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Scan 164
Old Violins And Their Makers, 1883
4 lines. Read by computer on 30 September 2026. Printed page 150. See the scan on archive.org.
1established himself in London at the time of the French Revolution, so that the above dates have an appearance of probability. Fent may have seen "The Messiah" while it was in the possession of the Count de Salabue, who bought it about the year 1760, and as this maker was not a native of Paris—the style of tickets showing him to be of another nationality—it is not improbable that he even learnt his business in Italy. It is a misfortune that a number of his instruments are worm-eaten, and his varnish has, in many cases, become oxidised from a red-brown to almost black.
3Saunier was a maker in Lorraine, who went to Paris about 1770, and had some reputation for excellence, but his chief distinction is that he is supposed to have been the instructor of a greater man, Pique, who will be referred to presently. During the next twenty years, viz., from 1780 to 1800, an equal number of new names present themselves, some of which are entitled to high encomiums. François Nicolas Fourrier, known also as simply Nicolas, was a native of Mirecourt. He worked in Paris from about 1784 till 1816, when he died. He was violin maker to the Emperor's chapel, and his instruments are held in some estimation. There was another family of this name also at Mirecourt, two members of which distinguished themselves to a certain extent. The first was Didier Nicolas, the elder, also called Deaf Nicolas. He was born in 1757, and died in 1833. He made very good violins, and received a silver medal for one which he exhibited at an industrial exhibition held in Paris in 1806. His varnish is generally reddish brown, inclining to yellow. The
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