Books › Old Violins And Their Makers, 1883 › scan 149
Scan 149
Old Violins And Their Makers, 1883
8 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 135. See the scan on archive.org.
1CHAPTER IV.
3FRENCH MAKERS.
5FRANCE—where so much has been done in recent times to advance a knowledge of the merits of the old Cremonese makers, and especially as she has produced (partly as a result of her researches) the greatest violin-maker that has lived since Joseph del Jesu died—might well have claimed the place of honour after Italy. Early references to the violin seem to be as meagre in the literature of France as they are in that of any other country, and it is chiefly from paintings and accounts of fêtes that any knowledge concerning its history there can be derived.
7There is a picture, painted about 1485, called the "Psaultier du Roi René," containing a figure playing upon a viol which approaches the violin in shape, having a circular sound hole in the centre. This René fought in Italy in 1482 in conjunction with the Venetians, against the Duke of Ferrara, and, as he was a great patron of the fine arts, it is supposed that he brought this instrument or its design from the latter country.
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.