Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-12-18
VIOLIN MAKER OF HARTFORD,

clared this cheerful attitude of mind as being that of the clerk of Oxenford, who was full of all moral virtues. but 1t would have been different had he been the maker of the fithele. For the violin maker first of all loves the fiddle. When the artist draws the bow across the magic strings he listens with eyes closed, completely oblivious of all else save the rich, sensuous sound given out by the mellow toned Gagliano, the stunning Strad, or the brilliant Klotz or Amati. The tone is the satisfying element, for however graceful the top, however beautiful and exquisitely formed the neck lit IS the tone that is the final test with the maker, as 1t is with the artist and the public. But the back, the top, the neck, the fngerIboard, and every de- tail of the making, has significance to the violin maker that is shared by only a few privileged ones, who must have the soul for tone and a love for the feeling" of the stringed instru- ments
 The violin maker who is the subject of this article is William L. Peters of Hartford, who for forty years has been a maker and repairer of violins, and he has handled many of the most celebrated instruments in the world during his many years of work He has repaired or treated" as he terms 1t, some TOO violins, valued at from $1OO to $5, ,OOO each. and he has made with his own hands some three hum dred odd violins, which he has sod at prices ranging from $50 to $500.
 MT Peters has a few of these vio- lins at this time. and they show much skill in the making, and excellent tone and quality considering that they arc but few years old.
 A visit to Mr Peters's little shop in the Charter Oak bank building reveals the violin maker in all his enthusiasm for the art he loves. He carefully takes rom the case precious "fthele." Look at that good and hard, You may not see it's like. again. says the maker. and he takes the ancient bit or pine and maple from a case and place. | it i'll the visitors hands. Gazing cr1tt- cally at the graceful lines of the top. the eye discerns the label inside. An tonius Stradivarius, Cremona, 1699." It seemed to the stranger almost like shaking hands with old Antonius, and he wondered at the beauty of the in strument and the art of the celebrated Italian who made it. For the violin was of about the time that Stradivarius was changing from the works of his earlier period to those of the grand | model. The varnish Is the beautiful golden-brOW or amber and the top is made of Swiss pine. h the back and ribs the handsonest of figured wood was nsed, the back being in one piece. l The If" holes are beautifully cut, the n1lrfing beng inlaid with much skill The edges show little wear for so old an instrument, which indicates that it has always received good treatment. There are three checks in the top run i ming with the grain, hut Mr Peters has 1 repaired them in most artistic man. ner, and the instrument has no. flaw of any kind. It is one Of the best exam pies Of the Stradivarius make, and is valued lat S4,000. The artist played Handel's Largo on the Strad. and the old violin makers eyes closed and he listened enraptured at the beautiful ! tones of the solemn melody. When ] the player finished the invaluable Strad was again placed in the velvet lined case and tender1y put away.
 But here's beautiful Gagliano. It 1 has tone like the voice of great 1 contralto singer" said Maestro Peters, 1 and he placed the full sized and char acteristically shaped violin that made I Nicholas Gagliano famous in the 1 hands of the young man who had pre- viously played. The wood in the back and sides showed an evenly marked 1 flame, which Is said to be seldom found in yiolins of this class. The top l is spruce. the varnish lnstrous yell | low, blended to a deep red at the cen 1 ter bouts. The workmanship is well finished, and the preservation is re- markedly perfect. The tone proved to be strong and Of fine body, and com !. pares favorably with that of the Strad- ! ivarius or any other Italian violin. Twelve hundred dollars is the value of this violin, and compared with the $4,00O for the Strad, it should be a rare bargain, if one were making q collec- tion, or seeking fine old Gagliano for I concert use.
 But there were other good old vio- lins. A French instrument made in 175o by Jean Baptiste Solomon of Paris, from the collection of Julius Schmidt, United States consul at Sc vile, Spain, valued at $500. A gen. uine Klotz, bearing the date TITO, or
 
 ing a delightfully."- strong and at the same time mellow tone. A very good orchestral instrument, indeed.
 Mir Peters has had many curious ex- periences with violins. Michael Reiale, well known yiolinist of Worcester, Mass, brought his violin to MT Peters I to be treated. The latter looked the fiddle over and said. e'That looks like an exceptional violin
 Mir Reidle said he thought it was l pretty good better than the average, and that he bought it for S3s, which he considered quite bargain But 1 the violin was in bad shape and had to be taken down, treated, and then set mp. Tn the work of scraping under 9 lot of grime that had settled under the ''f'' holes MT Peters was astonished to find the label 'Hieronimus Amati Cremora 1928" And when that violin