Scan 72
The violin & its story : or, the history & construction of the violin, 1905
4 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 56. See the scan on archive.org.
1Jacob Stainer was born on the 14th of July, 1621, at Absam, a village not far from the Salmenstadt Hall in Innthale. The parson of the village interested himself in the poor but active lad, and sent him to Innsbruck to an organ builder with the idea of his learning the business. But Stainer was found to be too weak for this work, and on this account his master advised him to learn the lighter work of fiddle-making. By the recommendation and encouragement of this same parson, Stainer went to Nicholas Amati at Cremona. The fame of this master had doubtless already reached Innsbruck, as at the court of Archduke Leopold and Claudia de Medici a great many Italian musicians were retained. Amati was not long in recognising the talents of his pupil, inducted him into the secrets of his art, strongly pressed him to settle in Cremona, and to that end offered to give him his daughter to wife. Stainer, however, did not relish this part of the bargain, and run away to Venice, worked for a little while under Vimercati there, and at length settled in his native town, Absam. When scarcely twenty years old he sold violins in the Haller Market. He began, young enough, to unite art with love, and on October 7th, 1645, married Margaretha Holzhammer. His fame as a maker of violins continually increased; but as his wife brought him children almost as fast as he could make fiddles, poverty soon came in at the door, although we are not told that love had flown out at the window. Stainer determined to travel, and try to dispose of some of his violins. For some time he stayed at Kirchdorf in the house of a Jewish merchant named Salomon Huebmer, where he ran up a heavy bill for board and lodging, interest, and other charges, for which the Jew often sued him at law, and which gave Stainer a good deal of trouble for a considerable period.
3Stainer's fame still continued to grow, and in 1669 King Leopold conferred upon him the title of Court violin maker, because, as the Diploma ran, "the repute of the trusty and beloved Stainer's good qualities and
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