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Scan 39
The Hawley Collection of violins, 1904
34 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. Printed page 27. See the scan on archive.org.
1ANTONIO STRADIVARI. THE HEALY STRAD AND THE EARL STRAD
3Vieuxtemp's Stradivari dates 1718, and in point of workmanship, wood, and varnish, is very handsome. The year 1721 saw the production of a celebrated violin, which was formerly in the collection of His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, now in possession of Mr. D. J. Partello.* In 1722 Stradivari had attained the seventy-eighth year of his age, and how marvelous to find the eye so keen and the hand so true! It was in this year that the example known as the "Earl," belonging to the Hawley collection, but recently purchased by Mr. Archibald Mitchell, was produced. This violin is typical of the period in which it was made. There is a massiveness and weight which easily distinguish it from any previous or later work of Stradivari. The lines of the upper bouts, known as the shoulders, are less rounded and have a squareness which amounts almost to stiffness, but they are saved from this by the skill with which he treated all other features of the work, leaving the proportions as perfect as in any of his smaller violins. The arching rises abruptly from the purfling, but having done so does not continue to swell upward to the center but remains quite flat. This flatness is compensated for by the extraordinary height of the walls, which we believe exceed in measurements those of any other period. The maple of both back and sides has a small figure which differs from that used at any other period, so far as we have observed. In passing it is interesting to note that in some violins of this period the maple is almost perfectly plain. The belly of the "Earl" is of the choicest description, and the varnish in common with other work of that year and period has a dryer appearance than that of former years. The scroll is a fine piece of carving, not having perhaps the extreme elegance of expression of the 1710 to 1716 period, but equally fine in character and thoroughly in harmony with the architecture of the violin itself.
5The "Earl" was purchased by the Earl of Westmoreland, founder of the London Royal Academy of Music, while British Ambassador at Vienna, about 1815 or 1820. It remained, as far as is known, in his possession until his death (October 16, 1859) and in his family until some four years later. Mr. Hawley secured it from Mr. Hart, July 7, 1877.
7Other fine examples of violins of this period are those known as the Spanish Strad of Mr. D. J. Partello,† dated 1723, the violin known as the "Ernst Strad," dated 1726, and the violin known as the Paganini, dated 1727. Other well-known violins of the 1720-30 period are the Bott Stradivari‡ and the Ludwig,‖ 1724. In 1722 he made the violin known as the Rhode Strad, dated 1722, which is unique in that it
9* Dimensions of the Duke of Edinburgh Stradivari, 1721:
10Length of body – – – 14 3/16 inches.
11Width of lower bout – – 8 1/4 inches.
12Width of upper bout – – 6 1/16 inches.
13Width of sides at top – – 1 3/16 inches.
14Width of sides at bottom – 1 1/4 inches.
16† Measurements of Spanish Stradivari, 1723:
17Length of body – – – 14 inches full.
18Width across lower bouts – – 8 5/16 inches.
19Width across upper bouts – 6 1/16 inches.
20Height of sides at top – – 1 3/16 inches.
21Height of sides at bottom – 1 1/4 inches.
23‡ Measurements of the Bott Strad:
24Length of body – – – 14 inches.
25Width across lower bouts – – 8 1/4 inches.
26Width across upper bouts – 6 1/6 inches.
28‖ The measurements of the Ludwig Strad are as follows:
29Length – – – 13 15/16 inches.
30Width, lower bouts – – 8 1/16 inches.
31Width, upper bouts – – 6 1/2 inches.
32Sides at the bottom – – 1 3/2 inches.
33Sides at the top – – 1 3/16 inches.
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