The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1894-09-09

one thousand violins in existance which
are really the work OF Antonus Stradi-
Narius. Many that pass as his own work
were made by his pupils and imitators
ana some by other makers at Cremona
contemporary with him
~ ~ the ambition OF the most profession
Al Nlonnists TO use "Strad, although
some OF the best known play on viOllns
by other makers. ole Bull played on
a VIOLIN made by Gasparo da Salo, whom
some writers are now disposed to rank
ahead OF Stradivarius. henri Marteau
pays on Maggini which was fOrmely
owned by Leonhard. his teacher In Paris.
NINE. Camilla Urso plays on a violin
NIUE ny Joseph Guancrius. ana Alber-
vlii ana Rafael Diaz use instruments
NiIch are the work Of the same maker
oaIasdte owns two magnificent Stradi-
NdiIuS Vlolins, and Jochim, the famous
,h man Vloiinist, always uses one OF
9he same maker. Divide Musin, Wilhelm
bIousky, hneisel Miss Currie Duke. and
;,nss Lt'onora Won Stosch are other vio-
st~,,s ,mat own and use Stradivarius in
Very few musicians are willing 10 play
oh tne new instruments. They Will praise
tnth Qualities and compare them very
tavVraDIy With the Old Cremona violins.
put When IT comes 10 a question OF ap-
pearlng In public they are rarely content
WIN any but one OF the old Italian in
The best Of those made by Stradlvarius
belong 10 the period from 100 10 lbs
Many OF those commonly attributed 70
nm were made by Bergzoni. VINO lived "a
D ',.r somewhat later and Panormo,
VINO made copies OF the Stradiyarius
VNlins AZ the end OF the last century
me 0id viollns OF the Cremona makers
have Increased steadily In value. one
OF the most valuable OF the "Strads" l.
me MeSsiah.' which brought $500
When IL was last sold In London. -Four
others, known as Tho Dolphin" which
IS Isl! IN Manchester, England. the Jupiter
Inc EHJah, which is Ia Boston, and one
called the tuscan strad." are valued
at $1,000 each. a StradiVarius I'm London
known as the "Betts Strad. IS even more
valuable. 1t was once sold to a dealer
Ia London fcr IL by a poor man who
walked into his shop with IL. There are
three or four valuable "Strads" in New
Ork, and collector IN Chicago boasts
the possession or fourteen genuine instru-
ments, ranging from 900 u $500 In
value. one being valued at as high a
figure as 5000. Probably the most valua-
bic violin In the world is one made by
King Joseph and when IL was last
sold brought $1,000. one by the same
maker. for which ole Bull paid a little
more than %op IN 1881 IS now worth
500. The two Stradivarlus vi0llns. sold
IN 1872, brought 81 0tO and 81, so. respec-
lively. Since that time they have sold
Tor almost ten times those amounts. Mr..
Fletcher estimates that a Stradivarius
violin probably cost when first completed
about so. although there IS a story that
they We're sold in London for very much
smaller sum.
1t is singular fact that the town Of
Cremona. which IS famous by reason Of
the violin makers who worked thee, has
lost the industry completely There are
only two or three dealers there now. and
they sell the Instruments along with the
other wares Of an ordinary music shop.
Not only has the town Of Cremona ceas-
ed to be associated any longer with the
making Of viOlns but none OF those now
made I'm Italy rank with the best The
best modern vi0lins are made IN france
and Germany. They are, or course, maze
Of oil wood, as were the original. Gre
mona violins. The beams and rafterS OF
old buildings sometimes give very COCO
pine for this purpose. The maple ana
plaup tree which are used are found IN
old furniture. bedsteads and chests OF
draw ers II is not sufficient thdt the
wood bee old. but 10 must Dee also reso-
uant, or the effect OF the tone Is entirety
lost Recent writer's have asserted tuat
If Is the wood used in the old Nioins
which is responsible for the QldlUy
known as "the Italian tone. one OF
them says: III old Italian wood couli ne
got. Tyrolean pine ana sycamore, "hlch
400 years ago drank I'm the warm sun
an the southern slopes OF the ltaildIi
uouf tains. and was harped INTO j. 80
nance by storms and zephyTS' n'91
then stored and stacked ana IaShi ,Ileu
mo beams or porticOs or panels Or IGI-
IS re--thc violin thus formed would pro
b1bly have that exquisite qh1lty Nno"I
as the Italian tone. ia
THE American makers, VINO are h"lI-
inc .heir own Ow with the best known
m. kers I'm Europe, are using eId hptur'
Inc. and maple. Canada balsam
f.rs which have been cut Tor SIX OF sever
wears is found 20 produce a very s%eet
and mellow tone. some q the br't
known among our American violin max
er. are Walter Cotton Of ENter. y. H.
who works alone. making All MS Nlo-
Inns himself Albert In philadelphia
Krer H. cincinnati. Has kett IN Mime
! ar0Ns. AMI Fletcher md Gemundc- ln
N.w York a good American violin
cn-fe fron 500 10 S3pO Many vi1lins
made In SaNony are imported TO this
country IN TIC condition known 10 deal
crs as "in the white" that is 10 say be-
fore the wood has D. p vanished ana
| stained. After arriving here they arr re-
modelled and submitted 10 that iinpp.-
tant operation known as the yarnish-
! Ing.
The making Of violin couples usually
from four 10 six months. The model
linz comes FIRST. and then a." Varni-h,
| of which from ten 70 fourteen coats are
often applied one maker usually has
four or five violins on hans at the same
time. working on one while the others
are drying The American Instruments
are used OCCASIONALLY by Well-knOWn pro-
fessiOnalS when they are Playing in con-
ccrts about the country and are unwill-
| ing TO run the risk Of damaging their
| more valuable ones. But even the per
| formers i'm theatre play Usually on VIC
| Inns Of "a foreign maker.