Books › The Violinist's Guide (1916), 1916 › scan 6
Scan 6
The Violinist's Guide (1916), 1916
14 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1Preface
3THE beginning of the United States saw our ancestors engaged in a struggle with the forces of nature for a mere existence and with scant leisure to devote to art or industries dependent thereon. After the first half century of our national life the rising tide of immigration, swelling rapidly to a tremendous influx of European settlers who brought with them their own traditions and knowledge of artistic crafts and industries, infused vigor into the struggling American violin industry.
5When violin making was born on American soil, there were no examples of the finest craftsmanship for use as copies and from which the pioneers could derive instruction in the secrets of the art.
7One by one the best specimens of the greatest violin makers were brought to this country through the courage and enterprise of the American dealer and the appreciation of the American collector and connoisseur. Today the American violin maker has an opportunity, at least equal to, if not greater than, that possessed by his European colleague for the comparison of his workmanship with the art of the old masters.
9The habit of looking to Europe for the supply of violins, new as well as old, seemed firmly established until recently. As the supply of genuine old instruments was necessarily limited, the ever-increasing demand for instruments in Europe as well as America not only encouraged the modern European maker to increase his output of handmade violins, but led to the development of the European factory-made instruments.
11The first effect of the present war on the violin industry was the cessation of all exports to America, on account of the sea blockade, and the enforced enlistment in the various armies of all able-bodied male workers not engaged in producing the necessaries of war and life. Another consequence of the war has been the undoubted destruction of many valuable old instruments in the invasion and partial devastation of Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, and Northern France. This loss may continue and, until the conclusion of hostilities, none can say how great it has been or when it will cease.
13American's readiness to purchase has in no wise been lessened by the war, and demand has far outstripped the supply. For the first time in our history the attention and hopes of violin pupils, teachers, artists, dealers and amateurs in this country have been centered exclusively on our own sources of supply.
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