New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-11-03
FINE AMERICAN VIOLlNS.
TIE INDUSTRY HELPED by THE lAfiff T.


,rrt,T ppoTTCTIOS II DOINN 'OE THE MN"E'
or srRrNGEp INSTRUMENTS HERE.
.n,rir, thc last two years, aided hy FRO
.oo.iv, tarTT. \ new AMI important INDUSTRY mas
sor,,,, nm N This ccuntry,N said EeorSr "e'h""-
10, ,b. ,vell-l;nown American violin maker 10
Trib.,ue tcroItcr Yesterday. 9" refer, coh''""''
the sneaker TO the manufacture in TINS cohn''H u
hand ard orchestra Instruments IN NY own ,i"'
~ hrsinc.- the demand for carefully made Vloi"9
end violonccllos wac never greater 'ha' ~ > W.
Ia, an +lc rnrc old volins of European manu-
co.uro arc NOW either owned by solois's or ar"
I.,.,L 80 IN tbc cabinets of collectors. The work
-, su,,nl,-ing the cver-increasinS army OF VIOLIN
rorformcrs in this country with instruments haS
foIlan nm ahout a score Of makers, who ARE t"rh-
I'M, opt instrument, that hHd favor not ONLY here
hut in the Old World When our house nrS' W.
Gan g. manufacture viOlin9 at our factory III M
TORN. we found an almost hsurmonnfable pF'j"-
dice existing among American performers against
Instruments Of domestic manufacture. 20 stfohR
WAS this feeling that have actually known men
10 select common factory made foreign Nloii'S III
Interference to instruments upon which the most
Skilled German French and Italian workineh III"
e>ncndeJ the resources of their art In our shops
here
"'rhe foreign instrument had a big price tackled
II.
INN, OF jog oh Gnaln,rius or Antonius Stridva-
rns irhc tone was not in IL at all. The pre-
yailiba notion was that price made the violin.
The question OF age has always been an inpor-
tant one in the selection of violin. and there is
M doubt that many Il violin originally fairly good
Los been improved by careful Use. The American
manufacturer showed his European rival years
ago flint lust as good Violns could he mad" here
Ms in Enrope. and the duty imposed by tlc Mchin-
lev act has enabled him 20 establish workshops ana
euuip them with the latest and most approved
machinery To-day our new Instruments are lax
ing their places in the best OrChcstraS In the Iahu
beside the few old instruments that are TO be FOUND
there
There is no need of Saline under false co!ors'
Our firm name with fhc dat" and place 81
manufacture, il pasted inside each OF our ne"
instruments. ] think that onr hoi~" has snc-
ccssfully answered the question Cannot IA COOL
violins be made in America To-day a. In Enrop'
You can readily understand that the art OF VI I'm
making Ike painting, sculpture and the o'"r
arts, must be confined to u small number OF frms
There can be no rapid development IN III" DH'l-
ness. because no pecework Is done. Instead oil
this each part of the violin il made by hama with
infinite patience and care
Victor Flcchtcr, an importer OF stringcd insfri-
mcnts, said deal almost exclusively In vlolihS
and cello, for the use Of concert players. While
the rare old instruments bring almost fabulous
prices there is an ever-jncreasing demand IN the
handwork Of orr best local makers
Walter Cotton, of Brooklyn. who makes few
excellent solo instruments every year, SAID
"Vioin making has come 10 This country 70 Tiay.
hav,; noticed pcculiar'v among many Of or
best artists They will com" 70 NE and bnv a
good violin, AMI after playing upon 1t In public
for a few months will c>mc back and say i
want another instrument That fiddle pleased
certain man 80 much that b" offered III" blg
price for IT, He cannot play well. but h" wanted
il for his collection J think that 4 good violin
is public property To silence It's voice ana
shro,id IL in a cabinet is almost crime. think
that artists should be above traffic in violin-
Another we'll kOown man, who has the hnrs'
collection of violin bows in this city, said
"philadephia Ia making excellent violins Ameri-
lea is The place TO buy new violins to-day /
say new volins because there are pracncaliy no
good old ones for sale venture the ASSERTION
that there is not singe genuine Str"hIVhr'uS %
Gunrncrius for sale in this party Of the country.
Louis koenig the son of Hermann Kocnig, We
vel. tnowh violin maker and rcparcr, said Ny
father during his lIie. both IN t!ls country ara
Europe made many good VIOLIN, ana f'p"lrei
instruments for all the great masters; an con
ness Ii has sent the foreign workman 70 'hiS
country ~ search Of employment, an / hlNe
been able 70 start manuiactory; In ioihl't
years a violin-maker had 10 work alone. II wa
impossible ~ yet skilled help. lhr American
Violin il more artistic product than IN" IN
rnncan instrument. Most Of the INSTRUMENTS scn'
here are factory made. and are sod pN thc
dozen All the violin-malS"rs IN thus part 1i me
ci,y have allied themselves with the K'puohcah
party this year , ..,1 ,rohos,ra
Carl Fischer publisher of band ana orchFs'r'
music and importer OF musical instruments Sau
we don't want any Free Trade IN ms country
Nv business would be greatly injured ny any
cr.at change in the administrative policy. y f9n
ltnow bands and orchcstias thrlNr "hfk'pN
we'll in manufacturing towns. Nearly every ~, -
factory and machine shop IN the f~s' AZ" "'S'
has it's military band. A.. ,.,., ho,,,,, IN
number 81 entrrprsiDc firms have begun 10
manufacture band instruments her" with consl'-
cradle success. . c,.-.,. loud
NJ Lcfcbre the saxophoni,t Of Gilmore hlhi,
said. Every military band OF any stan I'M III
his country uscs several saXophon"s. hes IN
sfrnmcnts r4cd 10 cost no less thnn : 30 IN fFl''
A firm in Elkhart, Ind, began 10 make thr" "n''l
my. supcrintcndcnce last spring. Now men 'naF
CO., a MAGNIFICENT homemade instrument clual 20
Tho foreign phone In every way for so. Ny 500
nstrnmcnts were all made here nscd T. man
uGactnrc these peculiar Instruments III P"r'~.