Bow & Bridge

Comins, John

As printed

  1. The Fiddle Fancier's Guide: A Manual of Information Regarding Violins … (1892)

    Comins, John, London, about 1800. A very good worker who, it is said, was a pupil of Forster. Made instruments pretty deep in the ribs. Light yellow-brown varnish. Fine wood.

    scan pages 61, 64 · line 3See the scans: 61, 64source record

    Read the transcript line

    This is what the software read off the scan, not the page itself. The cited line is marked, and three lines either side are shown for context.

    scan page 61, line 3

    1. maker has undoubtedly high claims to acknowledgment. He has the reputation of having been actually at Cremona under Stradivari. His work is of a very high character. The outline of his larger instruments is extremely beautiful, and bears quite recognisable evidence of having been guided by a Stradivari motif, but his sound holes are cut much lower than in Stradivari instruments, which is a curious circumstance in a maker who came so directly under the influence of the great Cremonese. Oddly enough, they do not detract much from the fine feeling of the ensemble. There is not that sense of entire compactness with which a Stradivari 'cello inspires one, but that is all. De Comble's scrolls are very beautiful specimens of sculpture. Varnish a fine brownish red, pretty closely resembling Italian.
    3. Comins, John, London, about 1800. A very good worker who, it is said, was a pupil of Forster. Made instruments pretty deep in the ribs. Light yellow-brown varnish. Fine wood.
    5. Contreras, Joseph, Madrid, 1745. Very good style and work. Not very many specimens about.

  2. Dictionary of Violin makers (1928)

    COMINS (John) — London circa 1800. Pupil of W. Forster. Good make.

    scan page 197, line 8See the scan

    Read the transcript line

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    scan page 197, line 8

    2. COLVIN (Gavin) — Sunderland towards 1880. A good maker who has made a certain number of violins after the Stradivari model. Large pattern. Label: Gavin Colvin, Maker, Sunderland, 18..
    4. COMINS (John) — London circa 1800. Pupil of W. Forster. Good make.
    6. CONWAY (William) — London circa 1750.

Named in 2 books printed between 1892 and 1928. Read by software from scans of those pages, not yet checked by a person against the page. Entries from 2 books stand under this name, and the software judged them likely the same person. Tell us if that is wrong and we will split the record.

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Details and sources

Record note

Printed in Dictionary of Violin makers (1928); The Fiddle Fancier’s Guide: A Manual of Information Regarding Violins … (1892); The fiddle fancier’s guide; a manual of information regarding violins, violas, basses and bows of classical and modern times, together with biographical notices and portraits of the most famous performers on these instruments (1892), and nowhere else on this site: that is the entire basis of this maker’s record. Entries from 2 books stand under this name, and the software judged them likely the same person. Tell us if that is wrong and we will split the record. No claim beyond the printed naming is invented here — not established is the accurate word for it, and we want to hear from you if that can change.

What the books say

Places and dates of work
COMINS (John) — London circa 1800. Pupil of W. Forster. Good make. reported1
Places and dates of work
Comins, John, London, about 1800. A very good worker who, it is said, was a pupil of Forster. Made instruments pretty deep in the ribs. Light yellow-brown varnish. Fine wood. reported1
Places and dates of work
Comins, John, London, about 1800. A very good worker who, it is said, was a pupil of Forster. Made instruments pretty deep in the ribs. Light yellow-brown varnish. Fine wood. reported1

How the pages were read

3 of the 3 lines here were read from machine text (software that turns a photo of a page into words), not by a person looking at the page image. 1 of them rests on a section heading above a list of names, not on a trade word printed on its own line: “Classical and Post-classical Violin Makers.”.

Notes

  1. Read from machine text (software that turns a photo of a page into words, or a typed transcription), not by a person looking at the page image. ↩

The books behind this record

This record draws on 2 sources. Each is listed below with how it was read, because a claim read from a photo of the page is stronger than one read from machine text.

  1. Arnold Sewell, Dictionary of Violin makers (1928). archive.org, dictionaryofviol0000arno. https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofviol0000arno.machine textcited for 1 linesource record

    scan page 197, line 8

  2. James M. Fleming, The Fiddle Fancier’s Guide: A Manual of Information Regarding Violins … (Haynes, Foucher & Co., 1892). archive.org, fiddlefanciersg00flemgoog. https://archive.org/details/fiddlefanciersg00flemgoog.machine textcited for 1 linesource record

    scan page 64, line 3

  3. Fleming, James M., 1839-, The fiddle fancier’s guide; a manual of information regarding violins, violas, basses and bows of classical and modern times, together with biographical notices and portraits of the most famous performers on these instruments (London, Haynes, Foucher & co., 1892). archive.org, cu31924022320166. https://archive.org/details/cu31924022320166.machine textcited for 1 linesource record

    scan page 61, line 3