Bow & Bridge

Fendt, Martin

1812–1845

As printed

  1. A dictionary of violin makers (1896)

    Fendt, Martin, second son of Bernhard Fendt; b. July, 1812, in London; d. July, 1845, in Bell Alley, Coleman Street. Pupil of his father; he had talent, and was one of the good workmen employed by Arthur Betts, brother of John Betts.

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    2. Fendt, Jacob, third son of Bernhard Fendt; b. about 1815, in London; d. about Oct., 1849, in Blue Anchor Court, Whitecross Street, Finsbury. Pupil of his eldest brother, Bernhard Simon. Was employed occasionally by W. Davis, of Coventry Street, and also by Turner, a dealer in violins. He was almost the best maker among the sons of Bernhard, his copies of Italian, especially of Stradivari instruments, are very fine, the work being beautifully finished; unluckily he considered it necessary to give them the appearance of age and usage.
    4. Fendt, Martin, second son of Bernhard Fendt; b. July, 1812, in London; d. July, 1845, in Bell Alley, Coleman Street. Pupil of his father; he had talent, and was one of the good workmen employed by Arthur Betts, brother of John Betts.
    6. Fendt, William, second son of Bernhard Simon; b. 1833, in Finch Lane, London; d. 1852, at 7, Smith Street, Brompton, and was buried in Brompton Cemetery. Pupil of his father; he became a very clever workman, making excellent violas and double-basses.

  2. A dictionary of violin makers (n.d.)

    Fendt, Martin, second son of Bernhard Fendt; b. July, 1812, in London; d. July, 1845, in Bell Alley, Coleman Street. Pupil of his father; he had talent, and was one of the good workmen employed by Arthur Betts, brother of John Betts.

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    2. Fendt, Jacob, third son of Bernhard Fendt; b. about 1815, in London; d. about Oct., 1849, in Blue Anchor Court, Whitecross Street, Finsbury. Pupil of his eldest brother, Bernhard Simon. Was employed occasionally by W. Davis, of Coventry Street, and also by Turner, a dealer in violins. He was almost the best maker among the sons of Bernhard, his copies of Italian, especially of Stradivari instruments, are very fine, the work being beautifully finished; unluckily he considered it necessary to give them the appearance of age and usage.
    4. Fendt, Martin, second son of Bernhard Fendt; b. July, 1812, in London; d. July, 1845, in Bell Alley, Coleman Street. Pupil of his father; he had talent, and was one of the good workmen employed by Arthur Betts, brother of John Betts.
    6. Fendt, William, second son of Bernhard Simon; b. 1833, in Finch Lane, London; d. 1852, at 7, Smith Street, Brompton, and was buried in Brompton Cemetery. Pupil of his father; he became a very clever workman, making excellent violas and double-basses.

  3. The violin: its famous makers and their imitators (1909)

    FENDT, Martin, London, born 1812, died 1845. Brother of the above. Worked for Betts.

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    1. nature. He made many good Double-Basses of the Gasparo da Salò form, the varnish on which is superior to that on his Violins. He made also an excellent quartette of instruments—Violin, Viola, Violoncello, and Double-Bass—for the Exhibition of 1851. They were certainly the best contemporary instruments exhibited, but he failed to obtain the prize medal.
    3. FENDT, Martin, London, born 1812, died 1845. Brother of the above. Worked for Betts.
    5. FENDT, Jacob, London, born 1815, died 1849. Third son of Bernard Fendt. The best maker among the sons of Bernard. His instruments are beautifully finished, and free from the stereotyped character belonging to those of his brother Bernard. As specimens of the imitator's art they are unsurpassed. One cannot but regret that such a consummate workman should have been obliged to waste his energies in making new work resemble that of a hundred years before. The patronage that he obtained was not of much value, but had he brought his work into the market in its natural condition he could not have lived by his trade. He was, therefore, compelled to foster that which he no doubt felt to be degrading. The copies of Stradivari by Jacob Fendt are among his best efforts. The work is well done; the discoloration of the wood cleverly managed, the effects of wear counterfeited with greater skill than had ever been done before, and finally, an amount
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  1. The violin: its famous makers and their imitators (1875)

    FENDT, Martin, London, born in 1812. Brother of the above. Worked for Betts.

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    1. Basses of the Gaspard di Salo form, the varnish of which is superior to that of his Violins. He made also an excellent quartett of instruments—Violin, Viola, Violoncello, and Double-Bass, for the Exhibition of 1851, they were certainly the best contemporary instruments exhibited, but he failed to obtain the prize medal.
    3. FENDT, Martin, London, born in 1812. Brother of the above. Worked for Betts.
    5. FENDT, Jacob, London, born 1815, died 1849. Third son of Bernard Fendt. The best maker among the sons of Bernard. His instruments are beautifully finished, and free from the stereotyped character belonging to those of his brother Bernard. As specimens of the imitator's art they are unequalled. One cannot but regret that such a consummate workman should have been obliged to waste his energies in making new work resemble that of a hundred years before. The patronage that he obtained was not of much value, but had he brought his work into the market in its natural condition he would not have lived by his trade. He was, therefore, compelled to foster that which he no doubt felt to be degrading. The copies of Stradivarius by Jacob Fendt are among his best efforts. The work is well done; the discoloration of the wood cleverly managed, the effects of wear counterfeited with greater skill than was ever done before or since, and finally, an amount of style is thrown into the work which transcends the ingenuity of any

  2. British Violin Makers: A Biographical Dictionary of British Makers of Stringed Instruments and Bows and a Critical Description of Their Work (1920)

    FENDT, MARTIN, London. Son of Bernhard Fendt. He worked for Betts.

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    1. matter of profound regret that enthusiasm for the instruments of these artists is held in check by the knowledge that "they ever dissemble and often deceive."
    3. FENDT, MARTIN, London. Son of Bernhard Fendt. He worked for Betts.
    5. FENDT, WILLIAM, London: 1833-1852. Son of Bernard Simon, and a very clever workman. His violas and double basses were celebrated.

  3. An encyclopedia of the violin (1925)

    FENDT, MARTIN, London, b. 1812, d. 1845.

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    1. of Bernhard, his eldest brother. Jacob was a highly talented violin maker, who copied the instruments by Stradivarius and Lupot with great success. He generally worked for dealers, and had always the ambition to make his instruments appear a great deal older than they really were.
    3. FENDT, MARTIN, London, b. 1812, d. 1845.
    4. FENDT, WILLIAM, London, b. 1833, d. 1852. Youngest son of Bernhard Simon Bendt, and an apprentice of his father. As he died very young he only made a few instruments, but those he produced were of the highest grade.
    6. FENT, FRANÇOIS, Paris, 1765 to 1791. One of the ablest Parisian violin makers of his time. He worked upon the Stradivarius model, using only the best wood. His varnish was a reddish brown which now of course appears much darker and seems nearly black. Vidal calls attention to the fact that nearly all the Fent instruments are infested by worms. The label used by Fent is reproduced on Plate 15.

  4. An encyclopedia of the violin (n.d.)

    FENDT, MARTIN, London, b. 1812, d. 1845.

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    1. of Bernhard, his eldest brother. Jacob was a highly talented violin maker, who copied the instruments by Stradivarius and Lupot with great success. He generally worked for dealers, and had always the ambition to make his instruments appear a great deal older than they really were.
    3. FENDT, MARTIN, London, b. 1812, d. 1845.
    4. FENDT, WILLIAM, London, b. 1833, d. 1852. Youngest son of Bernhard Simon Bendt, and an apprentice of his father. As he died very young he only made a few instruments, but those he produced were of the highest grade.
    6. FENT, FRANÇOIS, Paris, 1765 to 1791. One of the ablest Parisian violin makers of his time. He worked upon the Stradivarius model, using only the best wood. His varnish was a reddish brown which now of course appears much darker and seems nearly black. Vidal calls attention to the fact that nearly all the Fent instruments are infested by worms. The label used by Fent is reproduced on Plate 15.

Named in 7 books printed between 1875 and 1925. Read by software from scans of those pages, not yet checked by a person against the page. Entries from 7 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

If you can add to this record, we want to hear from you. As it stands, one or more sources name this maker and nothing else on this site confirms it: A dictionary of violin makers (1890); A dictionary of violin makers (1890); A dictionary of violin makers (1896); An encyclopedia of the violin (1925); An encyclopedia of the violin (1925); An Encyclopedia of the Violin (1926); British Violin Makers: A Biographical Dictionary of British Makers of Stringed Instruments and Bows and a Critical Description of Their Work (1920); The violin: its famous makers and their imitators (1875); The violin: its famous makers and their imitators (1909). Entries from 7 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 what those sources state is invented here, so not established is the honest word for it.

What the books say

Places and dates of work
Fendt, Martin, second son of Bernhard Fendt; b. July, 1812, in London; d. July, 1845, in Bell Alley, Coleman Street. Pupil of his father; he had talent, and was one of the good workmen employed by Arthur Betts, brother of John Betts. reported1
Places and dates of work
Fendt, Martin, second son of Bernhard Fendt; b. July, 1812, in London; d. July, 1845, in Bell Alley, Coleman Street. Pupil of his father; he had talent, and was one of the good workmen employed by Arthur Betts, brother of John Betts. reported1
Places and dates of work
Fendt, Martin, second son of Bernhard Fendt; b. July, 1812, in London; d. July, 1845, in Bell Alley, Coleman Street. Pupil of his father; he had talent, and was one of the good workmen employed by Arthur Betts, brother of John Betts. reported1
Places and dates of work
FENDT, MARTIN, London, b. 1812, d. 1845. reported1
Places and dates of work
FENDT, MARTIN, London, b. 1812, d. 1845. reported1
Places and dates of work
FENDT, MARTIN, London, b. 1812, d. 1845. reported1
Places and dates of work
FENDT, MARTIN, London. Son of Bernhard Fendt. He worked for Betts. reported1
Places and dates of work
FENDT, Martin, London, born in 1812. Brother of the above. Worked for Betts. reported1
Places and dates of work
FENDT, Martin, London, born 1812, died 1845. Brother of the above. Worked for Betts. reported1
Born (date and place)
Born 1812. As printed in the cited source: “FENDT, MARTIN, London, b. 1812” reported1
Died (date and place)
Died 1845. As printed in the cited source: “FENDT, MARTIN, London, b. 1812, d. 1845” reported1

How the pages were read

11 of the 11 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. 5 of them rest on a section heading above a list of names, not on a trade word printed on their own line: “A DICTIONARY OF VIOLIN MAKERS.”, “VIOLIN MAKERS IN EUROPE”, “BRITISH VIOLIN MAKERS”, “ENGLISH MAKERS.”, “German 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 7 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. Stainer, C. (Cecie), 1867-1937, A dictionary of violin makers (London: Novello, n.d.). archive.org, dictionaryofviol00stai. https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofviol00stai.machine textcited for 1 linesource record

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  2. Stainer, C. (Cecie), 1867-1937, A dictionary of violin makers (London: Novello, n.d.). archive.org, dictionaryofviol1899stai. https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofviol1899stai.machine textcited for 1 linesource record

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  3. Stainer, C. (Cecie), 1867-1937, A dictionary of violin makers (London ; New York: Novello, Ewer, 1896). archive.org, dictionaryofviol00stai_0. https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofviol00stai_0.machine textcited for 1 linesource record

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  4. Alberto Bachmann, An encyclopedia of the violin (1925). archive.org, encyclopediaofvi0000albe_h3k7. https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofvi0000albe_h3k7.machine textcited for 3 linessource record

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  5. Bachmann, Alberto and Ysaye, Eugene, An encyclopedia of the violin (New York, Da Capo Press, n.d.). archive.org, encyclopediaofvi0000bach_r6r5. https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofvi0000bach_r6r5.machine textcited for 1 linesource record

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  6. Alberto Bachmann, An Encyclopedia of the Violin (1925). archive.org, encyclopediaofvi0000albe_u1d5. https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofvi0000albe_u1d5.machine textcited for 1 linesource record

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  7. W. Meredith Morris, British Violin Makers: A Biographical Dictionary of British Makers of Stringed Instruments and Bows and a Critical Description of Their Work (R. Scott, 1920). archive.org, britishviolinmak0000wmer. https://archive.org/details/britishviolinmak0000wmer.machine textcited for 1 linesource record

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  8. Hart, George, 1839-1891. [from old catalog], The violin: its famous makers and their imitators (London, Dubau and co. [etc.], 1875). archive.org, violinitsfamous01hartgoog. https://archive.org/details/violinitsfamous01hartgoog.machine textcited for 1 linesource record

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  9. The violin: its famous makers and their imitators (1909). archive.org, violinitsfamousm00hartuoft. https://archive.org/details/violinitsfamousm00hartuoft.machine textcited for 1 linesource record

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