Bow & Bridge Violin and bow makers, as the old books printed them

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Scan 77

A dictionary of violin makers, 1896

26 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 69. See the scan on archive.org.

1d. July 2, 1857, Jena. From 1818 worked in Jena, succeeding to his father's business there. He made good instruments.
3Otto, Heinrich Wilhelm, third son of J. A. Otto; b. 1796; date of death unknown. Worked first in Amsterdam and later in Berlin.
5Otto, Hermann, son of Ludwig Otto; b. March 9, 1859, Cologne; d. Sept. 20, 1884, St. Petersburg. Worked with his father in St. Petersburg.
7Otto, 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.
9Otto, 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.
11Otto, 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.
13Ouvrard, 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."
15P.
17Pacherele, 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."
19Pacherele, Pierre, b. 1803, Mirecourt; d. Dec. 31, 1871, Nice. Was a fellow-apprentice of J. B. Vuillaume at Mirecourt. After 1830 he moved about, working first at Nice, then at Genoa, then at Turin with Pressenda the violin maker, finally returning, in 1839, to Nice. He made a great many violins, altos, and violoncellos, all of good workmanship, but the varnish was thick and heavy; he often took Stradivari for his model. He was also a clever repairer of instruments.
21Pacquet. A maker from Aix who was working in Marseilles in 1785, according to a label: "Pacquet d'Aix, luthier à Marseille, 1785."
23Padewet, Johann. A skilful maker of violins; d. about 1874. He started a business in Basle, 1844, but moved to Carlsruhe (Baden) in 1846. Was appointed Court instrument maker by the Grand Duke of Baden. Awards: at Munich Exhibition, 1854; Paris, 1855; Carlsruhe, 1861; London, 1862; Paris, 1867; and Freiburg, 1871.
25Padewet, Johann, son of Johann Padewet; b. Aug. 23, 1851, Carlsruhe. First a pupil of his father, then worked in Hanover and Berlin under Aug.

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