Check out this Didier Nicolas Violin made around 1780 in Mirecourt, France. Didier Nicolas is a French luthier who owns the workshop D. Nicolas Aine, one of the most successful violin companies in Mirecourt during the late 1700s and 1800s.
Didier Nicolas (1757-1833) is a French luthier. One of the most reputable names in the field of violin making. His workshop D. Nicolas Aine is one of the most successful violin companies in Mirecourt. Didier Nicolas meticulously and personally crafted his best instruments. His instruments were characterized as having a strong, clear, and mature sound, incomparable to most instruments in Mirecourt during the time.
Check out the Italian Copy of Geovanni Schwarz violin made about 1920. Geovanni Schwarz was born in 1865 in Padua, Italy who by the influence and tutelage of his uncle Eugenio Degani honed his skills, established his own workshop, and won a gold medal in 1916 in Rome Italy.
Paul Lorange, a renowned French luthier from Lyon, worked in Marseille during the early to mid-20th century. He established his independent workshop in the city in the early 1930s and was known for his fine workmanship on classical models and his use of various shades of red varnish. The violin in question was made in 1932, and it's noted that the handwriting on the violin and his original label may differ.
Leon Bernardel is a French violin maker born in Paris in 1853. He came from a lineage of violin makers tracing back to Nicolas Lupot and his father, Ernest August Bernardel. Bernardel went under training with Justin Derazey in Mirecourt. After joining the Bernardel brothers and the firm Gand, Leon opened his own workshop in 1899. In 1900, Leon began producing his own works, signing them. Leon died in 1931.
In the 1910s, Arthur Edward Smith (1880-1978) established a store in Sydney upon his return to Australia. Smith's workshop on Hunter Street quickly gained a reputation for repairing and selling high-quality stringed instruments. This violin was sold (not made by) AE Smith, Australia's most famous violin maker.
This is the Paul Kaul violin made in France dated 1918. Paul Kaul is a French violin maker who joined several workshops such as Thibouville Lamy, Silvestre and Maucotel, Vuillemin-Didion. He started several workshops on rue Racine, Nantes in 1907, rue du Pont Communeau in 1908, and at 130 Boulevard Brune in 1926.
Lambert-Humbert Frères firm (fl. 1876 – 1969) was a major violin manufacturer in Mirecourt, offering a wide range of models and quality levels, established in 1876 by violin-making brothers Maurice-Emile and Pierre Alexis Auguste Laberte.
Collin-Mezin Violin dated 1887. This as an unusual model for a Collin-Mezin violin, but the workmanship, the original label, and Collin-Mezin's authentic signature verify the maker.
This violin is labelled "Antonius Vinaccia, Napoli in Via Constantinii, a. 1792" and shows evidence of being repaired in 1902. Antonio Vinaccia was a renowned instrument maker in Naples during the mid-18th to late 19th centuries. He was known for making violins in the style of Gagliano and exceptional mandolins. His craftsmanship is preserved in Naples's Museo Spagnuolo (Palazzo degli Studi). Antonio's sons, Gennaro and Gaetano, also became instrument makers.