Notes:

"The elder Giovanni Grancino would have been 70 in 1706, so this instrument was probably made by his son, also named Giovanni. At an unknown date, the contour of this instrument was reduced. Then, around 1890 , it was enlarge by the Hill firm to the standard size of 75 cm."

Masterpieces of Violin-Making, Rudolf Hopfner, Rudolf Hopfner, Masterpieces of Violin-Making: The Collection of Bowed Stringed Instruments of the Oesterreische Nationalbank, Milan

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"It is I suppose nearly twenty years since I first heard, and afterwards examined this bass during a visit which Van Biene paid to Gateshead-on-Tyne. The next occasion was at Puttick and Simpson's Auction Rooms when it came to the hammer after its owner's death. He was in the habit of referring to it as his Guarnerius, but it has long been recognised as a fine example of Giovanni Grancino's work, and was, if I remember rightly, so described at the sale. There is no label, but the authorship is unmistakable, and the general appearance of the body quite characteristic throughout."

The Van Biene Grancino, Towry Piper, The Strad, 1915, London