Books › The Violin: A concise exposition of the general principles of construction.., 1871 › scan 142
Scan 142
The Violin: A concise exposition of the general principles of construction.., 1871
2 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1from about 1685 to 1725. The violins of this maker were of a larger model, with deep archings, having the thicknesses graduated in a peculiar manner; the tone was sweet, but subdued. This maker must not be confounded with Peter, the son of Joseph, and grandson of Andrew, who wrought at Cremona from 1725 to 1740, and whose violins display but little care and finish, although several of his basses have been held in high esteem. We now arrive at the most distinguished maker of the family, whose finest instruments are so widely known, and appreciated for their eminent excellence, as to require but little comment in the present short notice. This eminent artist, Joseph Anthony, was the son of John Baptiste Guarnerius—the brother of Andrew—and was born at Cremona in 1683. He was a pupil of Stradivarius, but his violins are, generally speaking, finished in a manner very inferior to those of his master. Many of his violins bear a cross upon the label, usually placed over the following letters, thus: I H 8 from which quaint monogram he derived the name of Joseph del Fesu. His violins may, like those of Steiner, be classified into three distinct epochs. During the first period, his early instruments are but of medium quality, a little later, however, true traces of the master appear. The model is of a small size, the wood of excellent quality, the varnish equals that of his master, Stradivarius, both in quality and colour, but from a disproportion in the thicknesses, the sounds of his instruments, although sweet and mellow, possess but little penetration. The next period is particularly
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