Scan 81
The violin & its story : or the history & construction of the violin, 1905
10 lines. Read by computer on 29 September 2026. Printed page 65. See the scan on archive.org.
1Razenzo; and he by his name would seem to have been an Italian by birth. He worked at Barcelona towards the close of the seventeenth century.
3England.
5There is in England no special stringed instrument manufacture. Most of the instruments sold in England are brought over from Mittenwald, from Mirecourt, and from Markneukirchen; these are often very carefully finished in England, fitted with new necks, varnished, and then sold at an augmented price. There are however in England many good repairers, and not a few skilful connoisseurs, while London may be regarded as the best market in the world for old and valuable violins. The well-known firm of musical instrument salesmen, Messrs. Puttick and Simpson, often offer for auction in the course of a year from 2,000 to 3,000 instruments, amongst which are to be found some of the very best.
7France.
9A great development has taken place in the manufacture of stringed instruments in France. At Mirecourt alone there are thirty large factories, employing over 500 men. At the close of the seventeenth century, as the result of the labours of Médard, to whom allusion has already been made, the fame of the Mirecourt violin manufacture became widely known through his pupils, and at the present day it enjoys a wide-spread reputation. The Mirecourt makers do not confine themselves solely to the models left by Stradivarius, Guarnerius, Maggini, or the Amati, but make every possible description—German, and even English. Each of the Mirecourt factories has moreover its own speciality. The necessary pine, maple, and deal are brought from Switzerland, the ebony and foreign woods being imported from abroad. The Mirecourt productions are known for their great cheapness, their cleanness of finish, their elegance, and their fine varnish. The tone is pleasant, they
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