Scan 124
Voice and violin: sketches, anecdotes, and reminiscences by T.L. Phipson, 1898
10 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 106. See the scan on archive.org.
1an oval horizontal form, not apparently upon a label, but impressed upon the wood; it was very faint, and the underpart of the oval, on which would have been the address of the maker and the date, was quite obliterated and invisible.
3Since I had seen this violin for the first time, I had ransacked all my books and catalogues, with the view of discovering who this Bertolini could be. But the labour was in vain. I passed over hundreds of violin-makers and bow-makers, but no such name came up to refresh my weary sight.
5I can only conclude, from the general appearance of this instrument, that it probably dates from the latter part of the eighteenth, or very early years of the present century.
7The next point I endeavoured to elucidate was how my handsome dark-eyed friend became possessed of this precious violin. I gleaned in the course of our conversation that she had a music master in Paris, who had given her a modern instrument that had cost sixty francs (about £2, 10s.), which she informed me was "horrible," and I believed her.
9One day, as this music master was coming to give his lesson, he heard an itinerant violinist playing near the church of La Madeleine. He was struck by the fine tone of the instrument, and asked the man if he would part with it. The latter replied that any violin was good enough for his outdoor
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.