Books › The Hawley Collection of violins, 1904 › scan 90
Scan 90
The Hawley Collection of violins, 1904
6 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 54. See the scan on archive.org.
1THE HAWLEY COLLECTION OF VIOLINS
3addition, several pieces of land outside the city. It is not probable that he accumulated all this through his business, for he inherited property from his father, and, as we have already stated, Anna Foresto, his wife, had independent means. In all, ten children were born to the Maggini's, four of whom died in infancy. Carlo Francesco, the only son who survived his father, did not follow in his footsteps as violin-maker, but became a merchant, as we learn from the income tax returns for the year 1661. There has been more or less discussion over the claim of certain violin authorities who maintain that Giovanni Paolo Maggini had a son named Pietro Santo Maggini, who made violins and signed himself son of Paolo. Several violins bearing this label have come under our observation. We have one in mind which was brought a few years ago to Chicago from Europe by a violinist, who may or may not have been innocent in the matter. It was offered for sale for some time. Finally, just as it was about to pass at a high price into the possession of an amateur who believed he was securing a great prize, we were called into the matter and exposed the fraud. It was a chunky fiddle, inferior in model, workmanship, and varnish. It could not have been made earlier than 1825, and every characteristic pointed to France as its origin. The belly was noticeable because of its excessively wide grain. The wear of centuries was skillfully counterfeited, and altogether it was calculated to deceive the unwary, especially when exhibited in the hands of a clever player, who could carefully hide the many inequalities of its tone. It was labeled Pietro Santo Maggini, son of Gio. Paolo, and bore, alas, in bold type, the date "Brescia, 1661." It would seem that any one competent to make even as good a violin as this one would have known that it was not customary for the Brescian makers to date their labels. The facts brought out recently by Messrs. Hill proving that Gio. Paolo had no such son makes the mistake (or worse) very apparent. When pointed out, these irregularities are so glaring that it seems strange that they should remain undiscovered for a moment, but the annals of the lowly artisans of the infant violin industry were not kept with the care of those of the prelates of church or rulers of state. While their work is ever an open book, yet their lives and deeds in a large measure are lost to us forever.
5The instruments of Maggini, like those of other great makers, are marked by changes from time to time in model, varnish, and construction, which serve to divide them into distinct groups. The differences existing between different periods of a maker's work are always marked, but especially so in the case of Maggini, whose first violins are but poor specimens of the violin-maker's skill from the point of view of technique, of workmanship, while those made by him in later years excel in finish. Nothing could demonstrate the rapid strides in violin building during the life of this man better than this one fact. By 1620, the Cremonese makers had achieved great reputation throughout Europe for the beauty of their work. Competition was doubtless instrumental in raising the level of Maggini's work just as it was a hundred years later in Cremona, when, gathered within the area of a few squares, the greatest artisans vied with each other in making the name of their city a synonym for excellence. Maggini did not derive from Gasparo da Salò ideas of what we would term finished workmanship. The most that can be said is that he derived from him the correct fundamental idea of violin tone production. If the fame of the Brescian school was to rest on anything else than the tone of its instruments, it is to be feared that it would not have survived, for the glory of Cremonese and Venetian work as
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.