Books › The reminiscences of a fiddle dealer, 1925 › scan 47
Scan 47
The reminiscences of a fiddle dealer, 1925
4 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 23. See the scan on archive.org.
1An Unpromising Purchase
3countries outside. When he had gone over the lot he gave a disappointed grunt, remarking that it would take more time to put them in order than the whole lot of them were worth. "Here, Mr. Laurie," he said, "you may have them if you choose. They are half-a-dozen Italian fiddles sent me from Milan, the man who sent them has collected for me a long time but latterly there are few to be found, and these are merely the débris that he has picked up. I have no time to put them in order, but doubtless some English maker would buy them. Here is the bill for the lot, twelve hundred francs (£48), you may have them at that price and do the best you can with them." I sat down and examined them one by one; they were all just as the makers had left them, some without even a fingerboard. None had ever been mounted for use and all had short hands. Three had names on their tickets I had never even heard of, but the other three bore well-known ones, namely,—J. B. Ruggieri of Brescia, Landolphus of Milan, and Gabrielli of Florence, and I thought I would risk it and accept the offer. I brought the fiddles to London and shewed them to three of the principal dealers in Wardour Street. The first had a good look at them, and asked my price for the lot. "Sixty pounds, wholesale," I said quite boldly. "Not if I know it," said he, "why, if they were mine I should be glad to get rid of them for half that sum, but I don't care to have them at all."
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.