotical Froth.
Tho RISTORY of ENGLAND from 1he ¡;·,.u of Wolsc" 10 the Dcnth
or Hliwbcth. 13,." .f.n1 r.s :\S1' 11úX\' Vn<H"m·:. ]L.\. bt.- ·F~Itow of R\:l~l<'t'
Collcgo, O.trorú. ' l'hirtl .IM it ion of 1h ...• Fir:-.t· Eight VolutM~.
YoLs.l tó l\' . thí• R<f'ign or Jlcnry Yltl. 'l'hird. Edit.ion, :.M.
Yo t.:;.\". :md \"1. th<.- Hds.tLS or EUw:m.l \'1. :mil :\f:Lry . Third H~titi ou, 2-&t.
\'ots. YIJ. aml \"111 . thn ~i¡m of l~li1.:lbc th , \'oLS-. J. :mU IT. ThirJ
l~diticm, :!..~.

l'l10 HISl'ORY o! ENGLAN D from thc Acces.ion of James H. By


Lord MAC,\ ULAY. T hrcc Mditi(tJ¡s :ts fo,lows.
LlDJL\RY F.mTro:o, 5 YOi:l. $\'O. .eJ.
C.HH SI-:t"F.Ill'fWS. S \ 'OI$. pc...;t 1)\'0. -m~.
l.).t:Ol'J,U's :EJHTtOX, -1. \'OI.s. c..t-own Svo. 16:.-.
REVOLUTIONS in ENGLI ~H R ISTORY. By RonEr.1· V.\COIIA:<,
n.o. 3 vols. g\·o. ·C'IS.
Yor•. J. Rtwolulions of U:~ce, 1.».
Yo t. H. R('\'Oiutions in Ucli~ ion. 1 :;.~.
Vor... IT L I~ ,·ol ntious iu Goven unl)ut. u,_~.

Th o H~STORY of E NGLAND du ri u~ t1u} 1!-.:ign of Gcorgc thc TIJinl .


By Wu..LI.' l! j\f.\SSRY, :'!l.P . 'l \' 01:<. S\'0. ·1$$.
The CONSTITUTIONAL l iiSTORY of ENGLAND, since thc A cccs·
sion or Gcor gc n r. l7tl0-1SGO. l3y T U0;\1.\ S I{H~J\I X t: :U.'\ Y, C.ll. :! vols.
s,•o. a:;....
LIVES of thc QUEENS oí ENGLAND, from Stntc Po~pcrs aou othcr
D('ICUtnont:.ry SOU'r('.:!s : comprisiu~ :\ lJOm('SLic Hi~tn:y oC Eu¡;l:'l.l)d from . thc
ConqucsL to th<: D u:ll h or Qu(~l1 1\ t:lll'. .By AOXHS ~TU I CK J. \ X I~. lt<:VlSCd
E d itton, wilh umn,,· L'( \rtl'aib. S vol~. !JO-'IL ~Yc. ()(•t.
'-~\U~~..
A
·"""
6"'
•:~!# •;
--- ..
. ...... ""\ /.

'

© Biblioteca Nacional de España
© Biblioteca Nacional de España
© Biblioteca Nacional de España

You might also like