Bow & Bridge Violin and bow makers, as the old books printed them

Scan 204

The violin: its famous makers and their imitators. : With several wood engravings from photographs of the works of Stradiuarius, Guarnerius, Amati, and others, 1880

7 lines. Read by computer on 29 August 2026. Printed page 186. See the scan on archive.org.

1SECTION XI.
2The German School.
4THE Germans do not appear to have commenced making Violins until long after the Italians at Brescia. There is no trace of any German Violins of the time of Gaspard di Salo, Mariani, or Maggini the elder. This is certainly remarkable, and the more so when we consider how near were the German makers of Lutes, &c., to the old Italian town where Violins were being made. It is evident from this non-production of Violins that the Tyrolese were content with their Viols and Lutes, and did not recognise the wonderful effects of the little Violin until it had become pretty nearly perfected by the Italians. The manufacture of Lutes and Viols in Germany had in 1650, or a little later, reached its zenith, and the exquisite pieces of workmanship, in the shape of Lutes, Viols da Gamba, and Viols d'Amour, richly inlaid with mother-of-pearl, ivory, and tortoiseshell, made at this period, evidence the high state of the art. Among the Viol and Lute makers of this time were Jean Kohl and Possen, of Munich; Meusidler, of Nuremberg; and Mohr and Tielka, of Hamburg, the two latter ordinarily making Viols, and the rest Lutes.
6The earliest maker of the true Violin in Germany was, perhaps, Fichold; and next came Matthias

The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.