Books › Chats on violins, 1905 › scan 102
Scan 102
Chats on violins, 1905
4 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1musician and composer, who sold it to Mr David Ker of Portavoe, Ireland, for about £24. Mr Ker, who was a great book collector, appears to have had no particular interest in violins, and only bought this one at the instigation of Angelica Kauffmann, to whom he was at the time sitting for his portrait. Emersed in his book collecting, he returned with the exquisite "Tuscan Strad" to Ireland, where it was put away at one of his houses called "Glory Holes." For about fifty years it remained perdu, and, only on the death of Mr Ker, was discovered by his executors and sold by his son to Mr F. Ricardo for £240. In 1888, its present owners, Messrs W. E. Hill & Sons, having watched the whereabouts of this magnificent instrument for several years, bought it for a sum running into four figures.
3The chief characteristic of the "Tuscan Strad" is its marvellous preservation — no cracks, no repairs and no signs of wear except where the chin rests. Here and on the back the varnish is slightly rubbed off. The delicate scroll still preserves the painted outline with which it was Strad's custom to pick out his work. In nearly every other specimen except the "Messie," this running
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