Antonio Stradivari ‘Harrison’ violin 1693: The start of something big

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The ‘Harrison’ Stradivari violin of 1693 was nicknamed after Richard L. Harrison, an English solicitor and amateur musician who owned the instrument in the 19th century. He, like many of his colleagues, was a classical music lover and played string quartets in his home on Sunday afternoons. He purchased the violin in 1892 from the famous Bond Street dealers W.E. Hill and Sons and kept it for 17 years, disposing of it in 1907. It is specifically mentioned and illustrated in the Hills’ book Antonio Stradivari: His Life and Work 1644–1737  and noted as being one of the finer examples of the ‘Long Pattern’ Stradivari. A short article on the instrument was published in the June 1985 edition of The Strad…