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Scan 93
Old Violins And Their Makers, 1883
4 lines. Read by computer on 30 September 2026. Printed page 79. See the scan on archive.org.
1a thick forest, near a place called Marighanetto Borgo, and there amused himself by fabricating, out of the trunks of trees which he found at hand, instruments somewhat resembling the violin in shape; and, discovering in this manner that he possessed a certain ability in the work, he practised it diligently, and when his tragic story no longer occupied the minds of his fellow citizens, and he returned in a few years to Naples, he founded there a violin-making business, which was continued through one or two generations. It is also said that he learnt what art he possessed at Cremona, under Antonio Stradivari. However that may be, he certainly founded a distinguished family of fiddle makers—distinguished, that is, in the second or third degree—and himself turned out some very fine instruments. His violoncellos are alluded to by competent authorities as being quite remarkable. He was a very clever and careful workman, and had established himself in Naples about 1695. The varnish on his instruments is generally of a greyish-yellow, but it varies, sometimes being a good red brown. The wood is of fine quality, and the proportions good. The ribs are of ordinary height, and the purfling and the corners very carefully done. He left a son called Gennaro Gagliano, who worked at Naples from about 1720 to 1750, and by whom there is said to be at the present moment in Paris a violoncello whose excellence would at once place him in the front rank of makers, could those who have seen it only make up their minds to believe that it really comes from his hands.
3The story is so curious that it is worth transcribing. This violoncello bears a ticket of Antonio Stradivari
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