Bow & Bridge

Otto, Louis

1844–1920

As printed

  1. A dictionary of violin makers (1896)

    Otto, Louis, son of Carl August Otto; b. July 15, 1844, Ludwigslust. Pupil of his father in Ludwigslust, 1860-65; worked with his cousin, …

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    2. 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.
    4. 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."

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

    Otto, Louis, son of Carl August Otto; b. July 15, 1844, Ludwigslust. Pupil of his father in Ludwigslust, 1860-65; worked with his cousin, …

    scan page 79, line 6; scan page 79, line 11See the scans: 79, 79source record

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    1. Otto, Hermann, son of Ludwig Otto: b. March 9, 1859, Cologne; d. Sept. 20, 1884, St. Petersburg. Worked with his father in St. Petersburg.
    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.
    3. 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.
    4. 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.
    5. 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."
    6. P.
    7. Pacherele, Michel. A maker in Paris in 1779. He followed the pattern of Guersan. His instruments were fairly well made, slightly arched, with yellow varnish. His name is branded on the top of the back, and he used a MS. label: "Michel Pacherele, luthier rue d'Argenteuil à Paris, 1779."

  3. Old violins (1905)

    OTTO, Louis, son of Carl August Otto; b. July 15, 1844, Ludwigslust. Pupil of his father in Ludwigslust, 1860-65; in Cologne, 1865-66, …

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    2. 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.
    4. 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.
    6. OUVRARD, Jean. 1725-46; pupil of Claude Pierray. Transition maker, but true violoncello pattern, though continued to make viols.
Show all 6 printings

  1. An encyclopedia of the violin (1925)

    OTTO, LOUIS, Dusseldorf, b. Ludwigslut, 1844, d. 1920.

    scan page 60, line 59See the scansource record

    OTTO, LOUIS, Dusseldorf, b. Ludwigslutt, 1844, d. 1920.

    scan page 62, line 59See the scansource record

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    2. OTTO, JAKOB AUGUST, Weimar, Jena, b. Gotha, 1760, d. 1829. A famous German maker who published a manual of violin building.
    4. OTTO, LOUIS, Dusseldorf, b. Ludwigslut, 1844, d. 1920.
    6. OTTO, LUDWIG, Erfurt, Koln, St. Petersburg, b. Jena, 1821, d. St. Petersburg, 1887.

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    2. OTTO, JAKOB AUGUST, Weimar, Jena, b. Gotha, 1760, d. 1829. A famous German maker who published a manual of violin building.
    4. OTTO, LOUIS, Dusseldorf, b. Ludwigslutt, 1844, d. 1920.
    6. OTTO, LUDWIG, Erfurt, Koln, St. Petersburg, b. Jena, 1821, d. St. Petersburg, 1887.

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

    Otto, Louis, Dusseldorf, son of Carl, now living.

    scan page 334, line 8See the scan

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    scan page 334, line 8

    1. Otto, Carl, Ludwigslust, fourth son of Jacob August. Born 1825, now living. Violin-maker to the court of Mecklenburg.
    2. Otto, C. U. F., Stockholm, fifth son of Jacob August. Now living.
    3. Otto, Ludwig, St. Petersburg, son of Georg August, now living. Born at Cologne.
    4. Otto, Louis, Dusseldorf, son of Carl, now living.
    5. Otto, Hermann, St. Petersburg, son of Ludwig, now living.
    6. Parth, Andreas Nicholas, Vienna, 18th century.
    7. Pfretzschner, Gottlob, Cremona, 1750. Very commonplace.

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

    Otto, Louis, Dusseldorf, son of Carl, now living.

    scan pages 332, 340 · line 17See the scans: 332, 340source record

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    2. Otto, Ludwig, St. Petersburg, son of Georg August. Born at Cologne; died 1887.
    4. Otto, Louis, Dusseldorf, son of Carl, now living.
    6. Otto, Hermann, St. Petersburg, son of Ludwig. Died 1884.

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

One or more sources name this maker, and this record states only that: An encyclopedia of the violin (1925); An Encyclopedia of the Violin (1926); 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. Beyond what is printed there, nothing on this site confirms this record and no claim has been invented — not established, and we want to hear from you if you can change it.

What the books say

Places and dates of work
OTTO, LOUIS, Dusseldorf, b. Ludwigslut, 1844, d. 1920. reported1
Places and dates of work
OTTO, LOUIS, Dusseldorf, b. Ludwigslutt, 1844, d. 1920. reported1
Places and dates of work
Otto, Louis, Dusseldorf, son of Carl, now living. reported1
Places and dates of work
Otto, Louis, Dusseldorf, son of Carl, now living. reported1
Places and dates of work
Otto, Louis, Dusseldorf, son of Carl, now living. reported1
Born (date and place)
Born 1844. As printed in the cited source: “OTTO, LOUIS, Dusseldorf, b. Ludwigslut, 1844” reported1
Died (date and place)
Died 1920. As printed in the cited source: “OTTO, LOUIS, Dusseldorf, b. Ludwigslut, 1844, d. 1920” reported1
Places and dates of work
Otto, Louis, son of Carl August Otto; b. July 15, 1844, Ludwigslust. Pupil of his father in Ludwigslust, 1860-65; worked with his cousin, … reported1
Places and dates of work
Otto, Louis, son of Carl August Otto; b. July 15, 1844, Ludwigslust. Pupil of his father in Ludwigslust, 1860-65; worked with his cousin, … reported1
Places and dates of work
Otto, Louis, son of Carl August Otto; b. July 15, 1844, Ludwigslust. Pupil of his father in Ludwigslust, 1860-65; worked with his cousin, … reported1
Places and dates of work
OTTO, Louis, son of Carl August Otto; b. July 15, 1844, Ludwigslust. Pupil of his father in Ludwigslust, 1860-65; in Cologne, 1865-66, … 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: “VIOLIN MAKERS IN EUROPE”, “GERMAN MAKERS.”, “German Makers”, “A DICTIONARY OF VIOLIN MAKERS.”, “DICTIONARY OF 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 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. 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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  2. 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 62, line 59

  3. 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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  4. 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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  5. 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

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  6. 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

    scan page 79, line 6

  7. 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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  8. 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 77, line 11

  9. 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

    scan page 288, line 31