LUPOT, of Paris, was another excellent maker. His bows are not quite so light as those of Tourte, but they are in all other respects highly esteemed.
DODD, EDWARD, born at Sheffield, and died in London, at the age of 105 years, in 1810, was distinguished as an improver of the bow in England, about the same time that the Tourtes were founding their great reputation in France. The great maker of this name, however, and who has achieved the honourable title of the Tourte of England, is
DODD, JOHN, the son of Edward. The best bows of this maker are highly esteemed, and partake of all the excellencies of those of Tourte. Some of them, however, are rather short, which is perhaps their only defect.
After these come the bows of Panormo, Pecatte, Tubbs, Vuillaume, and other English and Foreign artistes, whose best bows are much esteemed.
As between old and new bows, we would observe that in general modern bows are nearly us useless as new violins. The wood of which most of them are made is very inferior to that of the older artistes, and there is always a doubt whether they will stand continued use and remain straight and flexible. With an old bow, if it is straight, there is no fear, with ordinary care, of its remaining so. A good bow is as important as a good violin.
THE GREAT CREMONA MAKERS.
THE AMATI FAMILY.
Cremona! Who has not heard of this now celebrated Italian city? And yet but for a fiddle maker it is very probable indeed that it would never have been known beyond the circle of its own local interests and its relations with neighbouring cities. Now, however, its name is a spell to conjure with. A Cremona Violin is, to a rich amateur, a loadstone that is sure to attract the shining metal from the depths of his purse. Seven hundred pounds have been given for a Guarnerius Violin! Think of that ye dilettanti who are so proud of your pictures and marbles! Even the poor fiddler has his Mecca far away, and it is called Cremona. Like pictures, the Cremona Violins are real works of art, and like them also, were once to be had for trifling sums. Cuyps and Paul Potters, Stradiuarii and Guarnerii were once to be had for three or four pounds each that are now worth as many hundreds. A Cremona instrument has even been considered a worthy gift to pass between crowned heads, Pope Pius V. having presented a violoncello by Andreas Amati to Charles IX. of France. Fleeting however are the honours of time! Cremona has lost its most famous names from among its citizens, and with them its most distinguished characteristic. For nearly a hundred years no maker of great skill has arisen to dispute the glory of the place with the Amati, Stradiuarius, and Guarnerius, by whom the fame of Cremona will be carried to the latest generations.