Marc Laberte (1880–1963) was trained as a violin maker and joined the family company in 1911. By 1919, the Laberte firm had around 400 craftsmen and was successful. However, the war in 1942 devastated the business, leading to its closure. Despite this, Laberte was known for his exceptional instruments and bows, earning several honours and medals.
This violin has the original Marc Laberte label and bears the number #3010. A second label states Grand Prix Paris 1931, Exposition Internationale Bruxelles 1935 Membre Du Jury, and Exposition Internationale New York 1939. The prices they won before and during the start of the world war 2.
Marc André Joseph Laberte (29 May 1880 – 29 March 1963) was born into a family of violin makers. His great-grandfather started a workshop in Mirecourt around 1780. He married Marie Adeline Josephine Thérèse Drouin on 21 May 1904. After she passed away, he married Geneviève Josephine Paule Francine Thouvenin on 15 April 1912 in Besançon. They had a daughter named Claude on 6 June 1916.
Marc Laberte was a skilled luthier and bow maker who played an active role in the Laberte-Humbert Frères company starting in 1911. The workshop, which employed over 300 people by 1920, produced a wide range of high-quality instruments and bows. The workshop also owned a fine collection of instruments from famous makers, which were used as models for their own instruments. After being disrupted by the war, production resumed until the workshop eventually closed down.
Humbert Frères developed high-quality instruments alongside its “workshop-like” production. Instruments bearing the Laberte Humbert or Marc Laberte label are always of the highest standard. These best instruments were produced by a small team of skilled craftsmen known as “l’Atelier des Artistes”. Georges Apparut was in charge of this “artistic” production.
This violin has the original Marc Laberte label and bears the number #3010. A second label states Grand Prix Paris 1931, Exposition Internationale Bruxelles 1935 Membre Du Jury, and Exposition Internationale New York 1939. The prices they won before and during the start of the world war 2.
This is the Gliga Vasile with Lion Head Scroll 4/4 Violin (Instrument Only) Supplied with certificate of authenticity, including photographs, date, measurements, materials with the stamp and signature of the maker, Vasile Gliga.
Bearing the label "Laurentius Bellafontana fecit Genuae Anno Domini 1943," this violin is the work of Lorenzo (Laurentius) Bellafontana (1906–1979), a distinguished member of the Genoese school and a pupil of Oreste Candi. The Latin label translates to "Laurentius Bellafontana made [this] in Genoa in the year of Our Lord 1943" and includes his characteristic LBG monogram and handwritten signature. Bellafontana's violins are admired for their refined craftsmanship, warm Italian tone, elegant design, responsive playability, and rich orange-red varnish, making them highly regarded examples of 20th-century Italian violin making.
This is a Charles Claudot Violin. The name Claudot was a popular clan of luthiers in France who have been making violins from the 16th up to the 20th century.
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.
Check out this Mast Fils Violin Dated 1827. Joseph Laurent Mast a French violin maker who branded his violins with the inscription inside that says “Mast Fils Toulouse."
This violin features the original label "Made by Ian W. Clarke, Biddeston, Australia. March 1982," identifying it as a handcrafted Australian violin completed in March 1982. Ian W. Clarke (born 1948) is one of Australia's leading contemporary luthiers, having graduated with distinction from the Newark School of Violin Making after winning a Silver Medal at the Cremona Triennale. Since returning to Queensland in 1981, he has continued to build and restore fine stringed instruments from his Biddeston workshop. Crafted during the early years of his Australian career, this violin offers documented provenance, outstanding craftsmanship, and the enduring appeal of an instrument made by one of Australia's most respected living violin makers.
Introducing the Roberto Cavagnoli Violin 2017. Roberto Cavagnoli received many awards including the Silver Medal for tone quality from the Violin Society of America in 2004 and the third prize at the 11th International Competition ‘Triennale’ in Cremona for sound quality.
