Books › Notice of Anthony Stradivari, the celebrated violin-maker, known by the name of Stradivarius:, 1864 › scan 94
Scan 94
Notice of Anthony Stradivari, the celebrated violin-maker, known by the name of Stradivarius:, 1864
4 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 72. See the scan on archive.org.
1uneventful existence. Polledro, late first violin at the Chapel Royal of Turin, who died a few years ago, at a very advanced age, declared that his master had known Stradivarius, and that he was fond of talking about him. He was, he said, tall and thin. Habitually covered with a cap of white wool in winter, and of cotton in summer, he wore over his clothes an apron of white leather when he worked; and, as he was always working, his costume scarcely ever varied. He had acquired more than competency by labour and economy; for the inhabitants of Cremona were accustomed to say: "rich as Stradivari." Old La Houssaie, whom I knew in my youth, and who had visited Cremona a short time after the death of Stradivarius, told me that the price which he asked for his violins was four louis d'or [£4]. At this rate, and considering the period when he lived, he must certainly have acquired some wealth. Bergonzi, grandson of Charles (the best pupil of Stradivarius, except Guarnerius), who died a few years ago at the age of eighty, pointed out the place where the celebrated artist worked, in a house numbered 1239, in St. Dominic's Square, opposite the Porta Maggiore. Since then, this shop was long occupied by a cooper; but it is now in the occupation of an upholsterer. These details may possess some interest for the ardent admirers of the beautiful instruments of Stradivarius.
3The question has been often raised, whether Stradivarius was guided, in the making of his instruments, by any other principles than those of a long acquaintance with facts; and whether the excellence of these instruments is not simply the result of such experience, and
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