Antonio Stradivari, Cremona, 1697, the 'Castelbarco'


Cello: 41580

Bearing its original label, dated 1697.

Back: One-piece of poplar or willow

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: 74.9 cm

Upper bouts: 34.6 cm

Middle bouts: 23.4 cm

Lower bouts: 44 cm

There are 61 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 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

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

  • 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
  • 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)

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