Scan 296
The violin: its famous makers and their imitators, 1875
2 lines. Read by computer on 1 October 2026. Printed page 236. See the scan on archive.org.
1and to devote the whole of his attention to the art which he so loved. He soon became aware of the growing demand for Italian works, and felt that, possessed with a varied and proficient knowledge of the different styles of workmanship belonging to the Italian schools of Violin making, he could turn his present acquirements to a profitable as well as pleasurable use. He resolved to journey in search of hidden Cremonas. His means were, indeed, very limited. His stock-in-trade consisted only of a few old Violins of no particular value. With these he commenced his labours, journeying in the garb of a pedlar, on foot, through Italian cities and villages, and often playing his Violin in order to procure the bare means of existence. Upon entering a village he endeavoured to ingratiate himself with the villagers, and thus obtained information of the whereabouts of any inhabitants who were possessed of any member of the Fiddle family, his object being to examine and secure, if possible, such instruments as were possessed of any merit. It can readily be conceived that at the commencement of the present century, numbers of valuable Cremonese and other instruments were in the hands of very humble people. Louis Tarisio knew that such must be the case, and made the most of his good fortune in being the first connoisseur to visit them. His method of trading was either to sometimes exchange with the simple villagers, giving them a Violin in perfect playing order for their shabby old instrument that lacked all
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.