Bartolomeo Giuseppe Guarneri 'del Gesù', Cremona, 1736, the 'Pollitzer, Koessler'
Violin: 43519
Bearing its original label, "Joseph Guarnerius fecit Cremone anno 1736 IHS."
Back: One-piece, cut on the slab
Top: Of pine, the grain fairly open on the treble side, becoming finer towards the bass side; from the same log as the "D'Egville" of 1735
Scroll: Of plainer wood
Ribs: Marked by a broad curl of medium width being cut the right way of the grain
Varnish: Orange-brown
Length of back: 35.2 cm
Upper bouts: 16.4 cm
Middle bouts: 11.1 cm
Lower bouts: 20.2 cm
There are 6 additional images in the archive which are not available publicly. Please contact us for more information.
Notes:
The thickest part of the back is a full 6 mm, suggesting that it has not been subjected to "scraping" like so many other del Gesu instruments.The Pollitzer-Koessler Joseph Guarnerius Del Gesu, The Strad, May, 1974, London
Described and illustrated in "The Strad," May 1974.
Sotheby's Musical Instruments Auction Catalog, November 18, 1997, London, Sotheby's, Sotheby's Musical Instruments Auction Catalog, November 18, 1997, London, London
Provenance
| Luigi Tarisio | |
| Sold by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume | |
| Sold by Rudolph Wurlitzer Co. | |
| until 1850 | Claude A. Miremont |
| 1850-1900 | Adolphe Pollitzer |
| 1900-1919 | Charles Morris |
| 1919-1920 | Hart & Son |
| from 1920 | Dr. Karl Koessler |
| in 1932 and until 1951 | Enoch G. Megrue |
| ... | ... |
| from 1951 | Margaret Sittig |
| until 1979 | Bein & Fushi, Inc |
| in 1979 | Sam Bloomfield |
| 1979-1997 | Sam and Rie Bloomfield Foundation |
| in 1997 | Sold by Sotheby's |
Known players
Adolphe Pollitzer, Yehudi Menuhin
Certificates & Documents
Certificate: Machold Rare Violins, Ltd, Vienna (2002) X-867, X-4203.- Certificate: Bein & Fushi, Inc, Chicago, IL (1979)
- Certificate: Rudolph Wurlitzer Co., Cincinnati, OH (1932)
- Certificate: W. E. Hill & Sons, London (1932)
Letter: W. E. Hill & Sons, London (1932) To Rudolph Wurlitzer Co., with photos, giving the history of the instrument.- Certificate: Hart & Son, London (1920)
- Correspondence: George Hart, London (1920) To Dr. Karl Kessler (Chicago).
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
- Celebrated Violins and Their Owners
Four Centuries of Violin Making: Fine Instruments from the Sotheby's Archive, Sotheby's, Sotheby's, Boston (illustrated)- Private Archives - 10746
- Sotheby's Bloomfield Collection Auction Catalog, November 23, 1988, London, Sotheby's, Sotheby's, London (illustrated)
- Sotheby's Musical Instruments Auction Catalog, November 18, 1997, London, Sotheby's, Sotheby's, London (illustrated)
- Sotheby's Photo Archive
- The Strad, May, 1974, London (illustrated)
- W. E. Hill & Sons Photographic Archive (illustrated)