From the Archive: December 1920

DEAR SIR,––Might I crave your indulgence to voice the sentiments of many violin-lovers for a more practical appreciation of native violin-makers.

It is a matter of regret to many interested that the praises of the Italian makers are continually being sung to the detriment of the native craftsman, and I venture to suggest that contemporary makers of the English school have little to learn in the art from say the modern Italian and French schools, either in regard to design, workmanship, or the tonal merits of their instruments, yet those whose business it is to provide good instruments to a credulous public are forever harping on the superlative merits of modern Italian and French instruments, when as a matter of fact the splendid instruments of native makers like Richardson, Glenister, Hesketh, Gilbert, etc., to mention only a few that occur to me, are equal in all the essentials of a fine instrument to the excellent but over advertised modern productions of their Italian and French contemporaries…