The re-emergence of a long unseen Stradivari violin of the most desirable form, in superb condition, having a first class provenance and a famously splendid tone, is a rare occurrence. Up to the point when we handled the sale of the 1710 ex-Vieuxtemps Stradivari, this violin had been in the hands of only one family for over 100 years and had remained out of view of contemporary experts. Consequently, photographs of the Vieuxtemps Stradivari of 1710 are absent from all of the major 20th century publications on Stradivari. The images presented here are the first modern photos of this spectacular instrument. Read more…

Leandro Bisiach (1864-1945) was one of the most influential violin makers and dealers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He won important recognition and prizes in International exhibitions in London (1895), Atlanta (1895-96), Turin (1898), Paris (1900), Milan (1906), and Brussels (1910), and in 1905 opened and successfully ran a workshop that can be compared to the great workshops of J.B. Vuillaume and W.E. Hill and Sons. Read more…

There is an air of mystery surrounding Peregrino Micheli, an extremely rare maker from the very dawn of violin-family history. His name, as printed on the original label in this nearly-unique viola, means “Peregrino, son of Zanetto,” but any knowledge of Peregrino and his father rests almost solely on their instruments; little hard information is available. We ourselves have had extremely limited experience with this maker, this being the first Peregrino instrument that we have sold. Read more…

The vast output from the J.B. Vuillaume atelier’s reported 4,000 instruments is most remarkable for the consistent quality of that output. J.B. Vuillaume’s rigorous quality control can be felt in every aspect of the Vuillaume line. From the St. Cecile violins to the bows produced for the shop by the best makers of the day, all of the craftsmen employed by Vuillaume were at their best while working for the Vuillaume enterprise. Read more…