Scan 80
The Violin Gallery: Comprising: Section I. South Kensington Special …, 1890
11 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1This view is obtained through the obliging offices of Mr. S. M. Lloyd, Goderich, Canada, to whom I am much indebted.
2The happy possessor of this violin has become so proficient in its use that she has been christened the Canadian Neruda. May our Canadian-American cousin not only equal but excel her famous English sister.
4221 NICHOLAS LUPOT. PARIS, 1810. Mr. Henry Plumb, Des Moines. 1758-1824. A beautiful violin, of the distinguished French maker. Color deep red. Purchased by the owner from the collection of Judge Sibley, Marietta, Ohio.
6222 JEAN BAPTISTE VUILLAUME. PARIS. Mr. Henry Plumb. 1798-1875. An excellent example of this celebrated maker. Color cherry red, copy of Stradivari, in which style Vuillaume was most successful, though he also imitated Maggini, Amati and Guarnerius. Purchased from W. E. Hill, London, by Mr. John Givin, of Des Moines.
7Compare this fiddle with "Le Messie" No. 91 by Stradivarius. You will see that the f hole, the upper bouts, the C's and the lower bouts are exactly the same. It appears to be a copy of that very Strad and is a strong indication that it was made after "Le Messie" came into Vuillaume's possession in 1855. The workmanship and the varnish show him to be a great master, and the flat model, together with a faultless construction, give it a rich, full, penetrating tone. But a flat model and perfect outline are not sufficient to furnish that reedy, yet rich and powerful tone so much admired and sought after. If it were so the violins of Nicholas Lupot would leave nothing to be desired, for, with the exception of the present subject, his works are probably the most faithful in form of all Stradivari copyists, but no connoisseur or intelligent violinist would dare claim that they have the desired qualities of tone.—And how could it be otherwise, for Lupot lived, made fiddles and died (1824) long before the illustrious Savart with the assistance and co-operation of J. B. Vuillaume discovered and gave to the world (1838) the Stradivari secrets of construction.
8The flat model on account of the wood fibers not being cut by the hollowing out process, but allowed to vibrate at greater length than is possible in the high model, is productive of a penetrating tone, lacking however, depth and that strength which results from combined forces, and without the tone of the plates and the mass of air within the instrument being put in harmonic relation—principles which were not known in Lupot's time—the qualities of sweetness and volume are wanting. Let me say right here that I do not speak from theory only, but from theory and practice—having made fiddles myself.
9Vuillaume's just claims to distinction are ignored by certain high fiddle authorities, but sooner or later they must be admitted by all, and he be given the position he deserves, viz.: that of the best maker since the time of the first class Italian masters of Cremona, Venice, Naples and Milan.
10When you get a Vuillaume made by his own hand after the Savart experiments, keep it, but beware of the hundreds of fiddles which were actually turned out of his large factory under his own name but in the fabrication of which he took no part.
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