Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-07-12
LOSS OF VIOLINs.
Romauces Of Some Famous Instru-
Ments.


Arising from the offer in an advertise
ment OF a substantial reward for q violin
recently lost in Chaplain, Mr. Hill, OF the
famous old firm OF violin makers, WILL
liam E. Hill & Sons, told Standard rep
resentative that the loss of violins is
quite common matter, and that many
Of the famous violins have vanished from
their owners and have never been recov-
cred. ''Kloz Regiditus Kloz Mitterland
an der" was the advertised label that
suggested Chaplain as the center Of ro-
nance. This, Mr.. Hill pointed out, is a
nisdescription.
The LABEL he said, should read
'Aegidius Kloz in Mittenwald an der Isar,
1850" KloZ was one OF the German
nearly all worked in MittenWald. quaint
town in Bavaria. The Kloz family were
among the leading fiddlemakers Of the
place. and a statue to one Of them, George
KIoz. | fancy, is feature OF the town.
Although Kloz violins, IL they are free
from damage. have an excellent tone both
as regards quality and quantity. they
have never fetched the prices of the in
struments made by their italian cotem-
poraTies. Admirable though they are, the
famous Stainer-is now being used by
any great public performer. II he does
not recover the violin he has lost, the ad-
vertiser should have no difficulty in be
ing able to buy another Kloz
"Of ffddles lost. stolen or strayed. the
most notable instance within recent times
Is the disappearance Of the violin belong
ing to the great player Ysaye. 1t was a
Stradivarius. made in 1882. and one OF the
violins shown in the loan collection of
musical instruments at South Kensington
In 1885. 1t was the practice of Ysaye, as
of every other great player. to carry with
him two violins so that in case OF acct
dent he might have one to fall back upon.
The stolen one was left unattended in the
artists room below the orchestra. 1t van
ished and In consequence of the hue and
cry that resulted the instrument has
never come to light again Nor can the
pOssessOr Of such violin bring It to
light. while the present generation OF ex-
perts is alive, for infallibly 1t would be
recognized. Within the last few years nc
fewer than three good violins have been
left in trains and never recovered. In
every instance In which a violin has beer
so left 1t has been taken by other pas
sengers. and not by the servants Of the
deed, have been responsible for the re-
turn OF several Instruments
Perhaps the most curious story sur.
rounding the disappearance Of violin IL
that in which Mr.. Bransby Burnand, in
his day well known underwater al
said Mr.. Hill, was in the habit Of at.
taching his visiting card to all his pos
sessions, and to this habit he undoubtedly
owed the recovery Of his violin. On re.
turning home one day from the city tc
Rutland Gate he dismissed his cabman
only to discover few moments later
that he had left his instrument in the
vehicle. He advertised extensively, offer
ing considerable reward, and. in fact
did everything possible to recover his
fro huf 2
year later on returning home from the
city. his butler approached him and
gravely handed him a violin case. In II
was the missing violin. No reward was
ever claimed, and no intimation ever
given as to who returned 1t. 1t was
either a case of a conscious-stricken
thief or possibly, I think. Of finder who
had put the violin away and only dis
covered the card on opening the case a
year later