Scan 279
Antonio Stradivari, his life and work (1644-1737), 1909
9 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 251. See the scan on archive.org.
1present to the Spanish monarch, Philip V.!* With how much love and pride must the master have laboured during weeks upon such an instrument! and how grievous it is now to contemplate the destruction wrought by a man who proved himself to have been devoid of the slightest feeling which is inborn in the true craftsman! We regret to have to add that the culprit, Ortega, who as a mere workman was very good, was in this respect not one whit worse than the majority of his brother-makers in other countries.
3The equally fine violoncello made for Cosimo de' Medici in 1690 has not escaped unscathed. In consequence of slight ravages by worms,† it was sent some years ago to Vienna for restoration (we know not to whom), when its original neck was unhesitatingly sacrificed, and the charming inlaid finger-board and tail-piece were dealt with in true Philistine manner. The pearl cupids which adorned them were, in order that they might be preserved, removed and re-inlaid on a new finger-board and tail-piece of the crudest modern make. The absolute incongruity can be noted by comparison with the tenor which hangs in the same case, fortunately not restored. Both these instruments, together with the fine violin dated 1716, are to be seen at the Musical Institute in Florence.
5A third instance, equally glaring, is furnished by a fine Stradivari, the sides of which were lowered by an Italian violin-maker, who added insult to injury by inserting his own label stating: "Revisto e corretto da me!" Very many similar instances are known to us, but nothing would be gained by recounting them now. The point we desire to bring home to all who are interested in the preservation
7* Chapter II., p. 76.
8† Strictly speaking, these ravages are due to the beetle known as Anobium domesticum in its caterpillar state.
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