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Scan 18
The Violinist's Guide (1916), 1916
28 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1Early American Violin Makers
2By William H. Howe.
4It was not until near the close of the eighteenth century that American artisans began to make instruments of the violin family. They first turned their attention to basses not only because there was the greatest actual demand for these, and being used in churches they were less "instruments of the devil" than the dance accompanying violin, but on account of their bulkiness it cost a good deal to import them since they took up much valuable space on the small ships of that day; violins could be brought over comparatively easily.
6Long before any American attempted to make any basses, carpenters and other woodworkers, and clock repairers and makers had been called upon to repair the imported instruments, which due to change in climate, split or became so cracked as to go to pieces. It is bad enough now to import basses for they nearly always split within the first year, and a century ago the conditions were worse because the wood was greener than that which comes to us now.
8In making these repairs the American workmen just made the instruments playable and probably had too little idea of tone quality to put them in what we would today call good playing condition. However they nearly always re-varnished the instruments with a good quality of hard furniture varnish.
10The first musical stringed instruments made in America were intended for use in church to assist the singers; this was long before the introduction of the organ. The first of these stringed instruments were double and single basses: the double-basses were very large, one specimen of the Prescott basses standing seven and one-half feet high; while the single basses or bass viols were somewhat larger than the violoncellos of today.
12Probably the first of the New England makers was Benjamin Crehore who, in 1791, was well known in Boston, New York and Philadelphia as a maker of violins, basses and other musical instruments. In 1792 he exhibited a harpsichord with an improvement suggested by a pianoforte. In 1797 he was stage carpenter at the Federal Street Theatre of Boston. He made his first piano about 1800 and his workshop in Milton, Mass. (near Boston), was the training school for many of the later American pianoforte makers. Whether Crehore made instruments of the viol family before or during the war of the American Revolution is uncertain, but an instrument of the 'Cello type, dating about 1785, has been examined and possesses the following characteristics:
14The instrument presents very much the appearance of an old Mittenwald 'Cello: that is, it has the "cut off" effect at the top and bottom that bespeaks the Tyrolean 'Cellos of the period before 1750. Viewed as a whole this Crehore 'Cello has an old world look and nothing of the crudeness that characterizes much of the early American work in violin making. The workmanship is good and the model is fairly high. There is no purfling, but ink lines to imitate purfling are drawn on the back, and even these are lacking on the top.
16The scroll is surprisingly well done and possesses a good style of its own. The cutting is deep and the "eyes" are very prominent. The lower half of the back of the scroll is finished flat. The sound hole slants but little, and although wide is well cut and of good style. The body is 29 inches long; the width of the upper bout is 13 1/4 inches and of the lower bout 16 1/2 inches. The corners are short.
18The Crehore varnish was of good quality and quite soft in texture. On one bass viol the color was a dark brown. There is a small label, with a garland border as follows:
20Base Viols
21Made and Sold by
22Benjamin Crehore
23in Milton.
25A large 'Cello made by Crehore in Dorchester, in 1788, was played in the Old South Church at Weymouth, Mass., by White.
27We may perhaps take Benjamin Willard, second son of Benjamin Willard of Grafton, Mass., as the second of the American makers. He was a clock maker, perhaps among the first in America, and it is easy to see how the neat worker
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