AND VIOLIN MAKERS. BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF THE GREAT ITALIAN ARTISTES, THEIR FOLLOWERS AND IMITATORS, TO THE PRESENT TIME. WITH ESSAYS ON IMPORTANT SUBJECTS BY JOSEPH PEARCE, JUN. LONDON LONGMAN AND Co., PATERNOSTER Row. 1866. 174.g. PREFACE. The Violin is an instrument which, though small and of trifling original cost, has yet commanded most extraordinary prices. The reason of the immense difference in the value of these instruments must therefore be a subject possessing strong claims to notice from virtuoso and amateur. To distinguish by the outward characteristics and peculiarities of tone, that which will be of pecuniary value to the possessor, and yield the utmost delight to the hearer, is an acquirement at once difficult to obtain and very valuable when obtained. To assist the amateur and collector in this pursuit is the object of the present little work. Such a work has long been a desideratum. Of late years, the History of the Violin and its congeners has received much attention. Elaborate and costly treatises have been published, some of which being written in Foreign tongues, are exceedingly difficult to obtain, and not accessible to B |