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Scan 108
A dictionary of violin makers
9 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 98. See the scan on archive.org.
1was the celebrated Abbé Georg Joseph Vogler.
2Voigt, C. Hermann, b. 1850. Pupil of Lemböck. Works in Vienna.
3Voigt, Martin. Was working in Hamburg in 1726. His work is similar to that of Tielke. A bass-viol, the back inlaid in ivory, having Apollo, Venus, Mercury, and Diana represented, was dated Hamburg, 1726, and was exhibited at the South Kensington Museum, London, 1872.
4Voirin, François Nicolas, b. Oct. 1, 1833, at Mirecourt; d. June 4, 1885, at Paris. After working at Mirecourt, he went to Paris in 1855, and for fifteen years made bows for J. B. Vuillaume; he obtained as "collaborateur" a "Mention honorable" at the 1867 Paris Exhibition. He separated from Vuillaume in 1870 and established himself at [address hidden], where he worked till his death. He had great ability as a bow maker; he followed the Tourte pattern, but made the head of his bow less square; his workmanship shows wonderful finish and elegance. He was awarded a silver medal at the Paris Exhibition in 1878, the only prize given to bow-making; and some of his bows exhibited after his death at the Antwerp Exhibition were awarded a gold medal. He branded his bows with "F. N. Voirin, à Paris"; to this was added, on those bows exhibited at Paris, 1878, "Exposition, 1878." Bows sold by Madame Voirin since her husband's death have also been branded in the same way.
5Vuillaume, Claude, b. 1772, Mirecourt; d. 1834. He is the first member known of this family of violin makers, and made cheap instruments, branding them with his name only. He married Anne Leclerc (b. 1767) and had four sons, all makers: Jean Baptiste, Nicolas, Nicolas François, and Claude François. They all learnt their trade under him, and the instruments they made at that time were branded "Au roi David, Paris."
6Vuillaume, Claude François, fourth son of Claude Vuillaume; b. March, 1807, Mirecourt. First worked at violin making under his father, but later became an organ-builder. His son, Sébastien, was also a maker.
7Vuillaume, Jean, b. 1700; d. 1740. A maker in Mirecourt. Is said to have been a pupil of Stradivari, but his work shows no sign of it. A violin known is of very ordinary workmanship; the way in which it is arched is similar to Maggini instruments; the sound-holes are badly cut, the edges are too thin, the purfling painted, and a little design in black runs round the body; the scroll is carved, the varnish is yellow in colour; inside is the label: "Fait par moy, Jean Vuillaume à Mirecourt, 1738." Although the Parisian family of makers may have descended from Jean, the connection has not yet been traced.
8Vuillaume, Jean Baptiste, eldest son of Claude Vuillaume, b. Oct. 7, 1798, at Mirecourt; d. Feb. 19, 1875, at Paris. In 1817 was employed by Fr. Chanot to make violins on his newly-invented pattern. Went to Paris, 1818, and was a pupil of Georges Chanot for two years. In 1821 he entered the organ factory of Lété and soon became a partner; "Lété et Vuillaume" settled in rue Croix-des-petit-Champs in 1825. They separated in 1828, and Vuillaume started his business at No. 46 in the same street, where he remained for nearly thirty-five years, moving to [address hidden], in 1860. He tried at first to sell his own new instruments; but finding that the demand was all for Stradivari, Guarneri, and Amati instruments, he changed his methods, and one day produced a splendid Stradivari violin, signed by the great master and having a fine tone, for the sum of £12! Orders at once flowed in and Vuillaume's fortune was made. His clever copies of Stradivari violoncellos originally sold for £20, but all his fine instruments have now increased in value four-fold. In 1828, having seen and studied a bass-viol of Duiffoprugcar, he began to make instruments in the same style, with beautiful inlaid work and heads quaintly carved. The wood used was of the finest quality, obtained from Switzerland and the Tyrol, and the varnish, especially on the instruments made after 1859, was extremely beautiful, no doubt a result of the care and time he expended on the study of the Stradivari varnish. He was awarded: silver medals at Paris Exhibitions, 1827 and 1834; gold medals at Paris Exhibitions, 1839 and 1844; the only large "Council" medal at the London Exhibition in 1851; and the only large medal of honour at the Paris Exhibition, 1855. Vuillaume was also decorated with the Legion of Honour. At the very first exhibition of his instruments, in 1834, the jury's verdict on his copies of Stradivari and Amati was that not only in external
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