Arthur Edward Smith

Arthur Edward Smith was a self-taught maker of significant achievement and influence, trained as an engineer and an amateur violinist. Inspired by Hill's Stradivari, his Life and Work motivated him to pursue violin making. From 1905 to 1909, he found work with a local repairer and dealer, C. W. Jefferies, in Maldon. He completed approximately twenty violins and a quartet. In 1909, he emigrated to Melbourne, ...Read More Australia. He worked briefly with C. Rothammer in San Francisco, USA, from 1912 to 1914. An association with Rothammer continued in Sydney, Australia, until Rothammer returned to San Francisco in 1919, when Smith established his independent business, A. E. Smith & Co Pty., Ltd, at 69 Hunter Street. His shop grew large and successful, relocating to extensive premises at 9-11 Hunter Street in the 1930s, where he employed several craftsmen and imported instruments in addition to making and restoring. He trained several leading Australian makers of the next generation, including C. Clarke, W. Dolphin, H. Vatilotis, and his daughter Kitty, who succeeded him in the business. He also developed string making to alleviate shortages in Australia during wartime. In 1949, he was awarded a diploma of honour at the Hague and appointed M. B. E. by the British Government for his services to music. He completed at least 250 instruments based on good Stradivari and Guarneri models. They were well-observed and beautifully made, yet possessed a distinct and honest personality. He used excellent imported tone woods and a particularly fine and tender orange-brown oil varnish. Read Less

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