Scan 289
Antonio Stradivari, his life and work (1644-1737), 1909
4 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 261. See the scan on archive.org.
1afford us no information of a precise nature, they yet offer valuable evidence in support of our firm belief that Stradivari obtained for the majority of his instruments more than the ordinary prices given to his working colleagues. He must have received good remuneration, otherwise it is impossible to think that he would have so unremittingly maintained that high standard of excellence, carried, as we have elsewhere shown, into the smallest details. We believe that Stradivari varied his prices according to circumstances. Then as now, no doubt, violin-makers had to meet the wishes of their customers; hence his use at times of plainer and less costly material. Fétis states, on the authority of La Houssaie, the violinist (born 1735, died 1813), who visited Cremona not many years after Stradivari's death, that the price fixed by the master for a violin was four louis d'or; also that in Cremona he bore the reputation of being a prosperous citizen. Forster* incidentally mentions that the elder Cervetto, violoncellist (born 1682, died 1783), had actually traded personally with Stradivari and brought a consignment of his instruments over to England, but returned them, as he could not get as much as £5 for a violoncello; but he does not enlighten us as to how much was really asked. If the story of the return of the instruments be true—which we strongly doubt—it only shows how unappreciative were the musicians here at that period. On the other hand, we find that William Corbett, the violinist (born 1668, died 1748), went to Italy in 1710, and brought back a collection of Cremona instruments. In the correspondence left by Count Cozio, and communicated to us by the Marquis Dalla Valle, we have the copy of a letter written to the Count by Paolo Stradivari (son of Antonio), dated June 4th, 1775, wherein he states that a certain Signor Boroni was willing to sell his Stradivari
3* "The History of the Violin, etc.," by Forster and Sandys. 1864.
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