Scan 74
The violin: its famous makers and their imitators, 1875
2 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1Antonius Stradiuarius and Joseph Guarnerius del Jesù advanced far beyond reach of their fellow makers or followers. The pupils of the Amatis, Stradiuarius, and Guarnerius settled in Milan, Florence, and other cities previously mentioned as centres of Violin making, and thus formed the distinct character or school belonging to each city. A close study of the various schools shows that there is much in common among them. A visible individuality is found throughout the works of the Italian makers; it is not to be met with in anything approaching the same degree in the similar productions of other nations. Among the Italians each artiste appears to have at first implicitly obeyed the teachings of his master, afterwards, as his knowledge increased, striking out a path for himself. To such important acts of self-reliance may be traced the absolute perfection to which the Italians at last attained. Not content with the production of instruments capable of producing the best tone, they strove to give them the highest finish, and were rewarded, possibly, beyond their expectation. The individuality noticed as belonging in a high degree to Italian work is, in many instances, very remarkable. How characteristic the scroll and sound-hole of each several maker! Master and pupil differ here in about the same degree as the handwriting of father and son, and often far more. Although Stradiuarius was a pupil of Nicholas Amati, yet how marked is the difference between the scrolls and sound-holes
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