Antonio Stradivari, Cremona, 1697, the 'Castelbarco'
Cello: 41580
Bearing its original label, dated 1697.
Back: One-piece of poplar
Top: of pine
Scroll: of fruitwood, possibly pear wood
Ribs: of wood similar to back, lined on the inside with linen
Varnish: Orange-brown
Length of back: 77.5 cm
Upper bouts: 34.6 cm
Middle bouts: 23.4 cm
Lower bouts: 44 cm
There are 65 additional images in the archive which are not available publicly. Please contact us for more information.
Notes:
"In the 1690s Stradivari must have been aware of these smaller cellos because he made a change and dropped down a size. The Castelbarco is an inch smaller than the very big cellos, and the stop is halfway back to normal, about 16.25 inches. . . . This instrument wasn't made for what we consider cello music today. It looks like a cello and we call it a cello, but when it was made, it was still playing mainly bass lines as part of a continuo."Guided Tour of the Library of Congress Collection of Stringed Instruments, Robert Bein, Journal of the Violin Society of America, Vol. XVII, No. 2, Flushing, NY
"Mr. Hill and I talked about the cello a little longer, and he finally gave me the price of the cello as $35,000. I turned to Mrs Whittall and said, '$35,000.' Without any hesitation she simply answered, 'All right.'" – Louis Krasner
An Interview with Louis Krasner, Louis Krasner & Judith Davidoff, Journal of the Violin Society of America, Vol. VIII, No. 2, Flushing, NY
"The 'Castelbarco' was bought by J.B. Vuillaume for £210 and then sold to Mr Egidio Fabbri of Rome, Italy, the following year." – Alessandra Barabaschi
Antonius Stradivarius (Volumes I-IV), Jost Thöne, Jan Röhrmann, Alessandra Barabaschi, Jost Thöne, Jan Röhrmann, Alessandra Barabaschi, Antonius Stradivarius (Volumes I-IV), Cologne
Provenance
| until 1862 | Count Cesare Pompeo Castelbarco |
| in 1862 | Sold by Puttick & Simpson |
| 1862-1863 | Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume |
| from 1863 | Egidio Fabbri |
| in 1902 and until 1928 | Marquis Giovanni de Piccolellis |
| ... | ... |
| in 1934 | Sold by Rudolph Wurlitzer Co. |
| in 1934 | Sold by W. E. Hill & Sons |
| from 1934 | Louis Krasner |
| 1934-1936 | Gertrude Clarke Whittall |
| from 1936 | Library of Congress, Washington |
Certificates & Documents
Certificate: W. E. Hill & Sons, London
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References
- Journal of the Violin Society of America, Vol. VIII, No. 2, Louis Krasner & Judith Davidoff, The Queens College Press, Flushing, NY
Antonius Stradivarius (Volumes I-IV), Jost Thöne, Jan Röhrmann, Alessandra Barabaschi, Jost Thöne Verlag, Cologne, 2010 (illustrated)- Journal of the Violin Society of America, Vol. XVII, No. 2, Robert Bein, The Queens College Press, Flushing, NY (illustrated)
- Private Archives - 10842, Wurlitzer
Stradivari Pictures- The Cello, Elizabeth Cowling, B. T. Batsford Ltd., London (illustrated)
- The Stradivari Memorial (1977), William Dana Orcutt, Da Capo Press, New York (illustrated)
- The Stringed Instrument Collection in the Library of Congress, Shinichi Yokoyama, Gakken
- Violin Iconography of Antonio Stradivari 1644-1737, Herbert K. Goodkind, Larchmont, NY (illustrated)
- Journal of the Violin Society of America, Vol. V, No. 2, Albert Mell, The Queens College Press, Flushing, NY (illustrated)
- W. E. Hill & Sons Photographic Archive (illustrated)
- Lyon & Healy Rare Old Violins, Violas & Violoncellos (1931), Part 1, Lyon & Healy, Chicago (illustrated)