Books › The Belle Skinner collection of old musical instruments, Holyoke, Massachusetts, 1933 › scan 142
Scan 142
The Belle Skinner collection of old musical instruments, Holyoke, Massachusetts, 1933
19 lines. Read by computer on 18 September 2026. Printed page 124. See the scan on archive.org.
1No. 52
3VIOLIN
5ANTONIUS STRADIVARIUS
7This rare violin, covered with a reddish brown varnish, is of three-quarter size. It was made by the great master a year before his death. Historically it is an instrument of great importance since it definitely establishes 1644 as the year Stradivarius was born. Inside the instrument is the following label:
9Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis
10Faciebat Anno 1736
12The last three numbers of the date are in writing and are followed by the trade mark of Stradivarius: the initials A.S. flanking a cross. Below this first label, and attached to it, is a handwritten second label:
14D'Anni 92
16This verifies the age of the maker when the instrument was completed. In Antonio Stradivari: His Life and Work, 1909, by W. Henry Hill, Arthur F. Hill, and Alfred Hill (p. 93), the story is told of the aged master's pasting the second label in this violin, showing his pride in this masterpiece of his ninety-third year. Miss Skinner acquired this famous violin from Messrs. Hill of London, who brought it from Italy.
18Extreme length, 1 ft. 10 1/4 in.; length of body, 13 5/16 in.; greatest width, 7 1/2 in.; depth, 2 5/16 in.; string length, 12 3/8 in.
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.