Books › The fiddle fancier's guide; a manual of information regarding violins, violas, basses and bows of classical and modern times, together with biographical notices and portraits of the most famous performers of these instruments, 1892 › scan 72
Scan 72
The fiddle fancier's guide; a manual of information regarding violins, violas, basses and bows of classical and modern times, together with biographical notices and portraits of the most famous performers of these instruments, 1892
4 lines. Read by computer on 29 August 2026. Printed page 58. See the scan on archive.org.
1no less famous litterateur, Peter Pindar (Dr. Walcot). This William Forster (called in the trade "old Forster") died in 1807. That he made instruments of high quality goes without saying. His violoncellos are very good, and much coveted. I confess I do not altogether admire the style of his tenors and violins—that is, of course, judging them by the highest standard, and his violoncellos do not always appear to me to be very graceful instruments as far as outline goes, but rather broad at bottom, and narrow at top; but their tone is decidedly good. His varnish is dull, staid, but of a refined character, if one may employ such expressions with regard to varnish. The colour of much of it is like a reddish brown, not too dark, with an almost entire absence of polish on its surface, but having an air of eminent respectability, like the surface of a well-worn piece of dull grain goatskin leather. His wood is always fine. About 1762 he adopted the Stainer model, and worked on it for ten years, when he turned to Amati—(A. and H. and Nicolas). What I have said about his varnish refers to his later work, from about 1780, or a year or two before that. In the early work he appears to have stained the wood before varnishing. On these it is dark red with a blackish tinge. He made only four double basses. His commoner violins, etc., had no purfling. Labels, William Forster, Violin Maker, in St. Martin's Lane, London.
3Forster, William, London. Born 1764. Son of above. He began to make violins early, his first one being entered when he was fifteen. His work is generally highly finished, but is not of equal merit in other respects,
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