Bow & Bridge

Silvestre, Hippolyte

1808–1879

As printed

  1. A dictionary of violin makers (1896)

    Silvestre, Hippolyte, b. Dec. 14, 1808, Saint-Nicolas-du-Port (Meurthe); d. Dec. 3, 1879, Sommerville, near Nancy. Was first a pupil of Blaise …

    scan page 90, line 13See the scan

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    scan page 90, line 13

    1. Siciliano (Ciciliano), Antonio. A maker in Venice about 1600. A tenor and a bass viola da gamba are in the Modena Museum, Vienna.
    2. Siciliano, Gioacchino, son of Antonio Siciliano. Was working in Venice about 1680.
    3. Silva, Joan Vieira da. Was working in Lisbon about 1700. A cither is known of his, inlaid with tortoiseshell and ivory, with six pairs of wire strings.
    4. Silvestre, Hippolyte, b. Dec. 14, 1808, Saint-Nicolas-du-Port (Meurthe); d. Dec. 3, 1879, Sommerville, near Nancy. Was first a pupil of Blaise at Mirecourt, then of J. B. Vuillaume at Paris. In 1831 he joined his brother Pierre at Lyons, and worked with him till 1848. On the death of Pierre in 1859 he again took up the business, and continued in it till 1865, when he transferred it to H. Chrétien, his sister's son, and retired to Sommerville, where he died.
    5. Silvestre, Pierre, brother of Hippolyte; b. Aug. 9, 1801, at Sommerville, near Nancy; d. 1859, Lyons. Was also a pupil of Blaise at Mirecourt, then went to Paris, first working under Lupot and then under Gand. In 1829 he founded the business in Lyons. Hippolyte was in partnership with him, 1831-48; he afterwards continued the business alone until his death in 1859. He copied the pattern of Stradivari with great ability; his instruments are always handsome, owing to the beautiful quality of the wood used, and their tone is often remarkably good; the varnish is very fine and the work most carefully finished, consequently they are increasing in commercial value. It is said he made about 350 instruments, bearing his label: "Pierre Silvestre à Lyon, 185—." When working with his brother, the label used was: "Petrus et Hippolytus Silvestre fratres fecerunt Lugdun … 183—." Bronze medals were obtained at the Paris Exhibitions in 1844 and 1855.
    6. Silvestre neveu. See "Chrétien."
    7. Simon. A maker of viols in Lyons, in rue de la Pomme-Rouge, 1568-73. Only his Christian name is known, as in all the documents in which it appears, a blank space is left for the surname, which has never been filled in.

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

    Silvestre, Hippolyte, b. Dec. 14, 1808, Saint-Nicolas-du-Port (Meurthe); d. Dec. 3, 1879, Sommerville, near Nancy. Was first a pupil of Blaise …

    scan page 92, line 14; scan page 92, line 25See the scans: 92, 92source 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 92, line 14

    1. Siciliano (Ciciliano), Antonio. A maker in Venice about 1600. A tenor and a bass viola da gamba are in the Modena Museum, Vienna.
    2. Siciliano, Gioacchino, son of Antonio Siciliano. Was working in Venice about 1680.
    3. Silva, Joan Vieira da. Was working in Lisbon about 1700. A cither is known of his, inlaid with tortoiseshell and ivory, with six pairs of wire strings.
    4. Silvestre, Hippolyte, b. Dec. 14, 1808, Saint-Nicolas-du-Port (Meurthe); d. Dec. 3, 1879, Sommerville, near Nancy. Was first a pupil of Blaise at Mirecourt, then of J. B. Vuillaume at Paris. In 1831 he joined his brother Pierre at Lyons, and worked with him till 1848. On the death of Pierre in 1859 he again took up the business, and continued in it till 1865, when he transferred it to H. Chrétien, his sister's son, and retired to Sommerville, where he died.
    5. Silvestre, Pierre, brother of Hippolyte; b. Aug. 9, 1801, at Sommerville, near Nancy; d. 1859, Lyons. Was also a pupil of Blaise at Mirecourt, then went to Paris, first working under Lupot and then under Gand. In 1829 he founded the business in Lyons. Hippolyte was in partnership with him, 1831-48; he afterwards continued the business alone until his death in 1859. He copied the pattern of Stradivari with great ability, his instruments are always handsome, owing to the beautiful quality of the wood used, and their tone is often remarkably good; the varnish is very fine and the work most carefully finished, consequently they are increasing in commercial value. It is said he made about 350 instruments bearing his label: "Pierre Silvestre à Lyon, 185—" When working with his brother the label used was: Petrus et Hippolytus Silvestre frères fecerunt Lugdun . 183—" Bronze medals were obtained at the Paris Exhibitions in 1844 and 1855.
    6. Silvestre neveu See "Chrétien."
    7. Simon A maker of viols in Lyons, in rue de la Pomme-Rouge, 1568-73. Only his Christian name is known, as in all the documents in which it appears, a blank space is left for the surname, which has never been filled in.

  3. An encyclopedia of the violin (1925)

    SILVESTRE, HIPPOLYTE, Lyon, b. 1808, d. 1879.

    scan page 65, line 14; scan page 67, line 12See the scans: 65, 67source record

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    scan page 65, line 14

    1. SICILIANO (CICILIANO), ANTONIO, Venice, 1630 to 1660.
    2. SICILIANO, GIOACCHINO, Venice, 1670 to 1680.
    3. SILVESTRE, HIPP C., vide Chretien.
    4. SILVESTRE, HIPPOLYTE, Lyon, b. 1808, d. 1879.
    5. SILVESTRE, PIERRE, Lyon, b. 1801, d. 1859. A pupil of Blaise in Mirecourt. As apprentice he worked with Lupot and Grand (père) and finished his artistic education with them. In 1829 he opened his own shop and conducted the business in partnership with his brother Hippolyte, who stayed with him until 1848. He was a trained master and worked with the Stradivarius model. After his death the business was conducted by his brother Hippolyte. The label used by Silvestre is reproduced on Plate 15.
    6. SIMON, CLAUDE, Paris, 1783 to 1800.
    7. SIMONIN, CHARLES, Genf, Toulouse, b. about 1815 in Mirecourt, still living in 1875.
Show all 4 printings

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

    SILVESTRE, HIPPOLYTE, Lyon, b. 1808, d. 1879.

    scan page 69, line 14See the scan

    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 69, line 14

    1. SICILIANO (CICILIANO), ANTONIO, Venice, 1630 to 1660.
    2. SICILIANO, GIOACCHINO, Venice, 1670 to 1680.
    3. SILVESTRE, HIPP C., vide Chretien.
    4. SILVESTRE, HIPPOLYTE, Lyon, b. 1808, d. 1879.
    5. SILVESTRE, PIERRE, Lyon, b. 1801, d. 1859. A pupil of Blaise in Mirecourt. As apprentice he worked with Lupot and Grand (père) and finished his artistic education with them. In 1829 he opened his own shop and conducted the business in partnership with his brother Hippolyte, who stayed with him until 1848. He was a trained master and worked with the Stradivarius model. After his death the business was conducted by his brother Hippolyte. The label used by Silvestre is reproduced on Plate 15.
    6. SIMON, CLAUDE, Paris, 1783 to 1800.
    7. SIMONIN, CHARLES, Genf, Toulouse, b. about 1815 in Mirecourt, still living in 1875.

Named in 4 books printed between 1896 and 1925. Read by software from scans of those pages, not yet checked by a person against the page. Entries from 4 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

Not established: that is this record’s honest state, resting on one thing alone — A dictionary of violin makers (1890); A dictionary of violin makers (1890); A dictionary of violin makers (1896), naming this maker and nothing more. Entries from 4 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 is printed there has been invented here. If more can be said, write in and tell us.

What the books say

Places and dates of work
Silvestre, Hippolyte, b. Dec. 14, 1808, Saint-Nicolas-du-Port (Meurthe); d. Dec. 3, 1879, Sommerville, near Nancy. Was first a pupil of Blaise … reported1
Places and dates of work
Silvestre, Hippolyte, b. Dec. 14, 1808, Saint-Nicolas-du-Port (Meurthe); d. Dec. 3, 1879, Sommerville, near Nancy. Was first a pupil of Blaise … reported1
Places and dates of work
Silvestre, Hippolyte, b. Dec. 14, 1808, Saint-Nicolas-du-Port (Meurthe); d. Dec. 3, 1879, Sommerville, near Nancy. Was first a pupil of Blaise … reported1
Born (date and place)
Born 1808. As printed in the cited source: “Silvestre, Hippolyte, b. Dec. 14, 1808” reported1
Died (date and place)
Died 1879. As printed in the cited source: “Silvestre, Hippolyte, b. Dec. 14, 1808, Saint-Nicolas-du-Port (Meurthe); d. Dec. 3, 1879” reported1
Places and dates of work
SILVESTRE, HIPPOLYTE, Lyon, b. 1808, d. 1879. reported1
Places and dates of work
SILVESTRE, HIPPOLYTE, Lyon, b. 1808, d. 1879. reported1
Places and dates of work
SILVESTRE, HIPPOLYTE, Lyon, b. 1808, d. 1879. reported1
Born (date and place)
Born 1808. As printed in the cited source: “SILVESTRE, HIPPOLYTE, Lyon, b. 1808” reported1
Died (date and place)
Died 1879. As printed in the cited source: “SILVESTRE, HIPPOLYTE, Lyon, b. 1808, d. 1879” 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. 2 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”.

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 4 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 3 linessource record

    scan page 92, line 25

  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

    scan page 92, line 14

  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

    scan page 90, line 13

  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

    scan page 65, line 14

  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

    scan page 69, line 14

  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

    scan page 67, line 12