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Scan 116
Old Violins And Their Makers, 1883
4 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 102. See the scan on archive.org.
1horrible abode." It is constantly enveloped in a dense atmosphere of smoke, which not only darkens the air and blackens the houses, but throws a dinginess over the dresses of the people, and makes the inhabitants appear of a sootier and duskier race. It threw its murky shadow darkly enough over Stainer in his later years, as we shall presently find.
3The curate or vicar of the little hamlet of Absom, in which Stainer was born, took a fancy, it appears, to the boy, and had him sent to Innsbruck, where he procured for him an opportunity of learning the art of organ building, under one Daniel Herz. This did not suit Stainer's physique, and his master advised him to learn the less laborious trade of violin making. Through the recommendation and support of the curate, Stainer went to Cremona, when he must have been very young, to Nicolas Amati, who at that time appears to have been renowned even in Innsbruck. Nicolas Amati recognised the talent of his young pupil, and instructed him in the secrets of his art, showing a decided desire to retain the youth in Cremona, and even going as far as to suggest that Stainer should espouse his (Amati's) daughter. This latter suggestion did not harmonise with Jacob's inclination, and he ultimately left Cremona and went to Venice, where he worked for a short time with Vimercati, a violin maker of that town. Some writers allude to a story of love between him and a Clara Vimercati, which, although it does not appear to have any foundation in fact, gives one the idea that he was rather a good-looking fellow. He ultimately settled down in his native village and started making fiddles on his own account. He must, indeed, have been an
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