Books › A dictionary of violin makers, 1896 › scan 29
Scan 29
A dictionary of violin makers, 1896
34 lines. Read by computer on 27 September 2026. Printed page 21. See the scan on archive.org.
1Davis, William. A maker in Coventry Street, London. A cousin of Richard Davis, whose business he continued till Dec., 1846, when he sold it to Edward Withers and retired to Bussage. He also was more of a dealer in and restorer of violins than a maker, and employed Charles Maucotel (a maker who came from Paris) to work for him.
3Day, John. An amateur maker in London, a retired organist, and a good violin player. Devoted himself to reproducing the perfect tone, as well as form, of the Cremona violins, and is said to have succeeded; a copy of a Guarneri del Jesù being especially mentioned as a magnificent violin.
5Dearlove, Mark. Worked in Leeds about 1812-20.
7Dearlove, Mark William, son of Mark Dearlove. At different times he employed Thomas Absam, John Gough, and Charles Fryer to work for him. The latter he took into partnership. The label they used was: "Dearlove and Fryer, musical instrument manufacturers, Boar Lane, Leeds, 1828." Dearlove exhibited two violins and a viola in London in 1862.
9De Blosy, Nicola. Working in Naples at 13, rua Catalana, in 1793. In a guitar was the label: "Nicolaus De Blosy, fecit Neapoli, in rua Catalana, al No. 13, A.D. 1793."
11Dechert, Johann Nicolaus. A maker in Grobrutenback in the 17th century.
13Decombe. A maker in Paris in the 18th century (is not to be confused with De Comble). He also published music at his shop on the quai de l'Ecole, at the sign of "l'Accord parfait."
15De Comble, Ambroise, b. at Tournai, Belgium, towards the end of the 17th century. He worked till about 1760. Said to have been in his youth a pupil of Antonio Stradivari at Cremona. His instruments are now scarce. They are extremely well made, of excellent wood, and have a rich full tone, equally good in all the strings, but lacking in brilliancy; the varnish, generally red, is a little dry; the purfling is always in extremely narrow fine threads. His violins and altos generally follow the Stradivari pattern, well arched, edges and corners rather thick, the purfling very narrow, and the varnish, a beautiful red-brown colour, of good quality. His violoncellos are especially well made, generally on a small pattern, more arched than that of the violin, the sound-holes and the corners are well cut, but the plates of wood used are too thin. One violoncello has yellow varnish on the front and red varnish on the back and sides; it is well made, although the details are somewhat neglected; it is labelled "Ambroise De Comble à Tournay, 1741"; he also used the MS. label: "Fait à Tournay par Ambroise de Comble, 1750"; labels similar to the latter are dated 1753 and 176—
17Deconet, Michele. Worked in Venice about 1742-79. Was a follower of the Cremona school. Two violins and a violoncello that are known are well made, with yellow varnish. Label: "Michele Deconet, fecit Venetiis, anno 1754"; a similar label is dated 1771.
19Defresne, Pierre. A maker who settled in Rouen in 1730 and was still working there in 1737. Label: "Fait par moi, Pierre Defresne, maistre luthier de Paris, demeurant rue Neuve-Saint-Lô à Rouen, 1737."
21Dehay (Deshayes). Was nephew and only pupil of Salomon. Lived about 1775 to 1825 in Paris, first in the rue des Saints-Pères, then in the rue de Grenelle-Saint-Honoré. At the sign of the "Prélude espagnol" he sold "violins, violoncellos, basses, treble-viols, bass-viols, violas d'amore," &c., from which it will be seen that he was more of a dealer than a maker.
23Dehommais. Was an amateur who undertook experiments in varnishes. In 1870 he went into partnership with Emile Germain, which lasted until 1882; during this time about a hundred instruments were made under the name of the firm, "Dehommais et Germain." They were awarded a bronze medal, Paris, 1878.
25Delaborne. He exhibited guitars in Paris in 1819 and again in 1823.
27De Lannoy, N. J. A maker in Lille about 1740-75. His instruments were well made, with yellow varnish. Label: "N. J. De Lannoy sur la petite place, au-dessus des Halles à Lille, 1747"; later it was, "Dessus les ponts de Comines, 1773." Presumably his descendants continued the trade, as an L. Delannoy in 1828 is mentioned as restoring a violin made in 1774 by Fent, of Paris.
29Delanoe, Pierre Jean. A maker in Paris in 1754.
31Delanoix. A contemporary of Boussu. Was working in Brussels about 1760. Was a good maker.
33Delany (Delaney), John. A maker in
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