Antonio Stradivari, Cremona, 1720, the 'Bavarian'
Violin: 41488
Bearing its original label.
Back: One-piece
Length of back: 35.9 cm
Upper bouts: 16.8 cm
Middle bouts: 10.95 cm
Lower bouts: 20.8 cm
Notes:
Closely resembles the King Maximilian of 1709.The Stradivarius Memorial Association, William Dana Orcutt, The Stradivari Memorial (1977), New York
". . .when Hermann was still in New York, a young lady, the daughter of a wealthy New York banker, bought a violin from him almost as impetuously as that. She appeared in the front room of his shop -- where strings and other trifling paraphernalia were sold -- and told the clerk on duty that she wanted to learn to play the violin, and would like to have a Stradivarius for her lessons. The clerk refused to take her seriously, but the girl persisted, and finally made her way into Herrmann's inner office, where she gazed in rapture at one of the beautiful instruments lying around there. Herrmann, with his air of polite indifference, told her it was not for her; it was the 'Bavarian' Stradivari, of 1720, a violin that had been in the possession of Bavarian royalty for many years. But if she cared to see a less expensive fiddle. . . 'Ah, Bavaria!' said the young lady. 'What a lovely country! I had the best time of my life there. I want to buy that violin.' She wrote out a check for thirty-two thousand [sic] dollars for it on the spot. Two years later, she abandoned her studies, but she still has the violin."
Trustee in Fiddledale - I, Joseph Wechsberg, The New Yorker, October 17, 1953, New York
Provenance
| Prince of Donaueschingen | |
| Anton Bohrer | |
| Baron Ludwig Eichthal | |
| until 1870 | King Ludwig II of Bavaria |
| 1870-1901 | Benno Walter |
| until 1924 | Jean Louis Courvoisier |
| until 1925 | Alfred Vidoudez |
| 1925-1928 | Thomas C. Petersen |
| from 1928 | Henri Verbrugghen |
| until 1940 | Dr. Adrian Verbrugghen |
| in 1940 | Sold by Emil Herrmann, New York |
| from 1940 | Alice de Belmont |
| in 1945 | Sold by Emil Herrmann, New York |
| until 1958 | Rembert Wurlitzer Inc. |
| 1958-1963 | Maurice Wilk |
| 1963-1968 | Rembert Wurlitzer Inc. |
| from 1968 | Dr. Frederico A. Lehmann |
| until 1976 | Harry A. Duffy |
| ... | ... |
| in 1982 | Sold by Harry A. Duffy |
| 1976-1982 | Alfred Hermanns |
| 1982-1988 | Sau-Wing Lam |
| from 1988 | Current owner |
Known players
Benno Walter, Bernard Kugel
Certificates & Documents
Certificate: Harry A. Duffy, Miami, FL (1982)
Letter: Harry A. Duffy, Miami, FL (1982)- Certificate: Harry A. Duffy, Miami, FL (1976)
- Certificate: Rembert Wurlitzer Inc., New York, NY (1963)
- Certificate: Rembert Wurlitzer Inc., New York, NY (1958)
- Certificate: Emil Herrmann, New York, New York, NY (1940)
- Certificate: Caressa & Français, Paris (1916)
- Certificate: Alfred Vidoudez, Geneva
- Certificate: W. E. Hill & Sons, London
Cozio holds copies of many certificates and other documents, some of which are available to view on request. Please contact us if you wish to view a particular document. (Note that we do not always have permission to share documents.)
References
Antonius Stradivarius (Volumes I-IV), Jost Thöne, Jan Röhrmann, Alessandra Barabaschi, Jost Thöne Verlag, Cologne, 2010 (illustrated)- Celebrated Violins and Their Owners
- The Jacques Français Rare Violins, Inc. Photographic Archive and Business Records, 1844-1998, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC (illustrated)
- How Many Strads? (1999 edition), Doring, Bein & Fushi, Bein & Fushi, Chicago, 1999 (illustrated)
- Sau-Wing Lam, Dietmar Machold (illustrated)
- The Jacques Français Rare Violins, Inc. Photographic Archive and Business Records, 1844-1998, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC (illustrated)
- The Stradivari Memorial (1977), William Dana Orcutt, Da Capo Press, New York (illustrated)
- Violin Iconography of Antonio Stradivari 1644-1737, Herbert K. Goodkind, Larchmont, NY (illustrated)
- The New Yorker, October 17, 1953, Joseph Wechsberg, New York
- Violons par Antonius Stradivarius de Crémone, Albert Caressa, Paris (illustrated)