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 228
Scan 228
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
17 lines. Read by computer on 23 September 2026. Printed page 202. See the scan on archive.org.
1b. Present Day Makers
3WEEMAN, BEAL & HOLMBERG¹
5This firm, established by Orin Weeman in 1872, is the oldest and one of the largest violin houses now in Boston. In April 1910 it became Weeman, Beal & Holmberg² and is to be found at [address hidden] Mr. Weeman retired in 1919 and has since passed on.
7This house is devoted exclusively to the manufacture, import, sale at wholesale and retail of violins, violas and violoncellos, and accessories such as bows, strings, etc., and repair of these instruments. It makes a point of carrying everything required by them. The instruments carried for sale are mainly for artist and professional use and some less expensive ones for school use.
9Repairing of all styles of instruments, whether modern, early New England make or old masters, constitutes a large part of this company's business, keeping several men busy all the time. During his lifetime Mr. Weeman was one of the best known violin repairers in New England.
11Their own instruments have all been custom made to order, the violins being made mostly by Mr. Weeman from 1880 till his death, and the violoncellos by Mr. Beal, generally with maple back and spruce top. In their instruments the quality of the spruce and proper amount of graduation for resistance is tested by hand. They have experimented with different arches (swells) but have gone back to that used by Stradivarius. One beautiful instrument was made by them in 1901 for Charles W. Allen, formerly one of Boston's most famous violin teachers.
13Although it is difficult to obtain instruments made by the noted European masters, this house has imported and sold an Amati violin now in Cambridge, Massachusetts, an Amati violoncello now in Boston, a Joseph Guarnerius violin in Jackson, Michigan, a Petrus Guarnerius in New York City, and many others.
15¹ Orin Weeman is listed in the German encyclopaedia, Die Geigen und Lautenmacher p. 701.
16² The other members of the firm are Fenner L. Beal and Bernard Holmberg.
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