Violins with stories
Violins For Sale At The Secret Violin Shop Nottingham
To Buy Direct Contact me: Dr Mike Sutton of The Secret Violin Shop, Nottingham by email: drmikesutton@hotmail.com
I always have many more violins for sale, also including those shown on this website, through eBay HERE.
The First Violin's With Stories Event was held on July 4th 2025 as part of Sherwood Arts Week. Six of the violins were played, their stories told and poems read. The venue was the beautiful St John's Church in Carrington, Nottinghamshire.
Introduction to Violins With Stories, by Mike Sutton
Mike reads The poem "Bobbie's Violin" written by Andy Sutton
Sebastian Coulton on Bobbie's Violin, made in Germany in 1931, playing Somewhere over the Rainbow,
Mike Sutton outlines the mystery of the HOPF to HOPE violins.
Sebastian plays River Flows.
Nadia Hinson on piano
On the HOPE violin, Sebastion plays Meditation by Massenet
The Kintsugi Violin of Rome: Violinist Richard Smith plays Sakura for Violin solo.
On the Kintsugi Violin of Rome Richard Smith plays "Summer" from The Four Season's (Vivaldi).
Nadia Hinson on piano
Made in Edinburgh in 2023 by master violin maker Steve Burnet, The back, bouts, neck, scroll, pegs and endpin all made from an ancient apple tree most likely planted by Patrick Matthew in the grounds of Megginch Castle, driftwood for the bass bar and Dolomites Spruce for the violin's table
Mike introduces The Patrick Matthew Violin and reads the Poem of that name by Andy Sutton
The Patrick Matthew Violin. Richard Smith Plays Flowers of Edinburgh. Nadia Hinson on piano
On The Patrick Matthew Violin, Richard Smith plays Hoedown. Nadia Hinson on piano .
Introduction to the Ashover Fiddle and Mike reads the Poem "The Ashover Violin" by Andy Sutton
On The Ashover Fiddle, made in Ashover in 1851 by John Wilson, Richard Smith plays two tunes form the Ashover Song Book. (1) Dance of the Polygon (2) Major O'Flacherty
On The Ashover Fiddle, Richard Smith plays
Lark Ascending. Nadia Hinson on piano.
Mike Introduces The Mull of Kintyre Violin
Richard Smith plays Fiddler on the Roof on the violin which has a flattened back to the neck in the tradition of some Scottish fiddles enabling players, in their own tradition of playing,to sit the neck more easily on the palm of their hand.
Nadia Hinson on piano
On The Mull of Kintyre Violin, Made in Campbeltown Scotland in 1904, by Archibald Smith, Richard Smith plays Fiddler on the Roof. Nadia Hinson on Piano
On the Mull of Kintyre Violin, Made in Campbeltown, Scotland, by Archibald Smith, where Paul McCartney and Denny Lane wrote the hit song Mull of Kintyre, Richard Smith plays the song. Nadia Hinson on the Piano.
NOTE: This final part of the event was completely unrehearsed.
Photograph is copyright of Andy Sutton of Nottingham
Made in 2024 by master violin maker Steve Burnett of Edinburgh. The sides back, pegs and tailpiece of this beautiful unique violin were made from a 150+ year old ancient fallen apple tree from the historic orchard of Megginch Castle that was quite likely planted there by the famous orchardist and pomologist Patrick Matthew for his friend and neighbour, John Murray Drummond, the castle owner.
More information about this truly wonderful Scottish heritage violin and why it was made, along with more performances of it, can be found on The Patrick Matthew Website
Professional photographs of the violin, photographed by Jane Barlow of the Press Association can be found here
Mentioned on page 5 in the Scottish Herald newspaper, May 22 2024
Actor and violinist Thoren Ferguson plays The Patrick Matthew Violin at Megginch Castle, May 2024.
Photograph is copyright of Andy Sutton of Nottingham
Thoren Ferguson with the Patrick Matthew at Megginch Castle in May 2024. Photograph is copryight of Jane Barlow of The Press Association-
This video, at the very end, explains why, in the so-called "Post Truth Age", the Patrick Matthew Violin is important for debunking silly yet cherished myths in science with new disconfirming empirical data.
I restored this violin in 2024, 120 years after it was made. The violin is heavily nicotine stained. The sound is clear, loud, brightly even and perfectly resonant with that magical D-string silvery bell-like resonance I really love. The original internal label, written with a fountain pen, complete with cigarette ash burn reads exactly as follows:
"Copy of a Guarnerius, Archibald Smith, Campbeltown. 1904."
Campbeltown is where Paul McCartney lived and wrote Mull of Kintyre. It is where they hold the annual Mull Of Kintyre (Mok Fest) music festival every August. The violin was restored and re-voiced in Nottingham. Mull of Kintyre is the official song of Forest (Nottingham Forest Football Club) fans.
Another Archibald Smith Violin
Recognition of Archibald Smith
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The Mull of Kintyre Campbeltown Violin played in The Raglan Rd Irish Bar, Nottingham, 1st June 2025. Perhaps played for the fist time in 100 years.
The Mull of Kintyre Campbeltown Violin 1st June 2025. Video 2 at the Raglan Rd Irish Bar, Nottingham,
Just some discarded old eBay artifact or an important part of our cultural heritage?
An article on The Ashover Violin, by John Winter, in Wings Magazine (June 2024)
Why has the usual tribute brand name HOPF been changed from the brand for German HOPF style violins to HOPE? Was it done out of antisemitism, as claimed in the advert below? Or alternatively, might it have been done in or shorty after either the 1st or second World War out of general anti-German sentiment? The one above as part of The Violins with Stories collection was bought on eBay for just £120 and restored by Mike Sutton. Were the changes made by owners, sellers or manufacturers? We just don't yet know.
The Kintsugi Violin of Rome
I suspect there must be others, but at least at the time of writing I have been unable able to find more than just one other example of someone repairing a damaged violin with the Japanese art of kintsugi. And that one has living plants growing out of it! See it [archived here]
The Kintsugi Violin of Rome has very high arching to both the face of the violin and its back plate. This style provides the characteristic warm, richer and dark quieter style suited to chamber music. Later, Stradivari would perfect the flatter topped violin that were far louder, better at projecting and suited to the dynamic playing of the virtuoso players who thrilled audiences in new large concert halls that were being built. By contrast, this violin has a lovely mellow, rich and warm tone. The D string is beautifully resonant. I have given the underside of the bridge a degree of arching to match the violin table and to add to its resonance.
Cutting the feet of the bridge to fit perfectly on the table was a labour of love that involved purchasing a Serbian maple Korolia bridge blank with unusually thick feet that still had only just enough wood in them to allow me to get the right sloping fit on the sides of the arch as I removed wood in them to get that perfect required fit. See the image of the bridge above.
The label inside the Violins With Stories Kintsugi Violin of Rome is torn, either over time or fake-torn. I can't tell. I am trying to work out what the purported date might be. As we know, the Amati family worked in Cremona. It says Romae on the label. The first two letters for the date don't seem to correspond with anything plausible as an Italian Catholic jubilee date other than 2000 and that seems highly implausible given the aging marks of the wood inside the instrument.
The violin label reads that it was made by "Hieronymous Amati" (AKA Girolamo). He was the eldest son of the more famous Andrea Amati. As the Tarismo website informs us: "Antonio and Girolamo (or Hieronymous) Amati, also known as Brothers Amati, inherited the workshop of their father Andrea in the late 1570s. The two brothers produced instruments together, developing and strengthening their father's models, which were then copied widely in Italy and in the Netherlands and England. Their large output shows an experimental approach and the many different sizes of violins, violas and cellos they created suggests that they were working with musicians to perfect the tone quality of their instruments."
The most famous Amati is Nicolo Amati (1596-1684). As the Smithsonian website informs us, he was: "...son of Hieronymus, grandson of Andrea, and nephew of Antonio, is considered the greatest instrument maker of the family. His instruments are much admired for their beautiful and penetrating, though not powerful, tone. Violins, violas, cellos, several three- string bass viols, and at least one pochette by his hand are known."
The fact the label claims the violin was made in Rome suggests it was not made by any member of the Amati family. Using some techniques from the full IDD big Data search method on Google A.I. sheds more light on the label bearing the Amati name and it being made in "Romae" instead of Cremona.
Amati:
This refers to the Amati family, a renowned Italian violin making family from Cremona, Italy, who produced instruments known for their high quality and distinct style.
Romae
The term "Romae" signifies "of Rome" or "made in Rome". This indicates the place of origin or the maker's location, specifically Rome, Italy.
"Amati Romae" on a violin label: suggests that the violin was either made in Rome by a maker who emulated the Amati style, or it was a violin made in Rome that the label creator (possibly the owner) wanted to associate with the Amati family's reputation.
Examples of makers who might be labeled as "Amati Romae": Julius Caesar Gigli:
Giulio Cesare Giglioti was a Roman luthier who inherited the workshop of Michael Platner and followed the Tecchler and Platner tradition in Rome, as noted by Amati Instruments Ltd. His violins are often described as being built on a large scale with distinct features like prominent corners and Stainer influence in arching and soundholes.
Giovanni Maria Valenzano
Giovanni Maria Valenzano worked in Naples and Padua after the fashion of the Milanese and Neapolitan schools, designing his instruments on the model of Amati.
Horenstainer
Horenstainer is another maker associated with Rome who may be have used a label such as this. The "Romae" label on Amati instruments generally indicates that the instrument was made in Rome. This label is often found on instruments by makers such as Jacobus Horil and Joannes Domenicus, though not exclusively.
Jacobus Horil: A maker known for his instruments labeled "Romae", with some examples dating back to 1747.
Joannes Domenicus: A Dominican priest also associated with the "Romae" label, though his work is less documented than Horil's.
Other Potential Makers: While "Romae" is more commonly linked to Horil and Domenicus, it's possible that other makers from Rome also used the label.
In Summary
"Romae" on an Amati instrument suggests a connection to Rome, likely indicating the maker's place of origin or the instrument's creation in that city.
Whatever the case, may be the violin in The Secret Violin Shop is very dusty inside (I have blown a lot out, but the wood remains dust stained) and age spot stained along the lines that it seems to me to be at the very least well over 70 years old and more likely at least 19th century perhaps.
The violin had been re-varnished and have endeavored to improve on that a little to the best of my own varnishing and then Tripoli powder and olive oil polishing abilities.
I have put in a new grade-A soundpost, made a bridge (which was hard given the high arch on the violin) and added Dominant Pro strings. It sounds very good now.
So far then, we have an initial draft working list of what we might loosely term likely makers of this violin:
From THE MYSTERIOUS HISTORY OF THE LONDON PLANE TREE-31 May 2018 (here) (archived here).
This is a very unusual, and perhaps unique, C19th violin, because the top, back, sides and scroll are all made entirely from London Plane Tree wood, as opposed to the traditional use of spruce for top plate and maple for the rest. The mystery is in the question: "Why would anyone make a violin such as this?" Well, it's loud and bright, as are experimental violins with the top made of maple. London plane trees are part of the acer tree family, as is sycamore and maple. Maybe it was made to be played in a noisy street by a busker or inside a noisy pub? Or maybe it was just made by someone out of curiosity? We will probably never know.
(1) According to the Woodland Trust, the London plane’s parents were the oriental plane and the American plane, which come from two different continents on the opposite sides of the world. It is thought they hybridized naturally in Spain and at some point made their way to Britain in the 17th century.
(2) An alternative version of the new plane’s “discovery” is in in the mid-17th century by John Tradescant the younger in his famous nursery garden and ark in Vauxhall. Tradescant was an avid plant collector and botanist, a prime example of the English aristocracy’s longstanding fascination with plants. Both parent trees may have been residents in this garden so it’s tantalising to think that the London plane tree started its journey here, but we will never really know the exact origins.
The Lacewood London Plane Tree is well suited as a tree able to adapt to polluted environments and London was really heavily polluted in the 19th century due to amount of coal being burnt for heating etc. One needs only to read Charles Dickens book Bleak House for dreadful accounts of lethal "pea souper smog". London plane trees were well adapted to very heavily polluted environments such as London. Their thick leathery leaves allow pollution to be washed away by rain and their bark is regenerative.
THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON VIOLIN
The famous Strad Magazine published an article on Southampton University teaching the making pf violins back in 1928, just three years before this violin was made there by Douglas Clitheroe in 1931. I don't know a thing other than that about the maker. His violin appears to be the first and perhaps the only violin he ever made. The arching of the table is very high and the purfling is dreadful. But the sound is not really bad at all. As you can hear in the video below made by my youngest daughter it has a warm dark and mellow somewhat muted tone typical of a high arched violin. A violin more suited for chamber music.
I have restored many Maidstone violins in my collection and they differ hugely. These violins were ordered and imported into the UK by The Murdoch Violin Company in the late 19th and first half of the 20th centuries.. Some were then exported to the USA. They are made mostly in Saxony, but some were made in what was then Czechoslovakia and possibly even France during the First World War. So far, I have found many different types of original label in these violins and each label reveals the decade/s when the violins were made. This is the only Czechia Maidstone violin I have ever come across. So I am adding this 3/4 size one to the Violins with Stories Collection.
If you wish to learn more of the story of the Maidstone violins and how they were part of the wider "music for the people" movement to provide the so-called "working classes" with more positive alternative past-times to widespread drunkenness, there is a good article about the Maidstone Violin movement and business achieved here.
Each instrument in the Violins With Stories Collection has its own unique character and personal history,
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