Books › Old violins, 1905 › scan 242
Scan 242
Old violins, 1905
16 lines. Read by computer on 27 September 2026. Printed page 220. See the scan on archive.org.
1When the lady showed it me, I took a liberal view, and said that £300 would have been a long price. Her countenance fell.
3"Good gracious! I gave £600!"
5"Keep it long enough, and anything by Strad will fetch that; but probably not," I added, "in your lifetime or mine." This was some years ago.
7On the other hand, bargains in Strads and Josephs, Bergonzis and Stainers, are still no doubt to be got, but only about as often as bargains in Raphaels, Rubens, Rembrandts, or Tintorets; but amateurs of pictures and fiddles are mostly wrecked on school-pictures and school-fiddles, often getting fair money's worth, but not what they pay for.
9Betts purchased one of the finest Stradivari in the world for 20s. When John Lott opened it in Vuillaume's presence, he found the original bass-bar. The bar—so Charles Reade tells us—was low and short, and quite incapable of bearing the strain of concert pitch, and John Lott replaced it with one stronger. The Betts Strad was sold to George Hart for 800 guineas—a heavy price fifty years ago.
11Mr John Hart, father of George Hart, picked up a violoncello in Oxford Street for a sovereign or two. The timbre caught his ear as he passed three street-musicians—violin, cornet, and 'cello.
13Lindley, the great player, came into his shop and bought a fine Forster 'cello for a round sum. This was the Oxford Street 'cello.
15The destiny of violins has ever been one full of ups
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