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

Books › An encyclopedia of the violin, 1925 › scan 31

Scan 31

An encyclopedia of the violin, 1925

24 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 9. See the scan on archive.org.

1CHAPTER II
3VIOLIN MAKERS IN EUROPE
5It is unfortunate, but nevertheless a fact, that almost nothing of consequence is known about most of the European violin makers; the labels, in many cases, being the only source of information. Even these are often not to be relied upon, because so many "genuine" counterfeit labels bearing the names of great makers have been placed in violins by imitators that it usually requires an expert to determine their authenticity.
7This scarcity of information applies almost as well to the great masters of the art of violin making as to the lesser lights. At the time when violin making flourished, those who engaged in it were looked upon as artisans—not to be compared with the artists who performed upon their instruments. Therefore, while we have copious information regarding the great players of the violin, the only authentic facts regarding the makers are those which have been acquired by painstaking research on the part of antiquarians.
9The list which follows presents the names of all violin makers of reputation in alphabetical order, irrespective of nationality, thus enabling one interested in the subject to find the name he seeks without difficulty. Wherever the maker's name has no special interest attached to it, beyond the fact that he was engaged in the business of violin making, the information is of the briefest character. In the case of those makers whose fame for the beauty and tone of their instruments has carried through the centuries, sufficient concise information is given to thoroughly place the maker's position in his particular field.
11This chapter is illustrated by reproductions of the labels and the instruments of many of the most famous violin makers, and wherever such labels and instruments have been reproduced, reference has been made to same in the article under the maker's name.
13ABBATI, GIAMBATTISTA, Modena, 1775 to 1795.
14ABSAM, THOMAS, Wakefield (Yorkshire), 1810 to 1849.
15ACEVO, ——, Tannenholz.
16ACHNER, PHILIPP, Mittenwald, 1772 to 1798.
17ADANI, PANCRAZIO, Modena, 1775 to 1827.
18ADDISON, WILLIAM, London, 1665 to 1670.
19AIRETON, EDMUND, London, b. about 1727, d. 1807.
20ALBANESI, SEBASTIANO, Cremona, 1720 to 1744.
22ALBANI, PAOLO, Palermo, Rome, Cremona.
23ALBANUS (or ALBANI), MATTHIAS, Bozen, b. in Kaltern 1621, d. Bozen, 1712. One of the best-known makers in the Tyrol. His first violins were made in 1645, and he was still producing in 1712, at the age of ninety. His instruments are distinctive in that the backs are always made of acorn wood, finished in a light reddish-brown color. Like Stradivarius, he attained the height of his art at middle age. Albanus also was known as an ex-

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