Books › Old violins, 1905 › scan 158
Scan 158
Old violins, 1905
6 lines. Read by computer on 27 September 2026. Printed page 140. See the scan on archive.org.
1Hill, required a new bridge, which Ebsworth very quickly made. I remember hearing Hill perform on this viol d’amore with seven strings, at one of Monsieur Julien’s Popular Concerts at the old Surrey Gardens. The elaborate arpeggios were most fascinating, and unlike anything I ever listened to before or have ever heard since. In due time the viol d’amore, which had been lent by the Brussels Conservatoire, was returned, and Monsieur Fétis, who was the Principal, and engaged at that time in writing his valuable monograph on Stradivari, was very much bent upon hunting up old bridges. He happened to pitch upon the viol d’amore bridge, which he declared to be a highly interesting specimen of the artistic work of the great Cremona period. Mr Alfred Hill, one of Ebsworth Hill’s sons, happened to be at Brussels, and his attention was called to Monsieur Fétis’ eulogium on the antique viol d’amore bridge. “That,” says Mr Alfred to Monsieur Victor Mahillon the curator, “is not an old bridge; it was cut by my father.” An incredulous smile overspread the worthy curator’s face, which was quickly changed into a look of apologetic admiration and surprise when Mr Hill, junior, turning up the bridge, pointed to “W. E. Hill” stamped upon it.
3Ebsworth Hill’s father died in 1835, and not long afterwards Ebsworth, wishing to perfect himself in the technique of his art, went to study under the accomplished maker Charles Harris, of Oxford.
5About 1838 he set up for himself in St George’s Road, Southwark.
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.