Books › the history of the violin, 1864 › scan 288
Scan 288
the history of the violin, 1864
18 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. Printed page 266. See the scan on archive.org.
A town on its own line is one of the directory's headings. That is where the town on a maker's page comes from.
1viols, and violins, for more than one hundred years and passed through the transition state from the more antiquated instrument to that of more perfect character, Henry Jay being the last of the family as a maker.
3There were several violin and violoncello makers residing in the City, in the latter half of this century, who appear to have adopted small-sized violoncellos, not exactly of the squat pattern used by Nathaniel Cross, but something of that character, and still adhering to the high model. It is not known who instructed them; but neither their work or goodness of tone has added any lustre to their names, although the instruments have been made more than one hundred years. Unless the various thicknesses are properly blended, age will not do much to improve them. The instrument must be good from its first manufacture to derive the essential qualities which age certainly imparts, although it cannot be denied that age and much use may improve these instruments. These makers form a portion of the links in the chain we are endeavouring to elucidate. The first of this class is,
5"Robert Thompson att the Bass Violin
6In pauls Ally St. pauls church yard
7London 1749,"
9who appears to have taught his sons, or some other relatives, as there are others of the same surname.
11"Made by
12Thompson & Son
13at the Violin &c
14the West end of
15St. Pauls Church Yard
16London
171764."
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.