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Scan 31
The Hawley Collection of violins, 1904
4 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1proportions are kept intact, no one part predominating, and the design is saved from the appearance of clumsiness which less skilled treatment would have given it. A splendid specimen of this period is one dated 1697, in the possession of Dr. Joseph H. Akers. In 1700, Stradivari had reached the age of fifty-six years, a time in life when most men begin to feel that they have passed the meridian of their powers. Not so with Stradivari. With him all that had gone before seems but a prelude of what was to come. After 1700, an utter absence of any Amati characteristics, and a distinctly original Stradivari style is noticeable. From this time on, he was the undisputed creator of his marvelous designs. He began to broaden his style. His violins have a more robust appearance, although as a matter of fact, they do not measure as a rule more than 8 1-4 in the lower bout, and 14 inches in length of body, whereas, prior to 1700 and as early as 1680, he made many not only longer but also wider. This is likewise true of his violoncellos. The arching is arranged in a different manner, though of regulation height; the edges are perhaps a trifle less rounding, and a little wider; the entire instrument gradually assuming a more solid appearance. This plan eventually culminated in the massive instruments of 1720 to 1725. An impression prevails that all Stradivari's work prior to 1700 is high modeled and small, and all after that year low modeled and large. Actual measurements do not show this to have been the case, for he made violins as low and as large in 1680 to 1695 as instruments that he finished in the 1720 period, and in fact many 1680-'90 violins are even larger than the work of 1730. The illusion is caused by the difference in the arrangement of the arching. The fact that the lines are different changes the aspect in the same manner as a single line of shading changes the expression of a portrait. The death of his wife occurred in the year 1698, after a wedded life of thirty-one years. In this union, six children were born, Giulia, born in December, 1667; Francesco, 1670, who died in infancy; Giacomo Francesco, 1671; Caterina, 1674; Alessandro, 1677; and Omobono, 1679. The two sons, Giacomo Francesco and Omobono, grew up in the workshop, and at Stradivari's death succeeded to the business. Eight months after the death of his first wife, Stradivari married Signora Antonia Zambelli, then in her thirty-fifth year—he being at that time fifty-five.
3We now enter the golden period of Stradivari's career. The application of this term to Stradivari's work between 1700 and 1718 is due to the boundless admiration it has always received from both violinists and connoisseurs. The charm of this work arises from the beautifully figured maple he used, the richness of varnish, and a certain grandeur of style which give rare distinction. Almost every year witnessed the production of an instrument which has won for itself an individual reputation. Mr. Hawley at one time owned a Stradivari of 1702 which is said to have been strikingly handsome. It is now owned in New York City. In the year 1703 appeared the violin known as the Emiliani, which at one time also was the property of Mr. Hawley. It was purchased by Messrs. Hart & Sons, of London, where it has since remained. The Betts, one of the most famous of Stradivari's violins, was produced in 1704, and for masterful conception of design, beauty of wood, and varnish, will, no doubt, ever remain the typical example of Stradivari's skill at this time. Its recent history is of interest. About 1830, Betts, the English maker, in the Royal Exchange, purchased of an untidy, out-at-the-elbows individual, a violin which
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