Scan 155
The violin, its famous makers and their imitators, 1887
4 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1at last the opportunity of securing the real thing at the price of "a mere song." The time of sale arrives. The beauties of the instrument are dwelt upon by the auctioneer; he begs to be permitted to say two hundred guineas to commence with. Silence around. "Well, gentlemen, shall I say one hundred and fifty guineas?" Dogged silence. "Come, come, gentlemen, this is mere trifling. A 'Joseph Guarnerius' for one hundred and fifty guineas! Shall I say one hundred guineas?" The customary witty frequenter of sale-rooms, unable to restrain himself longer, cries out, "I'll give yer a pound." The auctioneer sees the whole thing; it is a copy that he is selling, and not the original. The pound bid is capped by another from our friend, who fondly fancies himself behind the scenes. The subtle copyist, seeing his eagerness, bids on his bid, and the "Joseph Guarnerius del Gesù" falls with the hammer to the anxious buyer for ten pounds. He demands possession of it at once, in case another may be substituted, and retires, perfectly satisfied with his day's work. The wholesale copyists are those who manufacture Violins in Bavaria and France in large factories, where the Violins undergo all kinds of processes to make them modern antiques. The wood is put into ovens and baked until it assumes the required brownness, or steeped in strong acids until it becomes more like a piece of charred wood than anything else—the sharp edges removed by the file—the wear of years affected in a few moments by rubbing down those parts subject to friction—ticketed and dated, regardless alike of orthography and chronology, the date being generally before or after the original's existence. These imitations are so barefaced as to render them comparatively harmless.
3GUIDANTI, Giovanni, Bologna, about 1740. High model;
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