Books › The violin : how to choose one, 1893 › scan 15
Scan 15
The violin : how to choose one, 1893
4 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. Printed page 11. See the scan on archive.org.
1and makes their owner relax his senseless and greedy fingers, and then, hey, presto! the violins are all scattered to the cheerful chip of the auctioneer's hammer, but at prices entirely prohibitive to the best players, who can simply look on and groan and gnash their teeth, and see them again entombed by a fresh crop of wealthy vandals. The pure selfishness which prompts violin collecting ought then to be hooted from the earth in common with all selfishness, until it shall cease to exist. Scatter them! scatter them! Let the world hear them while they have voices to thrill! What I preach I have all my life practised. When I have ceased to use a violin I have always sold it, generally at the price I paid for it, sometimes at a slight gain, but frequently for less than it cost. I have never sold a violin to a collector, and would not do so at any price. To keep a spare old violin for an emergency is necessary and commendable; to collect old violins as curiosities, and shut them off from the glorious world of brightness and joy, for which they were created, is detestable. Mr. Ed. Heron Allen takes the middle course of declaring that every man has a right to use his money as he pleases. Exactly, but many men, quite within the law and their own right, use their money in a manner which calls forth the disgust of all unselfish men; while others are beloved for the way in which they administer this great trust for the good of the world and themselves. While denouncing violin collecting, I am bound to admit that all the violin collectors whom I have met have been singularly amiable and obliging men, but these have all been players. There are scores of others who are not players, but coffiners. It is the practice I denounce, not the men individually, and as no one who really loves the violin is past praying for, let us hope that they will all "tak' thocht an' mend."
3Nor am I to condemn the disease without pointing out a remedy. If men of money will collect violins, let them collect NEW ONES. This suggestion I make in all seriousness. A new violin, made of grand wood by a genuine artist, and slowly and patiently covered with a fine amber oil varnish is a beautiful object to look upon, which an old violin generally is not; and a collection of violins by the different makers now living would not only be full of interest in itself—and a much-needed encouragement to struggling talent—but an investment which would increase enormously in value as years rolled on and time did its mellowing work on these
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.