Scan 151
The violin: its famous makers and their imitators, 1909
8 lines. Read by computer on 27 September 2026. Printed page 105. See the scan on archive.org.
1Cappa, Gioffredo, Cremona, 1644-1717. The dates of birth and death were ascertained by Dr.
3IOFREDVS CAPPA FECIT SALVTIIS ANNO 16— Orazio Roggiero, a lawyer of Saluzzo, whose researches set at rest many doubts and speculations as to this excellent maker and his period of activity. He was formerly held to be a pupil of the brothers Amati, but the assumption, having regard to the date of birth, is untenable.
5The greater number of his productions consist of works of high merit. Their likeness to the instruments of the Amati is in some instances peculiarly striking, but in others there is a marked dissimilarity. Particularly is this the case in the form of the sound-hole and scroll. The sound-hole is sometimes large, and quite out of keeping with the elegant outline of Amati. The points of difference may be summed up as follows: the sound-hole is larger, and more obliquely set in the instrument; the upper portion of the body has a more contracted appearance; the head, as is the case with most makers, differs most, and, in this instance, in no way resembles Amati.
7There are few specimens of Cappa that bear their original labels; most of them are counterfeit "Amatis," and hence the great confusion which has arisen concerning their parentage. Lancetti says: "Foreign professors and amateurs, and particularly the English—though connoisseurs
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