Books › British violin-makers classical and modern; being a biographical and critical dictionary of British makers of the violin from the foundation of the classical school to the end of the nineteenth century, 1904 › scan 103
Scan 103
British violin-makers classical and modern; being a biographical and critical dictionary of British makers of the violin from the foundation of the classical school to the end of the nineteenth century, 1904
23 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1VIOLIN AND BOW MAKERS
3BARNES, ROBERT, London. He was a pupil of Thomas Smith at the "Harp and Hautboy," in Piccadilly. Afterwards he became a partner with John Norris, with whom also he was a fellow apprentice at Smith's. Norris and Barnes started business together in 1765. All the instruments which bear their label were probably made by others. Label :—
5MADE BY NORRIS AND BARNES,
6VIOLIN, VIOLONCELLO, AND BOW MAKERS
7TO THEIR MAJESTIES,
8COVENTRY STREET, LONDON
10BARRETT, JOHN, London. Period about 1714–30. He copied Stainer, and very often exaggerated his arching. He also worked on a modified Stainer pattern, which was long, narrow, grooved, and highly arched. The workmanship is fair, but the tone is very small and muffled. As a rule, he used ink-lines instead of purflé. The varnish is yellow and hungry looking, and helps to give a cheap look to the instrument. Somebody reports having seen a violoncello of his make somewhere, which had a beautiful tone. It is possible that he did make good work, but it has not been the fortune of any of it to come down to our days. He was a contemporary of Barak Norman and Nathaniel Cross. Labels :—
12JOHN BARRETT,
13AT THE HARP AND CROWN
14IN PICCADILLY, 1720.
16MADE BY JOHN BARRETT,
17AT YE HARP & CROWN IN PICCADILLY,
18LONDON, 1730
20BARTON, GEORGE, London. Period about 1780–1810. He worked in Elliot Court, Old Bailey. He made mostly for the trade, and little or nothing is known of his work.
22BELOE, W. L., Coldstream. He was born in 1819 and died in 1897. He followed the lines of Stradivari, but it cannot
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