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Scan 32
The Hawley Collection of violins, 1904
17 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1THE HAWLEY COLLECTION OF VIOLINS
3was offered him for the sum of one guinea. Betts was well aware of the character of his purchase, and in 1852 sold it for £500 to J. B. Vuillaume, of Paris. In 1873, Mr. C. G. Meier became its possessor, after it had changed hands several times. In 1878 he sold it to Mr. Geo. Hart, at what that connoisseur confesses in a letter to Mr. Hawley was a very high price, viz., £800. Mr. Hawley longed to possess it, and tried on various occasions to get Mr. Hart to part with it, but in vain. Not until 1886 could any one induce Mr. Hart to sell, but in that year the well-known enthusiastic amateur, the Duc de Camposelice, secured it at £1,200. In 1891 Messrs. Hill were fortunate enough to possess themselves of the entire collection of the Duc de Camposelice, and shortly afterwards they sold the Betts to a German manufacturer of Stuttgart named Zweifel. Later it passed again to the Hills, was sold to Mr. Brandt, of Surrey, England, owner of the Tuscan, for £1,800, and is now in the possession of a gentleman who never tires of enjoying its fine qualities, Mr. R. D. Waddel, of Glasgow. At the time Mr. Hart purchased the "Betts" from Mr. C. G. Meier for £800, the sale created quite a sensation, as the price was a high one for a dealer to pay for a violin in those days. The following letter from Mr. Chas. Reade, the noted novelist, a copy of which is in our possession, is therefore of interest, as it throws an interesting side light on the transaction by which J. B. Vuillaume secured it in 1852, from Arthur Betts, the violin-maker.
5To the Editor of the London Globe.
6Sir—As you have devoted a paragraph to this violin (the Betts), permit me to add a fact which may be interesting to amateurs and to Mr. George Hart, the last purchaser. Mr. Vuillaume, who could not speak English, was always assisted in his London purchases by the late John Lott, an excellent workman and a good judge of old violins. The day after this particular purchase, Lott came to Vuillaume by order to open the violin. He did so in the sitting-room whilst Vuillaume was dressing. Lott's first words were, "Why, it has never been opened." His next were, "Here's the original bass-bar," and together they gloated over the rare sight of a Stradivari bass-bar. Mr. Lott described the bass-bar to me. It was very low and very short, and quite unequal to support the tension of the string above concert pitch. So that the true tone of this violin can never have been heard in England before it fell in Vuillaume's hands. I have known this violin forty years. It is wonderfully well preserved. There is no wear on the belly, except the chin mark, in the back a very little, just enough to give light and shade. The corners appear long for that epoch, but only because they have not been shortened by friction, like other examples of that time. For the same reason, the edges seem high, but only because they have not been worn down. As far as the work goes, you may know from this instrument how a brand new Stradivarius violin looks. Eight hundred guineas seems a long price for a dealer to give, but after all, here is a violin, a picture, and a miracle, all in one, and big diamonds increase in number, while these spoils of time are limited for ever now, and indeed can only decrease by shipwreck, accident, and the tooth of time.
7I am your obedient servant,
8CHARLES READE.
1019 Albert Gate, May 9, 1878.
12In another letter in our possession to Mr. Hawley, Mr. Hart says under date July 24, 1878:
14"I shall indeed have much pleasure in showing your friend, Mr. Robbins, the 'Betts' Stradivarius. If he has but a particle of taste, he cannot but be delighted. As I mentioned to you in my last letter, I possessed myself of it without any idea of putting it in our business for sale, but should I, for any unforeseen cause, change my mind, I promise you shall know before it leaves me."
16After the production of the Betts, each year between 1704 and 1712 saw many noble instruments given to the world, nearly all of which are noticeable for their ex-
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