Bow & Bridge

Otto, Ludwig

died 1887

As printed

  1. Old violins (1905)

    OTTO, Ludwig, son of Georg August Gottfried Otto; b. 1821, Jena; 1887, St Petersburg, Cologne, St Petersburg. He exhibited three violins, a viola, violoncello, and double-bass, in London, 1862. They were all well made, and were moderately priced.

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    2. OTTO, Jacob August; b. 1764, Gotha; d. 1830, Jena. Pupil of Franz Anton Ernst at Gotha; settled in Weimar; maker to the Court; worked also in Halle, Leipzig, Magdeburg, Berlin, and Jena; fine repairer, but made excellent violins and violoncellos. His five sons all became violin makers.
    4. OTTO, Ludwig, son of Georg August Gottfried Otto; b. 1821, Jena; 1887, St Petersburg, Cologne, St Petersburg. He exhibited three violins, a viola, violoncello, and double-bass, in London, 1862. They were all well made, and were moderately priced.
    6. OTTO, Louis, son of Carl August Otto; b. July 15, 1844, Ludwigslust. Pupil of his father in Ludwigslust, 1860-65; in Cologne, 1865-66, then went to Hanover, 1872; then still there (1898); careful in selection of wood; large Stradivari pattern; excellent work; has made 238 violins, and many tenors and 'cellos. First prizeman, Chicago and Melbourne.

  2. A dictionary of violin makers (1896)

    Otto, Ludwig, son of Georg August Gottfried Otto; b. Sept. 16, 1821, Jena; d. Feb. 9, 1887, St. Petersburg. First worked in Cologne, …

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    2. Otto, Jacob August, b. 1764, Gotha; d. 1830, Jena. Pupil of Franz Anton Ernst at Gotha, later settled in Weimar, and was appointed maker to the Court. Worked also in Halle, Leipzig, Magdeburg, Berlin, and finally in Jena. Was especially skilful in repairing old instruments, and made very good violins and violoncellos; six violins, one alto, and one violoncello were made by him for the Royal Orchestra of Copenhagen. He published two books on violin making: "Ueber den Bau und die Erhaltung der Geige und aller Bogeninstrumente" (Halle, 1817); and "Ueber den Bau der Bogeninstrumente und über die Arbeiten der vorzüglichsten Instrumentenmacher" (Jena, 1828); the latter was translated into English by John Bishop in 1848. His five sons all became violin makers.
    4. Otto, Ludwig, son of Georg August Gottfried Otto; b. Sept. 16, 1821, Jena; d. Feb. 9, 1887, St. Petersburg. First worked in Cologne, but after 1871 settled in St. Petersburg. He exhibited three violins, a viola, violoncello, and double-bass in London, 1862. They were all well made and were moderately priced.
    6. Otto, Louis, son of Carl August Otto; b. July 15, 1844, Ludwigslust. Pupil of his father in Ludwigslust, 1860-65; worked with his cousin, Ludwig Otto, in Cologne, 1865-66, then went to Hanover, where he worked with Aug. Riechers till 1872. In the same year started his own business in Düsseldorf, at 16, Schützenstrasse, where he still works, assisted by two workmen. He is very skilful at repairs, and has repaired about 850 fine old instruments. For his new instruments he uses beautiful wood, not less than twenty years old, and follows the Stradivari model, large pattern, using good oil varnish, orange colour, of his own invention; the tone is of fine, full quality. He himself accurately determines the thicknesses of back and front, cuts the sound-holes, places the sound-posts, carves the scroll, and does the varnishing. About 238 violins, 13 violas, and 33 violoncellos have been made. He gained first prizes at the Exhibitions in Düsseldorf, 1880; Melbourne, 1888; and Chicago, 1893. His son now works under him.

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

    Otto, Ludwig, son of Georg August Gottfried Otto; b. Sept. 16, 1821, Jena; d. Feb. 9, 1887, St. Petersburg. First worked in Cologne, …

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    1. Otto, Heinrich Wilhelm, third son of J. A. Otto; b. 1796; d. 1858. Worked first in Amsterdam and later in Berlin.
    2. Otto, Hermann, son of Ludwig Otto: b. March 9, 1859, Cologne; d. Sept. 20, 1884, St. Petersburg. Worked with his father in St. Petersburg.
    3. Otto, Jacob August, b. 1764, Gotha; d. 1830, Jena. Pupil of Franz Anton Ernst at Gotha, later settled in Weimar, and was appointed maker to the Court. Worked also in Halle, Leipzig, Magdeburg, Berlin, and finally in Jena. Was especially skilful in repairing old instruments, and made very good violins and violoncellos; six violins, one alto, and one violoncello were made by him for the Royal Orchestra of Copenhagen. He published two books on violin making: "Ueber den Bau und die Erhaltung der Geige und aller Bogeninstrumente" (Halle, 1817); and "Ueber den Bau der Bogeninstrumente und über die Arbeiten der vorzüglichsten Instrumentenmacher" (Jena, 1828); the latter was translated into English by John Bishop in 1848. His five sons all became violin makers.
    4. Otto, Ludwig, son of Georg August Gottfried Otto; b. Sept. 16, 1821, Jena; d. Feb. 9, 1887, St. Petersburg. First worked in Cologne, but after 1871 settled in Petersburg. He exhibited three violins, a viola, violoncello and double-bass in London, 1862. They were all well made and were moderately priced.
    5. Otto, Louis, son of Carl August Otto; b. July 15, 1844, Ludwigslust. Pupil of his father in Ludwigslust, 1860-65; worked with his cousin, Ludwig Otto, in Cologne, 1865-66, then went to Hanover, where he worked with Aug. Riechers till 1872. In the same year started his own business in Düsseldorf, at 16, Schützenstrasse, where he still works, assisted by two workmen. He is very skilful at repairs, and has repaired about 850 fine old instruments. For his new instruments he uses beautiful wood, not less than twenty years old, and follows the Stradivari model, large pattern, using good oil varnish, orange colour, of his own invention; the tone is of fine, full quality. He himself accurately determines the thicknesses of back and front, cuts the sound-holes, places the sound-posts, carves the scroll, and does the varnishing. About 238 violins, 13 violas, and 33 violoncellos have been made. He gained first prizes at the Exhibitions in Düsseldorf, 1880; Melbourne, 1888; and Chicago, 1893. His son now works under him.
    6. Ouvrard, Jean. A maker in Paris about 1725-46. Pupil of Claude Pierray. A violoncello is known, beautifully made, with very fine golden-coloured varnish; also a small six-stringed viol dated 1726, and a five-stringed viol labelled "place de l'Ecole, à Paris, 1745."
    7. P.
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  1. An encyclopedia of the violin (1925)

    OTTO, LUDWIG, Erfurt, Koln, St. Petersburg, b. Jena, 1821, d. St. Petersburg, 1887.

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    2. OTTO, LOUIS, Dusseldorf, b. Ludwigslut, 1844, d. 1920.
    4. OTTO, LUDWIG, Erfurt, Koln, St. Petersburg, b. Jena, 1821, d. St. Petersburg, 1887.
    6. PACHELE, MICHEL, Mirecourt, 1779 to 1780.

  2. The violin: its famous makers and their imitators (1884)

    Otto, Ludwig, St. Petersburg, son of Georg August, now living. Born at Cologne.

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    1. Otto, Heinrich, Berlin, third son of Jacob August. Born 1815, died 1858.
    2. Otto, Carl, Ludwigslust, fourth son of Jacob August. Born 1825, now living. Violin-maker to the court of Mecklenburg.
    3. Otto, C. U. F., Stockholm, fifth son of Jacob August. Now living.
    4. Otto, Ludwig, St. Petersburg, son of Georg August, now living. Born at Cologne.
    5. Otto, Louis, Dusseldorf, son of Carl, now living.
    6. Otto, Hermann, St. Petersburg, son of Ludwig, now living.
    7. Parth, Andreas Nicholas, Vienna, 18th century.

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

    Otto, Ludwig, St. Petersburg, son of Georg August. Born at Cologne; died 1887.

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    2. Otto, C. U. F., Stockholm, fifth son of Jacob August. Died 1884.
    4. Otto, Ludwig, St. Petersburg, son of Georg August. Born at Cologne; died 1887.
    6. Otto, Louis, Dusseldorf, son of Carl, now living.

Named in 6 books printed between 1884 and 1925. Read by software from scans of those pages, not yet checked by a person against the page. Entries from 6 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 (1926); Old violins (1905); The violin: its famous makers and their imitators (1884); the violin its famous makers and their imitators (1909); The violin: its famous makers and their imitators (1909). Entries from 6 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
Otto, Ludwig, son of Georg August Gottfried Otto; b. Sept. 16, 1821, Jena; d. Feb. 9, 1887, St. Petersburg. First worked in Cologne, … reported1
Places and dates of work
Otto, Ludwig, son of Georg August Gottfried Otto; b. Sept. 16, 1821, Jena; d. Feb. 9, 1887, St. Petersburg. First worked in Cologne, … reported1
Places and dates of work
Otto, Ludwig, son of Georg August Gottfried Otto; b. Sept. 16, 1821, Jena; d. Feb. 9, 1887, St. Petersburg. First worked in Cologne, … reported1
Places and dates of work
OTTO, LUDWIG, Erfurt, Koln, St. Petersburg, b. Jena, 1821, d. St. Petersburg, 1887. reported1
Places and dates of work
OTTO, LUDWIG, Erfurt, Koln, St. Petersburg, b. Jena, 1821, d. St. Petersburg, 1887. reported1
Places and dates of work
OTTO, Ludwig, son of Georg August Gottfried Otto; b. 1821, Jena; 1887, St Petersburg, Cologne, St Petersburg. He exhibited three violins, a viola, violoncello, and double-bass, in London, 1862. They were all well made, and were moderately priced. reported1
Places and dates of work
Otto, Ludwig, St. Petersburg, son of Georg August, now living. Born at Cologne. reported1
Places and dates of work
Otto, Ludwig, St. Petersburg, son of Georg August. Born at Cologne; died 1887. reported1
Places and dates of work
Otto, Ludwig, St. Petersburg, son of Georg August. Born at Cologne; died 1887. reported1
Died (date and place)
Died 1887. As printed in the cited source: “OTTO, LUDWIG, Erfurt, Koln, St. Petersburg, b. Jena, 1821, d. St. Petersburg, 1887” reported1

How the pages were read

10 of the 10 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. 6 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”, “DICTIONARY OF VIOLIN MAKERS”, “SECTION XII.—ENGLISH MAKERS.”, “German Makers”, “SECTION X.—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 6 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 2 linessource record

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  5. 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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  6. Haweis, H. R. (Hugh Reginald), 1839-1901, Old violins (Edinburgh, Grant, 1905). archive.org, oldviolins00hawe. https://archive.org/details/oldviolins00hawe.machine textcited for 1 linesource record

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  7. Hart, George, 1839-1891, The violin: its famous makers and their imitators (London, Dulau and co. [etc.], 1884). archive.org, violinitsfamousm84hart. https://archive.org/details/violinitsfamousm84hart.machine textcited for 1 linesource record

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  8. the violin its famous makers and their imitators (1909). archive.org, violinitsfamousm0000geor. https://archive.org/details/violinitsfamousm0000geor.machine textcited for 1 linesource record

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  9. Hart, George, 1839-1891, The violin: its famous makers and their imitators (London: Dulau, 1909). archive.org, violinitsfamousm00hart. https://archive.org/details/violinitsfamousm00hart.machine textcited for 1 linesource record

    scan page 332, line 15