Books › Ayars, Contributions to the Art of Music in America by the Music Industries of Boston (1937) — the Squier, Farley, Rettberg, Rockwell and Elias Howe matter, 1937 › scan 220
Scan 220
Ayars, Contributions to the Art of Music in America by the Music Industries of Boston (1937) — the Squier, Farley, Rettberg, Rockwell and Elias Howe matter, 1937
20 lines. Read by computer on 19 September 2026. Printed page 194. See the scan on archive.org.
12. VIOLIN AND STRING MAKERS
3a. Some Important Former Makers
5Despite the fact that music except hymn singing was disapproved by the Puritans "Massachusetts apart from the Hub may be credited with having produced the first violins made in the country."1 The earliest violin of New England make known to John A. Gould, who has made a study of early makers, is dated 1776 and was made in Worcester.
7One early instrument maker was Samuel Blyth (1744-1795), who made harpsichords and most kinds of stringed instruments.2 His shop was on [address hidden], Salem, in 1784.
9Another maker in colonial days was Benjamin Crehore. He had a shop in his home and as far back as 1791 was well known in New York and Philadelphia as well as in Boston as a maker of violins, violoncellos, Spanish and English guitars, drums, flutes and pianofortes.3-4-5 In the matter of credit he was helped by Lewis Vose, a relative of the founder of Vose & Sons Piano Company. Whether Crehore made instruments of the viol family before or during the war of the American Revolution is uncertain but an instrument of the 'cello type, dating about 1785, has been examined and possesses the following characteristics:
11"The instrument presents very much the appearance of an old Mittenwald 'Cello; that is, it has the 'cut off' effect at the top and bottom that bespeaks the Tyrolean 'Cellos of the period before 1750. Viewed as a whole, this Crehore 'Cello has an old world look and nothing of the crudeness that characterizes much of the early American work in violin making. The workmanship is good and the model is fairly high. There is no purfling, but ink lines to imitate purfling are drawn on the back, and even these are lacking on the top.
13"The scroll is surprisingly well done and possesses a good style of its own. The cutting is deep and the 'eyes' are very promi-
151 Spillane, Daniel. History of the American Pianoforte p. 47.
162 Belknap, Henry W. Artists and Craftsmen of Essex County, Massachusetts. p. 29.
173 American History and Encyclopedia of Music p. 317.
184 For information about his pianofortes see pp. 104-5.
195 Spillane, Daniel. History of the American Pianoforte p. 51.
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