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 147
Scan 147
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
11 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1FORSTER, SIMON ANDREW, London: 1801–1870.
2He was the son of William Forster (1764–1824), born May 13, 1801, died Feb. 2, 1870. He worked at Frith Street, and also at Macclesfield Street, Soho. He is more famous as the collaborator with William Sandys of "The History of the Violin" (London, 1864), than as a violin-maker. All his work that I have seen reflects little or no credit upon him. He was a pupil of his father, of his brother, and of Samuel Gilkes. He worked sometimes on the Stradivari model, sometimes on the Stainer, but always arched his instruments in a grotesque manner. I am not sure that he did not sometimes bake his wood, as the tone of some of them is of a wretched character. Label:—
4S. A. FORSTER,
5VIOLIN, TENOR, AND VIOLONCELLO MAKER,
6NO. — LONDON
8FORSTER, WILLIAM, Brampton: 1714–1801. He was the son of John Forster, and, like his father, made and repaired an occasional fiddle. The workmanship is a little better than his father's, but the tone is about the same. His instruments are unpurfled, and spirit varnished.
10FORSTER, WILLIAM, Brampton and London: 1739–1808. He is known as "Old Forster," and is the greatest maker of the family. He was born May 1739, and died Dec. 14, 1808. "Old Forster" may be described as the British type of which Vuillaume was the French antitype, although they were not separated by a great span of years. He was the exact counterpart of the great Frenchman—shrewd, versatile, and worldly-wise. When French players wanted a Stradivari or a Guarneri fiddle, Vuillaume met their demands and sold them those new-old instruments which set the Seine on fire. Similarly, when the British public wanted Stainer copies, or Amati copies, or any other copies, Forster was equal to the occasion, and supplied them with their requirements. The only difference between the two men, apparently, was that the Britisher possessed in addition to the artistic sense
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