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Scan 117
Old Violins And Their Makers, 1883
4 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 103. See the scan on archive.org.
1apt pupil if it be true that he sold violins—and that by the half-dozen only—of his own make in the marketplace of Hall when he was barely twenty years of age, having already, as reported by others, been a maker on his own account in Cremona as well.
3It is certain that he married, on the 7th October, 1645, a Margaretha Holzhammer (a not inappropriate name for a violin maker's wife), that is, when he was rather over twenty-four years. A daughter had been born to him before marriage—a circumstance which will be of some assistance to us later on. His renown as a violin maker increased, and so did the number of his children. His activity or his success in selling was not, however, great enough to supply the wants of his establishment, and evil days came on. He began to travel about the country in order to dispose of his violins. For a long time he lived in Kirchdorff with one Solomon Huebmer, a Jewish merchant, to whom he became indebted for board and lodging, &c., and left him unpaid. His fame still grew, and on the 29th October, 1658, he was appointed court violin-maker to the Archduke Leopold. On the 9th January, 1669, he was further honoured with the title of "Maker to the Emperor." He seems now to have reached the summit of his worldly fortune without apparently ever having had much money. A process commenced against him by Solomon, his creditor, and an information lodged against him, from the smoky town of Hall, charging him with the crime of heresy, reduced him to misery. He was thrown into prison, and remained there six months, coming out of confinement a ruined and marked man. His business grew less and his debts greater; writs were multiplied. A
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