Books › The Hawley Collection of violins, 1904 › scan 156
Scan 156
The Hawley Collection of violins, 1904
16 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 82. See the scan on archive.org.
1THE HAWLEY COLLECTION OF VIOLINS
3is true in our opinion. As a workman he was excelled by the greatest only. His scrolls are models of beauty, and rank among the best of Cremona. Fine specimens of his work are rare, and command very high prices. They are more esteemed in Europe than in this country, because beauty of workmanship, wood, and varnish count for much more there than with us. Such a man must have been a force in Cremona, and must have had many followers. It is to be regretted that more is not known about him and those who were associated with him. Who were his pupils? Certainly he must be credited with having a number, and if the truth were known, he might well be credited with the inspiration of those who, like Montagnana and others, became famous as varnishers. He made also violas and 'cellos both of which are very fine. He had a son Giacinto and there were several others who bore the honored name of Ruggeri in Cremona, notably Vincenzo and Giambattista, who are credited with having done good work.
5Giovanni Rota
7Giovanni Rota was one of the later Cremonese, and did some very clever work. He employed material of fine quality, his varnish being of good texture and of an orange red color. His violins are splendid for tone and are of late years coming much into favor among the best of the second class makers.
9Laurentin's Storioni
11Contemporary with him was Lorenzo Storioni usually spoken of as being the last of the old Italian school who are to be considered as having great merit. The writer believes this maker to have been given too high credit. He was but an ordinary workman, and used material which, while it possesses redeeming features as to quality, is decidedly inferior in appearance. His violins are often out of proportion, and in one respect or another are decidedly not what they should be; not in any respect does he approach the work which at the same time was being done in other Italian cities, notably in Turin, where J. B. Guadagnini was holding up the early traditions of the great Italian tone-builders in a manner to do them credit. Very unlike Cremonese varnish is that which Storioni employed, and it is safe to say that had he worked at any other place than Cremona his violins would have attracted but a fraction the attention they have.
13The Ceruti Family
15He was succeeded by G. B. Ceruti, who as a workman was in every way his equal if not superior. Ceruti was a very prolific workman, turning out a large number of violins which, while not in the same class with the work of Ruggeri, Cappa or the other notable second-class makers of Cremona, have sterling merit, and are to-day appreciated. He employed chiefly a very large, broad, flat Amati pattern. He used a good varnish of a golden color, and his work is finished with care and judgment. He had a son Giuseppe who followed him and was also an industrious workman after his father's style. Enrico Ceruti, son of the preceding, died in October, 1883, and with him ended the long line of Cremonese makers, which began with Andrea Amati in the middle of the sixteenth century. He made good violins, as it was fitting he should, and they are highly prized in the orchestras of his native land.
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.