Parts of the Internet string-instruments community have been buzzing since the opening of the Moennig Collection catalog here at Tarisio. It’s nice to know people are interested and visiting the site, but we’d like to take a moment to address some of the confusion regarding the sale.
Conceived as a commemorative sale, primarily of ephemera and memorabilia, the Moennig Collection is meant to be the final farewell to one of the most successful firms in the trade. Understandably so, however, questions have been raised about the noticeable absence of instruments in the sale. There are a few explanations for this, all of which we feel you deserve to know since the question has been asked.
Firstly, the family did an excellent job of selling down their inventory before closing – the only natural thing for a retail firm to do in such a position. Secondly, a significant portion of the firm’s inventory were consignments and not owned by the firm – also an unsurprising fact in this day and age.
Thirdly, a joint decision was made by the Moennigs and Tarisio, to include the remaining instruments in our April and June sales. The absence of any literal “attic strads” or other show-stoppers made this another natural decision. We felt that including the remaining stock, mostly consisting of trade and other relatively common instruments, in the Moennig Collection would detract from the overall memorable and special quality of the sale.
It’s also important to remember that the family was in the business of selling fine instruments, not collecting them. While the family didn’t keep many instruments in private reserve, they did retain a strong collection of violin, viola, and cello bows. Many of these bows have not been offered for sale in decades, and were kept as exemplary pieces to enjoy and study. There are no less than 6 bows by James Tubbs, the most notable of which are lot 571 and 612. Other highlights include bows by Maire, Voirin, and Persoit.
That being said, the instruments you see in the sale have met some criteria for being included. For example, the sale features instruments of exceptional quality like the Ferdinand Gagliano viola and viola d’amore, and, of course, a special set of violins made by no less than five members of the family assembled here together for the first time (lots 546-552).
We’ve also seen some confusion regarding other aspects of the sale like the photos and books that bear dedications or other inscriptions. Many of the photos are made out to the Moennigs by fine and talented 20th century icons. Others are made out to David Epstein, a professional violinist and collector of signed photographs (lot 216, 444, and 518, for example). His collection was so complete that upon his death the Moennig firm acquired it in totality to compliment their own. Several books also bear dedications from the authors, a fact that we feel deserves recognition when advertising estimates (lot 24, 26, and 70, for example).
Lastly, we invite everyone to survey the Moennig Photo Archives (lot 622 and 623), including approximately 5,000 instruments and 800 bows. Photographic quality varies from black and white to full color, but nearly all are complete with standard identification shots. The breadth and width of the collection is truly astounding and can only be properly understood when seen in person. Please see Viewing Details or contact us to schedule a viewing.