CHAPTER V.

STRADIVARI'S GREAT SUCCESS--HIS SO-CALLED "GRAND EPOCH"--HIS PATRONS--HIS VIOLINS REPUTED FOR TONE WHEN QUITE NEW AND SOUGHT AFTER--THE HELP HE RECEIVED--HIS ASSISTANTS AND PUPILS--PARTS OF THE WORK REQUIRING HIS INDIVIDUAL TOUCH--THE MEMBERS OF HIS FAMILY WHO MAY HAVE ASSISTED HIM--STRADIVARI'S VARNISH--HIS IMITATORS.

The period 1700-15 or thereabouts, found Stradivari not only an acknowledged master of his craft but among his contemporaries recognised as the head. His business had been all along steadily flourishing, his patrons had been of high social position, some most illustrious, others actually royal. Among the latter the King of Poland stands out in relief as having specially sent an envoy to Cremona and that he had to wait three months before he could return with his commission fulfilled. Whether he ran in danger of being decapitated for "hanging about" Cremona so long is not known, but one thing is certain, that patrons royal, illustrious, of high social standing and refined tastes, wanted the newly made violins of Stradivari that could never have been played upon, almost in the absolute sense of the term, while they could have easily obtained well seasoned, well tried instruments of makers who had lived long before. Here is "a nut to crack" for those who persistently assert the necessity and efficacy of age and use to bring tone to maturity. If any further evidence should be thought necessary to support the assumption of the equal excellence of the new Stradivarius with those that remain with us at the present time, it is contained in the praise of those who heard and used them when quite fresh, declaring the agreeableness of the tone to be beyond rivalry.

Stradivari may be said to have been now in the enjoyment of the plentitude of his powers. Success was attendant upon him without intermission. Tradition says he was reputed in the locality as positively rich, but we do not hear of his aspiring to civic honours as alderman, vestryman, guardian or councilman--common or otherwise--as the outcome of the possession of full coffers. Stradivari simply went on making fiddles. In a position to secure the best materials in the respect of quality, artistically and acoustically considered, he put the best workmanship upon them; also he further selected the best help which, in common with all eminently successful artists, he must have found it necessary to employ.

We now arrive at a point when the question may be fairly put, how much help did he have, and of what kind was it?

As Stradivari left no record behind as to the number of pupils trained on his premises, or assistants who came perhaps as improvers, we are left to do our best in the way of inference. In the first place we may take up the acknowledged fact of his having turned out an enormous number of musical instruments during his very lengthy career; and it must be remembered that his energies were not centred alone in turning out magnificent violins, but that the viola, violoncello, double-bass, besides some of the then not quite obsolete viols of different sizes and fantastic forms, received his attention. These had to be produced at the requirements of his patrons, of whom many had probably not yet completely emerged from the misty musical atmosphere with which the fanciful forms with florid decorations seemed so intimately bound. Further, the fittings for them had to be made presumably on the premises of the maestro and not as at present in foreign parts. At the time there was not existent that extensive and special manufacture of bridges, tailpieces, tail-pins, and pegs that forms a large and significant branch of commerce at the present day. That the violin bridge especially was a production of the Stradivari establishment and not "made in Germany," is sufficiently indicated by its present form having been introduced by Stradivari. On comparing it with the different patterns of bridges that had been issued by the previous masters of Cremona, it will be seen at once that the master mind of Stradivari had effected improvements that have their counterpart in the designs of his violin patterns. We may notice the successful efforts at stability with simplicity, just enough of detail that would lend itself in completing the harmony of the whole design, while dispensing with every unnecessary angle or curve. Of the fingerboard and tailpiece we cannot speak in the same terms; the master seems to have accepted the manner of treating these parts as handed down by preceding generations from Gasparo da Salo, and thought there was no need for alteration. The design of the inlaid ornamentation on both these accessories, was, of course, of a kind with which the house of Stradivari would be identified and the execution also in accordance. Of the tailpin and pegs, with the decoration of both, the same may be said.

All these particulars point to considerable time spent in direct supervision after the preliminary designs had been made by the principal. This would reduce the available time for direct manual labour at his disposal. There would occasionally be some time spent in the discrimination for purchasing of particular choice kinds of pine and maple, these requiring the closest attention. Whether samples were brought for Stradivari's inspection by agents or their principals, or whether the maestro took journeys to particular districts where the exact kind of wood suitable to his requirements was to be had, we know not, but there seems to be much probability that the latter was his mode of obtaining that splendid growth of pine, both in appearance and tone-producing quality, with which he brought about such beautiful results. This, when obtained, had to be carefully stored away until such time as it might be required for immediate use. The cutting down and sawing up into lengths for different instruments would not be such as a maker with less patronage would personally engage in; we can therefore place this aside from the time consuming duties. There is, in the foregoing, enough and much over for reasonable inference that with a master, such as Stradivari, having the refined taste and adaptability for work, there was a considerable amount, if not all, of the merely mechanical work done according to his command or under his eye. This would naturally enough increase in proportion as the business connection grew. There would be in this nothing differing from what has been habitual with eminent professors in all branches of art; as far back as Phaedias, Praxitelles and Appelles of the ancient classic Greek period. Later on it is well known that many of the masterpieces of the Renaissance period had much work upon them other than that immediately from the master's own hand. If this were not permissible, the number of the grandest creations of artistic genius would be most seriously limited. Raphael and his contemporaries, Rubens and Rembrandt, besides many other masters, are well known to have had numerous pupils in their studios engaged in carrying out ideas previously determined upon and drawn out for their guidance. These assistants were gradually drawn into the way and habit of thinking of their masters, and on leaving them, their own individuality or natural tendency uniting with what they had absorbed of their master's manner, the blending of the two became a fresh production of style. If we take this as our guide in summing up the probable amount of help that was drawn upon by Stradivari during his career, especially that part at which, in our consideration of him and his works, we had arrived, it cannot possibly lead us far from the actual facts. Taking into account the known pupils or assistants who received the benefits of personal instruction from Antonio Stradivari, they are more numerous than we can affix to the name of any other master, as it must be borne in mind that Stradivari had initiated a fresh style, the influence of which was destined to be of a far more reaching character than any hitherto coming to the front. The Stradivarian school became the foremost, most numerous and soon was to be the most imitated, of all. Among the earliest of his pupils (the precise number or even the names of all will never be known), may be placed Alexander Gagliano of Naples, working with him about the period of 1680 and some years later, one or two others of the Gagliano family may have been workmen in the Stradivari atelier. Lorenzo Guadagnini, Joannes Battista, his son and Josef of Pavia all claim to have lent a helping hand and received instruction, and there is nothing in their work that is in contradiction. The first became a great master of the Milanese school and was afterwards rivalled by his son, who was more cosmopolitan and not identified with one place in particular. I cannot include the names of Montagnana or Gobetti, which have been frequently referred to by various authors as pupils of Stradivari; a close examination of their style and workmanship leads to a different fountain of inspiration, notwithstanding which they both unquestionably were at one time influenced by the work of the great Cremonese artist as it arrived in Venice. Of Carlo Bergonzi, a great master, it is a well established fact that he worked with Stradivari and probably did much more for him as assistant than is generally acknowledged, but that he was originally a pupil is not in keeping with the early and varying patterns which have gone under his name. Further on it will be necessary to refer to this luminary of the art. We must not forget the two sons of Stradivari, Franciscus and Omobono, who received their initiation at the hands of their father and worked with him for many years, carrying on the business after his decease. Rumour has brought forth another name as pupil or workman with Stradivari, and whose identification with some fine specimens of the liutaro's art may yet prove an interesting study. A relative of the master, we should expect to find his work strongly tinged with the Stradivarian characteristics. His tickets are said to have been all removed in very early times after their insertion and that one only is known to have been preserved intact. Of the great rival--in public estimation--of Stradivari, Joseph Guarnerius, I.H.S., it can only be said there is not a single feature in his handiwork, style or tone, agreeing with the supposition that he at any time was his pupil or assistant, moreover, having by me distinct evidence of his pupilage of another maker of a different school, will of course prevent the inclusion of his name.

The number of pupils and assistants who worked with or under the supervision of Stradivari in his prime, might, if we knew all, be more considerable than we should be prepared to expect. The proportion in the usual course of nature, of those able to single out a path for themselves, prove their individuality superior to their fellows or eventually become of great eminence, must of necessity have been comparatively small. There may have been many working "on and off" under the eye of the master at different periods who were without ambition or the talent to rise above the position of humble helpers among their more talented brethren, born to be assistants only, and, in consequence, never heard of outside the studio. These, and the before mentioned, must all have had something to do with the instruments their master was sending forth into the world; the more clever ones being intrusted with some responsibility on particular work. It is not impossible to fix upon the parts the assistants probably would be allowed to work upon. In the first place, all the designing, drawing out and tracing down of the pattern on to the mould, or on to the unprepared blocks that were to be carved into necks, scrolls, or marked out for ribs, would be Stradivari's.

The different stages succeeding each other would be most likely as follows--firstly, the master having been commissioned by a wealthy patron to make of his best pattern and highest finish a quartet of instruments, he would take from his store of choice pine and sycamore, which he had taken so much trouble and skill in collecting together, such pieces that appeared to him suitable for the instruments to be constructed. The upper and lower tables had previously been hewn or sawn to size, then the jointed back and front, if both were so, planed carefully and made ready for the master's work, which would first come on to the wood as a careful tracing from his original design. Sometimes the tracing down may have been done by some advanced pupil or competent assistant. We may fairly assume the presence here of one or two, if not more, assistants, besides a pupil or improver. One would be selected for the bow-sawing of the pattern, another afterwards receiving it for roughly gouging out according to measurements at hand or marked by the master. Another had meanwhile the bending of the thin slips for the ribs to the necessary curves, or working down the corner and end blocks that had been affixed to the mould. Another, if not the same, might have been carrying out the first stages of the working of the scroll, or perhaps a very competent and trusty assistant would be allowed, under the eye of the master, to work on more advanced forms, making ready for the final or necessary touches of the master hand. The sound holes may have been traced down and even the upper and lower circular holes bored. Further, it is not impossible, that after the modelling back and front had been sufficiently advanced, the glueing and screwing down was intrusted to an assistant, and even some of the finishing up with glass paper or other material in use at the time and place, of parts of minor importance. These are, perhaps, the majority of the details in which the individuality of the handwork of the master was not obligatory in evidence.

In summing up what could have been done by other hands than those of the busy master, it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, unless we admit its presence, to account for the extremely large output of the great Cremonese, even when taking fully into the balance his very industrious habits and extraordinary long working career. Assuming the above view to be reasonable, the number of new instruments which left the Stradivari house must have been very large. It is well known that the master undertook the repairs of musical instruments, which department would require some personal attention or supervision, even if actually executed by his assistants or his two sons, Francescus and Omobono, who, when their father died, were not very young, the first being sixty-five years of age, and the other fifty-five. They had most likely worked with their parent for about forty years and must have done much of making and repairing, that is, crediting them with some of their father's industrial tendencies. Stradivari had two other sons by his first wife, Francesca Ferraboschi, one, Giulio, died 1707, aged forty; the other, Allesandro, in 1732, aged fifty-five. Nothing seems to be known as to whether they were brought up by their father in his own craft or not; if they were, there was time for them also to have done much work with him. There was a son by his second wife, Antonia Zambelli, who died 1727, aged twenty-four, who under the same circumstances may have helped. We have thus five sons of Stradivari, who, if they were all taught the art, may have been working together, besides other assistants at the same time. Carlo Bergonzi has already been mentioned, but although he came late into the field, yet there seems a slight indication that he may have had to supply the place of others who had departed for the carrying out of their own schemes.

Having so far roughly estimated the kind and amount of work, not necessarily his own, on the violins that were sent forth by Antonio Stradivari, we may glance at the particulars of detail that demanded his handiwork and that solely. That there were keen connoisseurs living at the time of Stradivari, as also in the previous century and earlier, there is no room for doubting. Workers in art reduce their inspirations to tangible forms helped by colour that people may see them and, comparing them with what may have gone before and have been executed at the same time, pass judgment on them. In like manner Stradivari, like other masters before him, knew that his handiwork would be scrutinised as well as the tone of his instruments. It was therefore obligatory that purchasers should know his work, that in fact his sign manual should be always present. Contemporaneous with him were makers, artists, who had been initiated in the mysteries of the manufacture and application of the wonderful varnishes which have since by their qualities made them famous throughout the civilised world. There was nothing, however, in the material or its application that could, under the closest examination, be discerned as different to what might be seen on the best instruments of the Amatis--these must have been numerous at the time--the Ruggieris or the Venetian masters, but these did not in the application invariably work up to a certain standard of excellence, whereas Stradivari always did. There was a consummate beauty of result in this branch of the liutaro's art known at the time to many, beyond which it seemed not possible to go. It was, therefore, more in the construction and workmanship then, that the sign manual was perceptible. With this view Stradivari seems to have been careful to let the evidence of no hand but his own be seen in parts that were sure to be closely scrutinised as evidence.

Standing first perhaps in importance would be the cutting of the sound holes, the design and careful drawing of these being completed, and cut in metal--it is said thin copper was used by him--they may have been mostly traced down by himself on the pine of the upper table prepared and in readiness to receive it, although this part without much danger could have been done by an intelligent and experienced assistant. The cutting and finishing with the thin keen edged knife, however, must be his, the slightest shaving over the traced line or not quite up to it would be sufficient to impart a totally different character to the whole. There is no part of the violin in which the sum total of the native characteristics and ability are shown to such exactitude as the cutting of these all important and expressive openings. In those of Stradivari is to be seen the same firmness of purpose and strict curbing of the fancy from proceeding too far, or allowing stability to be over balanced by love of gracefulness, as seen in the designs of his eminent master. To allow no weak part to be perceptible; strength of line with sufficient grace, admirable proportion and balance, and yet withal sufficient expression of mobility and freedom from heaviness were each, seemingly in turn, given the best attention by the great genius of Cremona. It is not using extravagant language when they are termed the eyes of the violin, for it is to these that experienced connoisseurs turn their attention at once when inspecting a violin of character newly placed before them. Cut by an Italian, cut by a Frenchman, by a German, by a nobody in particular or who understood nothing about it, are the thoughts arising in the mind. Each country has its peculiar and native rendering of every sound hole that was first designed in Italy. This tendency to impart their own national characteristics by each native workman, runs parallel with that in pictorial art in the transferring to various materials the impressions received after study of the original or animated reality. To many the sound holes of an Italian gem of the highest class are but sound holes that are more neatly done or prettier than usual. To others they will be the expression in that simple form of an exquisitely acute perception of what will excite pleasurable emotions with regard to delicately balanced proportions, graceful flow of line, and freedom from all appearance of effort. That there is much in little concerning this, is proved by the non-success of all foreign copyists to give a reproduction of the Italian native touch to these details. That this is not an overdrawn description, may be seen on a close comparison between an original Stradivari of almost any period and the most closely traced, laboriously studied and keenly cut sound holes of any of the modern imitators. All have failed signally over these two apparently simple openings on the surface of the upper table.

Notwithstanding this, it may be said there are scarcely two violins alike in respect of expression of these adornments of the structure, each instrument is made to convey its own impression, or display its particular kind of beauty. There is a difference, scarcely to be measured mathematically, that in one will be suggestive of masculine strength, while in another it will be exquisite feminine grace.

In none of the imitations of the master are there seen these qualities expressed in the same degree and kind. It has often been said, and there is more than a substratum of truth in the remark, that, "to copy a Stradivari successfully"--of course, in the fullest sense of the word--"the copyist must be a Stradivari himself." There might, appropriately, be an addition put to this, namely, that a man who could work up to the dizzy height of his ambition in this way, would not copy, but make originals.

Another detail of the workmanship always attended to by the master himself, was that of the purfling. Much has been said of the wonderful accuracy of Stradivari's purfling and that as a purfler he stands unrivalled. This must not be taken in the widest sense, as there have been, and are living, scores and scores of makers who have cut a rut round the border of a fiddle as sharply, and inserted the three conventional lines of dark and light wood as deftly as it could be by the hand of any man, be he named Amati, Stradivari, Ruggieri, Tononi, or Montagnana. There is a degree of evenness and keenness of cutting and clean insertion beyond which it is not possible to go. But there the imitators come to a full stop. Without the inventive power which will make this curious, simple, yet wonderful little fillet, aid in giving the desired expression to the whole work, the imitator is not--as people say nowadays--in the race. The finishing of the border, the corners and the delicate and often very elaborate system of curves around the sound holes, the hollowing of the wings of these latter, and the final surfacing of both back and front, I have no doubt had Stradivari's individual attention. All the delicate and small work of the scroll, perfecting that elegant flow of line and finish of each turn of the volute, as if everything depended on the exactness of its individuality, obliterating all marks of the tooling and giving his own impress to the gouging of the shell and even the completion of the peg-box; then last and not least, the preparation and application of that pellucid envelope that was to serve two purposes, utility and enrichment of effect.

With regard to this, much has been written and said about its incomparable quality, its elasticity, colour and transparency, with other excellences needless to dilate upon. Summarily taken as a whole, the simple fact is, that in no respect is his varnish different, or better than that of his predecessors, the Amatis and masters of the Brescian school; it had been done before and his most famous contemporaries were doing it still, and he was in this position for the simple reason that no better could be done.

If it was not possible for Stradivari to improve upon the varnish of the Amatis who had preceded him and the masters in the art belonging to the Brescian school,--among whom may be mentioned Giovanni Maggini, Antonio Mariani, and the first one to use it on violins, Gasparo da Salo--it was strictly in accordance with his invariable rule of putting forth his best that he so dexterously manipulated it, probably both as to its composition and final application, that faultiness in some respects to be seen in specimens of other masters is not noticeable in his. Thus, as is well known, the Brescians, perhaps without exception, were often very careless regarding the thickness of the film, it being occasionally of irreproachable evenness, at other times having almost the appearance of being laid on with a large brush in great haste. On some connoisseurs this haphazard fulness of treatment, this oft times generously effusive manner, carried out with a careless consciousness of power, acts as a charm, inciting to intense admiration the like of which is roused by the rich, juicy brush of Rembrandt and the masters of the Venetian school of painters. But this is not the perfect realization of aim with regard to the envelopment of masterpieces by the old Italian liutaros; in the instances referred to, and sufficiently numerous, we wonder at the wealth of material and smile at its manipulation. Antonio Stradivari would in no wise act thus at any time. To him it was enough that he was possessor in full of the knowledge of materials, and to deviate from the good paths pursued by the artistic Amatis, was not to be considered for a moment; we therefore find that with him the best material was laid with the utmost skill and care. It must be indeed rare that "frizzling," or contraction of the upper surface of the varnish, is to be seen to any appreciable extent. I do not recollect one instance, while with the Ruggieris, most of the Venetian school, and a number of makers of lesser note, it is quite common.

Concerning the colour or variety of tints adopted by Stradivari at most times, it was most likely done to the requirements of his different patrons, many having a desire for the rich orange, some, the light red or "cherry" tint, while others were not content with any than the red or rich full bodied port wine tint. The simple brown seems to have been less in demand, as it is during the period under consideration, rather exceptional. While using the lustrous coverings for his works with consummate skill, there is one qualification that must not be lost sight of. Beautiful, refined and artistic in the strictest sense of the term, Stradivari never gave way to a desire to outbid the rest of the fraternity for congratulations in respect of gorgeousness, he seems never to have fallen back upon his reserves in the direction of intensity of colour. Thus if a finely preserved specimen of his orange varnish is viewed side by side with one by Joseph Guarnerius, I.H.S., the extra degree of fieriness will be on the side of the latter, but it by no means places Stradivari on a lower level, as the combined qualities of his work, taken as a sum total, is not reached by any liutaro of old Italy.

It may be fairly taken as certain that if there was any master having at command all the necessaries for turning out musical instruments of matchless superiority, both as to acoustical and artistic qualities, it was Stradivari, and many connoisseurs would expect to find nothing but maple used of the richest curl, and that would throw up with delightful effect the lustrous varnish so carefully laid upon it; but, strangely enough, his most magnificently curled backs and sides are mixed with a few that are comparatively plain. A variety of reasons might be assigned for this, but that which bears the greatest probability about it is--that the instruments being chiefly made to order, the maple of richest curl was not always to be had, at least in time for the construction as required. In other respects these plainer mapled instruments are fully equal to anything that came from his hands. Of the proper tone-giving pine he seems never to have been short; there it is, always of beautiful growth, having, like his own handiwork, both delicacy and strength and of a general appearance such as would attract the eye of the veriest tyro in the liutaro's art. How many imitators of the great manipulator have looked at this growth of pine and wondered where the old master obtained it! and how he knew that it possessed the proper qualifications for his purpose. Swiss pine of course! obtained from the lower parts of the forests of the Alps, is an immediate loud response, and cut only from the south or sunniest side of the particular tree when found of course.

This idea was started in the early part of this century in books on the violin, professing to tell the reader all about it or nearly so, and he had only to go, get the stuff, and make Stradivari violins, in fact with the addition of the amount of scientific knowledge of the subject peculiar to modern imitators, he would make "old Strad" "take a back seat." This has been often tried by would-be "Strads," "Guarneris," or "Bergonzis," and full of specious promises that if you will but purchase their wares you be rewarded for your pains by being possessor of everything good that they could endow the instrument with. Keep it, persevere, and the precious qualities will come; some were daring enough to assert that they were already there, if even your mental vision was so obtuse as not to perceive it, absurd prejudice was the cause of this they said, oblivious to the fact that the best musicians of Stradivari's time used the violins fresh from the atelier of the master perfectly new, expressing their unbounded admiration for their beautiful acoustic properties or "pleasurable sounds."

Is the like said of new violins at the present time? These imitators, some of them might be with perfect truth termed forgers, are legion, as in the case of everything that is of a high standard of excellence and which makes acquisition desirable. These artificers had their day, so far as forcing their imitations upon the credulous and unwary could be accomplished, and others have replaced them, yet there aloft still sits the grand master upon his high eminence, unapproached, with the whole world clamouring and struggling for the possession of what in the earnestness of his purpose was only his everyday work.

Before leaving the imitators and forgers, for they are distinct one from the other, the first simply taken being honest, the other not, it may be as well to refer as briefly as possible to the general aspect as afforded by such specimens of Stradivari's art that remain with us after fairly constant usage during the generations that have passed since his decease. Most connoisseurs and dealers are well acquainted with the appearance of a "Strad" of fine model, work and varnish that has done its duty in former times, and is yet able and willing to answer all requirements of the present day and many to come. If the instrument has not been hidden and forgotten in the cabinet of some deceased collector, but has been handed down from one player to another, kept in healthy exercise, not meddled with, muddled, and maddened by the numerous would-be improvers, bridge regulators, sound post agitators and varnish vivifiers, then--it will probably present an appearance of what is called handsome wear, or as a writer has termed it, "adorned, not injured, by a century's fair wear."

Striking the eye first will be the varnish that has been chipped off from the back chiefly, often from a large space of a rough triangular form; the front being usually more smoothly denuded of its lustrous envelope. This chipping away of the varnish from the maple has been effected a long time ago, and is the result of a custom in olden times of hanging the instrument after use on a peg attached to the wall, or may be the interior of a cabinet. Fiddle-cases seem to have been used almost solely for travelling purposes. They are now in general use as the best means of preservation against damage and a good resting place at all times. During the last century there were scores and scores of makers in Italy who were ready, willing to, and did turn out excellent instruments with fine, artistical and acoustical properties, but the race has died out and their remaining works are of daily increasing value, and consequently much under lock and key, out of harm's way as much as possible. This old habit of hanging up violins not wanted for the moment was, as a matter of course, effected with a slight bang or two each time, and a corresponding cost, small or large, according to the blow to the top layer of varnish most highly charged with colour. Each instrument used in this way will declare to the sufficiently acute observer, its course of handling and even the peculiarities to some extent of the owner; for it will be seen that the chippings give indication of different degrees of energy or hurry, when the violin has come in contact with the more or less hard surface of the wall.

It must be borne in mind that the times referred to were prior to the introduction of wall-papers; the good, old-fashioned panelling of oak or hard wood, often of bold design, shattered or nicked away much of the old, delicate and precious varnish used for enveloping the works of the Italian masters. All these constantly recurring slight collisions by degrees brought about the results that have been defined by some as picturesque wear or accidental adornment, if such a thing be reasonable. Besides this there was going on the wear caused by handling by one or another of players, rough or mild, contact with the garments, especially the sleeves, all being larger and looser than are fashionable at the present time. The action of these would be more gentle if more continuous. It is noticeable at the lower end of the back of the violin, which is often worn away much below the penetration of the varnish, the corners being rounded down and if rather protuberant, even losing their original character. The upper table of pine being incapable of equal resistance to the destroying influence, wears away sooner, also the border at the lower end and at both sides of the tail-piece--for the old performers placed their chins on the contrary side to what is thought best now--and the right upper shoulder where the palm of the hand and part of the wrist is apt to work, too often, against the edge. We thus see when a handsome, fairly worn specimen of Stradivari's work comes under our notice, the different pieces of tell-tale evidence, varying of course in degree with each instrument. Now all this must have been going on during the time the master's works were being sent out to parts of Italy and to other countries. It had been progressing and was showing the onward march of Father Time in the instruments left by the Brescian makers a century before.

As before observed, the varnish of Stradivari has, often as not, been worn, chipped or cracked off in, as some fanciers still call it, a picturesque manner or adornment, although from the highest prices being given for those specimens that have the least of it, the taste seems to be growing healthily in favour of perfection of preservation as far as is possible.

It would be out of reason to suppose that full consideration of the subject was omitted by a genius with such far reaching mental vision as Stradivari. That he gave all the necessary study and forethought to the effects of ordinary wear and such as was occasionally going on within his knowledge, there is evidence enough. He saw how the delicate work of his master, Nicolas Amati, was rapidly disappearing under sometimes rough and too often ruffianly usage. It was not in his power to prevent or interfere with this by any peculiarity of construction or quality of the varnish used by him. But this he doubtless knew--that the generally substantial work and total absence of any weak point of detail in design and execution was all that an artist could do. This strength shown over all of Stradivari's designs, even from the commencement, shows that in his grasp of the highest scale of requirement he was also anticipatory and in this wise, that he followed up the self evident principle in art, that the best combination of forms, proportions and masses will answer best for their permanence.

The numismatist knows full well how, on the coins used in various countries, the masters of basso-relievo had concentrated their skill on the subject. The balance of projection and depression for good and proper effect under different situations of light and shade, or even independently of them on occasion--is of paramount importance in all branches of art in their widest range. The omission of proper thoughtful attention in this direction is one of the obstacles to success among copyists in any direction of art. In architecture the imitator or restorer of some early English mouldings has often made ignominious failures from the non-application of knowledge of this kind: just a trifling variation from the original while in progress being deemed of little consequence, but when finished and left for exhibition under the truth testing rays of the sun, the qualities that should have been there are, as the saying is, "conspicuous by their absence." In full view of the above and with an intelligence unsurpassable, Antonio Stradivari so arranged his forms and masses in construction that under fair usage and wearing down of the projecting parts, the original beauty of the whole should be retained as long as possible. A fine Stradivari much worn still retains its air of distinction, and very much of its material must have disappeared under bad treatment to make it beyond recognition almost at a glance.

There can be very little question of there being more than mere admiration for the appearance. Simply viewed, there is the spice of romance in connection with it, the history is written in language more or less intelligible of the knocks and bruises inflicted, unwillingly in most instances, but not invariably so. And here attention may perhaps be appropriately drawn in these pages to what has been asserted by a few, very few, dealers and others, whose general intelligence should have been a guarantee against the dissemination of utter nonsense and which has even been in print! that--just think of this--Antonio Stradivari, the acknowledged master liutaro of Cremona in his own day, and of whose growing fame no one can foretell the limits--actually imitated wear and tear of varnish on his violins. I have not the print at hand, and so cannot give the exact words in which this scum from the boilings of a distorted imagination was conveyed; nor point to the first unfortunate who let it flow abroad. In all probability it came from the same old source, a desire to lift up to a high level worthless imitations of the master, confuse the public mind so as to make it more and more difficult to tell "t'other from which."

A fine specimen, and well known, of Stradivari's art was once lying on a table before me. An amateur of considerable attainments and honesty of purpose then present was dilating upon its many beauties and fine preservation; he, I soon found, had by some means become infected with the absurd notion of the varnish having been artistically pecked away by the original maker! Just fancy this--Raphael slitting a hole in his chef-d'oeuvre to make it look old--Michael Angelo chipping some bits from the ceiling of the Sistine just before the scaffolding was removed, or Phidias snapping off a limb and browning the raw surface to please future connoisseurs.

They might all have done this with an equal deficiency of reason and consistency if we allow for one moment any possibility of the genius of such a stamp as that of Antonio Stradivari descending to such depravity. Those who have lent themselves to this incongruous notion, hastily generalising from insufficient particulars, have strangely overlooked the fact that the same kind of chipping is seen on the violins of other masters, Joseph Guarnerius, Carlo Bergonzi, and others of the Cremonese and Venetian School, besides--going far back--the older ones of Brescia and Pesaro, any number in fact over all Italy.