Bow & Bridge

Jacobs

1690–1740

As printed

  1. The violin: its famous makers and their imitators (1875)

    JACOBS, Amsterdam, 1690—1740. A close imitator of Nicholas Amati. Few makers have been more mistaken than Jacobs; so exact was he in following …

    scan page 270, line 5See the scan

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    scan page 270, line 5

    1. HÜNGER, Christopher Frederick, Leipsic, 1780.
    2. One of the best German makers.
    3. JACOBI, Meissen. A famous Lute maker.
    4. JACOBS, Amsterdam, 1690—1740. A close imitator of Nicholas Amati. Few makers have been more mistaken than Jacobs; so exact was he in following the model of Amati, that numbers of his Violins are passed by the inexperienced as original. He mostly selected the grand pattern of Amati for his model, which gave him full scope for the exercise of his powers. He selected wood as nearly as possible resembling that found in the works of Nicholas Amati. The backs are mostly of even grain, and compact; the modelling can only be found fault with near the purfling, where its sharpness at once catches the attention of the critic in these matters, and divulges the true author. The varnish, though good, is not equal to that of Amati. The scroll is inferior to the body in merit. The purfling is of whalebone, like that of most of the Dutch makers.
    5. JACOBS, Amsterdam, probably a son of the above. Excellent varnish of deep red, very transparent, full of character, but wanting in finish. Purfling embedded.
    6. KAMBL, Johann Cornelius, 1640.
    7. Johan Andreas Kämbl Churfürftl.

  2. The violin: its famous makers and their imitators. : With several wood engravings from photographs of the works of Stradiuarius, Guarnerius, Amati, and others (1880)

    JACOBS, Amsterdam, 1690—1740. A close imitator of Nicholas Amati. Few makers have been more mistaken than Jacobs; so exact was he in following …

    scan page 211, line 20See 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 211, line 20

    1. HUMEL, Christian, Nuremberg, about 1709.
    2. HÜNGER, Christopher Frederick, Leipsic, 1780. One of the best German makers.
    3. JACOBI, Meissen. A famous Lute maker.
    4. JACOBS, Amsterdam, 1690—1740. A close imitator of Nicholas Amati. Few makers have been more mistaken than Jacobs; so exact was he in following the model of Amati, that numbers of his Violins are passed by the inexperienced as original. He mostly selected the grand pattern of Amati for his model, which gave him full scope for the exercise of his powers. He selected wood as nearly as possible resembling that found in the works of

Named in 2 books printed between 1875 and 1880. 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 The violin: its famous makers and their imitators. : With several wood engravings from photographs of the works of Stradiuarius, Guarnerius, Amati, and others (1880); The violin: its famous makers and their imitators (1875), 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
JACOBS, Amsterdam, 1690—1740. A close imitator of Nicholas Amati. Few makers have been more mistaken than Jacobs; so exact was he in following … reported1
Places and dates of work
JACOBS, Amsterdam, 1690—1740. A close imitator of Nicholas Amati. Few makers have been more mistaken than Jacobs; so exact was he in following … reported1
Born (date and place)
Born 1690. As printed in the cited source: “JACOBS, Amsterdam, 1690—1740” reported1
Died (date and place)
Died 1740. As printed in the cited source: “JACOBS, Amsterdam, 1690—1740” reported1

How the pages were read

4 of the 4 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: “GERMAN MAKERS.”, “SECTION XII.—GERMAN AND DUTCH 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, both read from machine text. The count weighs how well each source was read, not just how many are cited. A stack of half-read sources does not outweigh one page read properly.

  1. Hart, George, 1839-1891, The violin: its famous makers and their imitators. : With several wood engravings from photographs of the works of Stradiuarius, Guarnerius, Amati, and others (London: Dulau, 1880). archive.org, violinitsfamousm00hart_0. https://archive.org/details/violinitsfamousm00hart_0.machine textcited for 3 linessource record

    scan page 211, line 20

  2. 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

    scan page 270, line 5