Scan 288
Antonio Stradivari, his life and work (1644-1737), 1909
6 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 260. See the scan on archive.org.
1ordered twelve violins from Stradivari and sent Volumier—the director of his music—to Cremona to await their completion, we turned our attention to the Dresden archives (there are none at Warsaw), but with the same negative result. Arisi refers to this question of payment in the two following entries, but, unfortunately, gives us no precise information. He states that in the year 1685 Cardinal Orsini, Archbishop of Benevento, ordered a violoncello and two violins, which were sent as a present to the Duke of Natalona in Spain, and adds that the Cardinal, besides paying liberally for the work, expressed his appreciation by conferring upon Stradivari a title of appointment. Again, under date 1689, he tells us that Stradivari was requested by the Duke of Modena to make a violoncello and deliver it in person to him. The Duke not only expressed the pleasure it gave him to make his personal acquaintance and highly praised his work, but marked his gratification by making him a present of thirty pistoles in addition to paying the price agreed upon. Thirty pistoles was approximately equal to £24, and, as we have already seen, its purchasing power then was equal to three times that of to-day. The present thus represented £72—under the circumstances a princely gift.
3Now, although these references
5Figs. 63–65.—Designs for the Arms of Stradivari's Various Patrons, Intended Most Probably for Inlaying on Finger-Board or Tail-Piece.
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