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

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Scan 66

An encyclopedia of the violin, 1925

20 lines. Read by computer on 26 September 2026. Printed page 42. See the scan on archive.org.

1Stainer was the younger brother of Jacob, and was probably a pupil of the same master as Jacob. The violins recognized by authorities as his are on a large model, and, although he was no equal in the art to his brother, he imitated his work in a fair manner.
3Staudinger (Stautinger), Mathaeus Wenzeslaus, Wurzburg, 1745 to 1775.
5Steffanini (Stephanini), Carlo, Mantua, 1764 to 1790.
7Steger (Stegher), Magnus, Venice, 17th century.
9Steininger, Franz Xaver (François), Darmstadt, Frankfurt, Paris, St. Petersburg, b. Mainz, 1778, d. about 1850.
11Steininger, Jakob, Passau, Mainz, Frankfurt, Aschaffenburg, 1775 to 1818.
13Storioni, Lorenzo, Cremona, Turin, b. 1751, d. after 1801. Storioni may be singled out as the last of the great Cremona makers, although the passing of this great school is plainly evident. In later years, he neglected his work to such an extent that the instruments of this period are of small value. He always preferred a large model, similar to the Guarnerius, and obtained a fairly good tone. Vieuxtemps used one of his instruments for years. The label used by Storioni is reproduced on Plate 5, and one of his instruments on Plate 6.
15Stoss, Franz Antoni, Fussen, b. 1737, d. 1814.
17Stoss, Martin (Johann Martin), Vienna, b. Fussen, 1778, d. 1838.
19Stradivarius, Antonio, Cremona, b. between 1640 and 1650, d. 1737. The past master of the art of violin making, and a pupil of Nicolas Amati. As a young man he inherited great riches, and was therefore independent, it being a proverb in his time "rich as Stradivarius." It is unfortunate that not a single likeness has been preserved for later generations. After serving his time as apprentice with Amati, it became evident by his work that he was going to be a great artist. He stayed with Amati from 1667 to 1670 and about this time started to work independently. The oldest violins which bear his name are dated from the year 1670. As he himself was a great violinist, he knew what was lacking in the Amati instrument, and he started to experiment in order to find its faults, continuing his labors for thirty years until his efforts were crowned with success. No one can ever estimate the amount of money it required to accomplish his purpose. Only a few of the violins made in this experimental period are in existence, as he probably destroyed most of them, because in his critical eyes they were imperfect. His labors can be divided into three periods: the first between 1668 and 1686 (it took all this time to select what he thought to be the best wood); the second period from 1686 to 1694 during which time he made his violins considerably larger and the arch much flatter; the third and last period starts with 1695 and reaches its highest point in 1714. This was the period during which he reached the pinnacle of success, for at the age of fifty he had perfected the Stradivarius model, and no living man, although thousands of attempts have been made, has been able to produce an instrument so faultless as a Stradivarius of this period. There have been made admirable copies, perfect up to the smallest detail, but the soul is always missing. His ground varnish was golden yellow covered with a light red, which later turned to brown. It is soft and elastic and has up to this very day the peculiarity that, if the hand rests upon it only for a moment, one can plainly see the imprint. Stradivarius was a very industrious workman; on an average, he finished one violin a week. As he labored sixty years of his life, at this rate he must have completed about three thousand violins, and it is calculated there are about this number now in existence; yet if you would assemble the really absolutely genuine Stradivarius violins to-day, you would only find about one hundred. Sixty years after his death the price of his violins had tripled. The violin belonging to Prof. Waldemar Meyer from the year 1716, one of the finest specimens in existence and nominally made for King George I, was bought in the year 1889 for $5000 and shortly after sold for nearly $10,000. One of his violins, dated 1714, was owned by Alexander Batta, who in 1836 paid $1500 for it, and in 1893 sold it for $16,000. The famous "Betts" Stradivarius (pictured in this work) is now the property of an American who

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