New Items Now Available in Catalog 54:
MANÉN, Juan. Signed Postcard Photo. 1928. http://www.montagnanabooks.com/Manen1928SPc.jpg
The Catalan violinist and composer (1883-1971) is shown in a head and shoulders portrait. Boldly signed “Joan Manén” followed by the date. $175.00
OISTRAKH, David. Autograph Letter Signed. 1972.http://www.montagnanabooks.com/Oistrakhsp1972.jpg
The great Russian violinist (1908-1974) writes in Russian to a friend, “we are almost one month in this trip, but soon it’s time to return home... I work a lot, as you work at the hospital. Did you have a vacation?”. Signed “Oistrakh”. With translation. (on a postcard, creased) $200.00
The great American violinist (1888-1953) was a student of Chiti and Buitrago before entering the Bologna Conservatory at the age of 14. He later studied with Lefort. He made his American debut in 1908, and gave the US premiers of the violin concertos of Dohnany, Elgar and Barber. His own works include an orchestra suite, 2 violin concertos, a string quartet, a violin sonata, etc. He has drawn a staff on a card and written two bars of music, and has signed “Albert Spalding” followed by the date.(the card is 5 x 3 inches, matted and framed with a portrait to 15 x 19 inches) $125.00
Beare, Charles. ANTONIO STRADIVARI. The Cremona Exhibition of 1987. London, 1993. The Deluxe Edition.
328 pp., more than 225 pages of color illustrations of instruments, illustrating 44 instruments and 2 bows, including the Tullaye, Mahler, Hellier, Tuscan, Medici, Baron Knoop, Soil, Batta, Lady Blunt, Sarasate, Habeneck and Muntz. An unbelievable collection of Stradivari’s instruments in probably the finest color photos of instruments ever printed. A sensational book, in a slipcase! No. 262 of the edition limited to only 300 copies. The deluxe edition was sold out by subscription, about 2 years before the book was actually published, and is extremely scarce. $2100.00
van der Straeten, Edmund. THE HISTORY OF THE VIOLONCELLO, the Viol da Gamba, their Precursors and Collateral Instruments, with Biographies of all the Most Eminent Players of Every Country. London: William Reeves, 1971.
xvii, 700 pp., portrait, 59 plates, 63 illustrations in the text. (5 1/2 x 8 3/4 inches, very good condition, no dust jacket) Now quite scarce. $175.00
Sale Items Now Available:
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(Guadagnini, Giovanni Battista) GIOVANNI BATTISTA GUADAGNINI LIUTAIO. Nato a Bilegno di Borgonovo V. T. 1711. Gruppo Intesa, 2000.
83 pp., numerous illustrations, plus color illustrations of violins of Piacenza, 1742 and 1747, Milano, 1751-52, and Torino, 1770. (9 x 12 3/4 inches, d.j. sl. worn) A very good and rare documentary book about Giovanni Battista Guadagnini and his family. Scarce. $125.00
Hamma, Fridolin. GERMAN VIOLIN MAKERS. A Critical Dictionary of German Violin Makers, with a Series of Plates Illustrating Characteristic and Fine Examples of their Work. London: William Reeves, 1961.
xi, 49 pp. of text, 80 plates of instruments, each with 2 views of the instrument, plus the scroll and label. (d.j. a bit rubbed, o/w near-fine condition) Scarce! $200.00
Möckel, Otto. DIE KUNST DES GEIGENBAUES. Berlin, 1930.
389 pp., 128 diagrams, 71 plates of illustrations. In German. (8 x 11 inches, bound in 3/4 leather and boards, leather a bit rubbed) Great illustrations that show many of the steps involved in violin-making. Very scarce edition, signed by the author. 50% off $450.00
MILSTEIN, Nathan. Signed Photo. 1937. http://www.montagnanabooks.com/Milstein1937signedphoto.jpg
The great Russian-American violinist (1904-1992), was a student of Stoliarsky and Auer. He played with Horowitz and Piatigorsky in sonatas and trios. He had one of the longest, most distinguished careers of any violinist, and is considered by many to be in a class with Heifetz. He is shown in a head and shoulders portrati. Inscribed and signed “N. Milstein” followed by the date. (8 x 10 inches, some minor wear and creases) $400.00 (reduced from $650.00)
MILSTEIN, Nathan. Signed Photo. 1937. http://www.montagnanabooks.com/Milsteinsignedphoto1937.jpg
The great Russian-American violinist (1904-1992), was a student of Stoliarsky and Auer. He played with Horowitz and Piatigorsky in sonatas and trios. He had one of the longest, most distinguished careers of any violinist, and is considered by many to be in a class with Heifetz. An interesting head and shoulders portrait, he is shown looking down. Inscribed and signed "N. Milstein" with the place and date. (8 x 10 inches, image is a bit fuzzy) $300.00 (reduced from $600.00)
Coutagne, Henry. GASPARD DUIFFOPROUCART et les Luthiers Lyonnais du XVIe Siecle. Paris: Fischbacher, 1893. In French.
79 pp., frontispiece. (7 x 11 inches, covers a bit worn and stained, edges of pages untrimmed) Regazzi calls this “a most valuable contribution to early violin history.” Very scarce! $550.00
De Wit, Paul. GEIGENZETTEL ALTER MEISTER vom 16. bis zur mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts. Leipzig, 1902.
14 pp., 400 facsimiles of labels. (8 x 11 inches, boards, covers and spine frayed) The scarcest edition. $200.00 (reduced from $300.00)
FAMOUS INSTRUMENTS OF THE WORLD SERIES. Tokyo: Gakken, 1986.
Three volumes, 10 x 14 1/4 inches, gilt-stamped titles, each volume in a slip-case with similar gilt-stamped titles.
Collection in the Library of Congress: 80 pp. of photographs in color, 48 pp. of explanatory text and illustrations. 8 instruments illustrated.
Collection in the Smithsonian Institution: 132 pp. of photographs in color, 32 pp. of explanatory text and illustrations, 15 instruments illustrated.
Collection in the Corcoran Gallery of Art: 88 pp. of photographs in color, 32 pp. of explanatory text and illustrations, 8 instruments illustrated.
Beautiful full-page photographs by Shinichi Yokoyama, who did the photographs for the book Stradivari in Japan. In English and Japanese. A beautiful set of books. $1800.00 (reduced from $2200.00)
Hamma, Fridolin. MEISTERWERKE ITALIENISCHER GEIGENBAUKUNST. Ihre Beschreibung und Bisher Erzielte Preise. Stuttgart, n.d. (c. 1932) In German.
xiii, 347 pp., 212 plates of instruments, each with two views, 9 full-scale outlines. (general condition very good to near-fine, some minor wear, one of the perforated outlines is loose, in the original dust jacket, which is nearly unheard of, d.j. torn at spine, small pieces of tape on inside of covers had been used to hold the dust jacket in place) A beautiful and very rare book, with wonderful plates, the edition limited to 1200 copies, this one unnumbered. Never reprinted because the plates were destroyed during World War II. Instruments illustrated include violins of Amati, Balestrieri, Bergonzi, da Salo, Carcassi, Gagliano, Grancino, Gobetti, Goffriller, Guadagnini, all the Guarneris, Landolfi, Maggini, Stradivari (35 examples!), etc., etc. Very scarce. $1200.00
Hamma, Fridolin. DIE D'EGVILLE–DEL GESÜ. Stuttgart, 1961.
55 pp., 8 illustrations (one in color). (5 7/8 x 10 inches, covers a bit dirty) A beautiful monograph about this great violin. No. 351 of the edition limited to only 500 copies. A copy sold for £385, about $675 at the Christieπs auction of June, 1990. Very scarce. $275.00
Jacquot, Albert. LA LUTHERIE LORRAINE ET FRANCAISE. Paris, 1912.
xxxix, 357 pp., 24 portraits, 521 facsimeles of labels, 64 illustrations in text, 40 illustrations. (3/4 leather and marbled boards, rebacked, original marbled endpapers) Edition limited to 500 copies. Regazzi says, “A very important text written by a violin maker who spent much of his time researching the history of the French luthiers. This book contains 521 label-facsimiles unpublished before.” A spectacular and very scarce book. $1500.00
Jalovec, Karel. ENCYCLOPEDIA OF VIOLIN MAKERS. London: Paul Hamlyn, 1968.
Two Volumes. Volume I: A-K, 482 pp., 110 plates, 16 color plates. Volume II: L-Z, 399 pp., 86 plates, 8 color plates. (dust jackets worn and torn, contents near-fine, in a slipcase) $575.00
Roda, Joseph. BOWS FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OF THE VIOLIN FAMILY. Chicago: William Lewis and Son, 1959. The Deluxe Edition.
335 pp., 20 illustrations, 47 double plates illustrating 241 bows. Includes a biographical list of bow makers. (full leather binding, gilt titles and decoration on covers and spine, top edges gilt, in a slipcase, fine to very fine condition) No. 156 of the edition limited to 200 copies. Extremely scarce. $1200.00
(Stradivari) (Mostra) MOSTRA DI ANTONIO STRADIVARI. Settimane Musicali di Stressa. Isola Bella, 1963.
71 pp., 47 instruments illustrated on full-page plates. In Italian and English. (8 1/2 x 11 3/4 inches, minor wear to covers, corners bumped and sl. rubbed) A copy brought £552, about $850 at the Sotheby’s auction of June, 1996. No. 96 of the edition limited to 1000 copies. $225.00
Thöne, Jost. ITALIAN AND FRENCH VIOLINMAKERS. Volume I. 2004.
132 pp., numerous illustrations. (18 x 12 inches) A new photo documentary book highlighting the great masters of Italian and French violin making. Makers included are Riccardo Antoniazzi, Paul Bailly, Gustave Bernardel, Mateo Gofriller, Antonio Gragnani, Nicolas Lupot, Francesco Rugieri, and J. B. Vuillaume. $225.00
Tolbecque, Auguste. L’ART DU LUTHIER. Nirot: Chez L’auteur, 1903. In French.
x, 314 pp., 99 illustrations, portraits of several French luthiers. (bound in leather and marbled boards, with original covers bound in, covers a bit worn and frayed, spine a bit frayed) A fascinating book that includes sections on all facets of instrument making, including clamps, planes, many varnish recipes, from Piemontais’s recipe of 1550 to Maugin’s of 1834, tuning pegs, fingerboards, etc., etc. Extremely scarce! $700.00 (reduced from $1000.00)
Werro, Henry. "LADY BLUNT" STRADIVARIUS-VIOLINE 1721. Bern, 1943.
24 pp., 5 illustrations. (6 3/4 x 10 1/2 inches, covers a bit worn) No. 118 of the edition limited to 200 copies. Inscribed by Werro to Emil Hamma. Extremely scarce. $1100.00
Werro, Henry. "OLE BULL" Joseph Guarnerius del Gesù, 1744. Berne, 1971.
51 pp., gold-stamped boards, 2 portraits of Ole Bull, 4 photographs of the violin. In German, French and English. (6 3/4 x 10 1/4 inches, fine condition, no slipcase, one plate loose, signed by Werro) No. 236 of an edition limited to 400. Scarce! $225.00
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