ers above named was confined
to England.

Turning to France, we find that many of the old French makers'
instruments brought prices greatly in excess of their original cost.
The favourite French makers were Medard, Boquay, Pierray, of the old
school, and Lupot and Pique of the modern.

In Germany there have been makers whose works have brought very high
prices. Stainer, Albani, Widhalm, Scheinlein, are names that will
serve to associate high values with German work. In the case of Jacob
Stainer, the celebrity of his instruments was not confined to Germany;
they were highly prized by the English and French, and at one period
were more valued than the best Amatis. It was not until the vast
superiority of Italian Violins over all others was thoroughly
recognised, that the love of the instrument as a curiosity reached its
present climax. In Italy, the value set upon the chief Cremonese
works, though great, was comparatively insignificant, as far as the
Italians themselves are concerned, and when France and England came
into competition with them for the possession of their Violins by
Amati, Stradivari, Guarneri, and the gems of other makers, they at
once yielded the contest.

The introduction of Italian instruments into Great Britain was a
matter of slow growth, and did not assume any proportions worthy of
notice until the commencement of the present century, when London and
Paris became the chief marts from whence the rare works of the old
Italians were distributed over Europe. By this time the taste of the
Fiddle world had undergone a considerable change. The instruments in
use among the _dilettanti_ in France and England had hitherto been
those built on the German model of the school of Jacob Stainer. The
great German maker was copied with but little intermission for upwards
of a century, dating from about 1700 to 1800, a period of such
considerable extent as to evidence the popularity of the model. Among
the Germans who were following in the footsteps of Stainer were the
family of Kloz, Widhalm, Statelmann, and others of less repute. In
England there was quite an army of Stainer-worshippers. There were
Peter Wamsley, Barrett, Benjamin Banks, the Forsters, Richard Duke,
and a whole host of little men. Among the makers mentioned there are
three, viz., Banks, Forster, and Richard Duke, who did not copy
Stainer steadfastly. Their early instruments are of the German form,
but later they made many copies of the Cremonese.