John
Hart. There is yet another, the omission of whose name would be a
blemish in any notice of the Violin and its connoisseurs. I refer to
Mr. Charles Reade, the novelist, who in early life took the highest
interest in old Italian Violins. We are indebted to him in a great
measure for bringing into this country many of the most beautiful
specimens we possess. Impressed with the charms of the subject, he
visited the Continent for the pleasure it afforded him of bringing
together choice specimens, and thus opened up the intercourse between
England and the Continent for the interchange of old Violins which
continues to this day. It would be difficult to find an instance where
the intricacies of the subject were so quickly mastered as in his
case. Without assistance, but solely from his own observation, he
gained a knowledge which enabled him to place himself beside the Chief
Continental connoisseurs, and compete for the ownership of Cremonese
masterpieces. These were the men who laid bare the treasures of
Cremona's workshops, and spread far and wide love and admiration for
the fine old works. Connoisseurship such as theirs is rare. To a keen
eye was united intense love of the art, patience, energy, and memory
of no ordinary kind, all of them attributes requisite to make a
successful judge of Violins.

Charles Lamb, on being asked how he distinguished his "ragged
veterans" in their tattered and unlettered bindings, answered, "How
does a shepherd know his sheep?" It has been observed that, "Touch
becomes infinitely more exquisite in men whose employment requires
them to examine the polish of bodies than it is in others. In music
only the simplest and plainest compositions are relished at first; use
and practice extend our pleasure--teach us to relish finer melody, and
by degrees enable us to enter into the intricate and compounded
pleasure of harmony." Thus it is with connoisseurship in Violins.
Custom and observation, springing from a natural disposition, make
prominent features and minute points of difference before unseen,
resulting in a knowledge of style of which it has been well said
"Every man has his own, like his own nose."

As an ardent votary of the Violin, regarded from a point of view at
once artistic and curious, Count Cozio di Salabue takes precedence of
all others. He was born about the time when the art of Italian
Violin-making began to show signs of decadence, and having cultivated
a taste for Cremonese