Books › the history of the violin, 1864 › scan 385
Scan 385
the history of the violin, 1864
9 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 363. See the scan on archive.org.
1establishment of Astor, in Cornhill, and one of the Cahu sacs succeeded to that business. From the circumstance of his being connected with a musical business, and the violin makers generally considering there was an old and young Benjamin Banks who were manufacturers, it was inferred that he could work at the business, and these suppositions have proved correct. In September, 1857, a violoncello was seen, the property of Mr. John Harding, surveyor, living in Salisbury, which had written on the inside of the upper vibrating plate at the hind bout of the first string side, the following—
3"Made by Benj'n. Banks,
4No. 30, Sherrard Street,
5Golden Square. London.
6From Salisbury."
8A written label also was inside the instrument, the same as the above, but omitting "From Salisbury." It can be asserted, almost with certainty, that the elder Benjamin Banks never resided in London; therefore we conclude the above label alludes to the younger of that name, who having tried musical instrument-making in London, and not succeeding, became connected with the shoe shop. He was born on the 13th September, 1754, as previously stated. After his residence in Salisbury and London, he retired to Liverpool, where his two brothers, James and Henry, were living, probably about 1814, for in the month of March in that year he bought a grave at Saint Mary's Church, Edge Hill. He died on the 22nd January, 1820, and at the time of his death was residing in Hawk Street, Liverpool. Upon the grave-stone it is engraved that his age was sixty-eight years; in the Book of Burials it is stated as sixty-five; the latter corresponds with the time of his birth given by the nephew.
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