Lutherie Books

Rare, out of print, secondhand (and a few new) books on violin makers and violin making. Contact us on violin@w3z.co.uk with details of the book you are looking for and we will get back to you with availability and price- no obligation.

Over 250 books in stock. Condition is very good or better unless stated. I try to update every other week or so.

A selection is given here:

MONOGRAPHS

Sale after the Death of J.B. Vuillaume. Facsimile of the 1880 auction catalogue in French of items from J.B. Vuillaume's workshop. £20.00

Antonio Stradivari His Life and Work, London, W.E. Hill & Sons, 1902. Hardback. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. First edition, 4to (292 x 206mm.) 31 plates, mostly in colour, captioned tissue-guards, numerous illustrations in the text. Original vellum-backed green cloth with Stradivari coat-of-arms in red and gilt to upper cover. £325.00

The Violin-makers of the Guarneri Family, London W. E. Hill & Sons, London, 1931. Hardback. Condition: Very Good. First Edition. xxxvii, 181pp; 14 col plates, 44 photogravure plates + text ills, appendices. Or green/gray cloth with wide vellum spine (quarter vellum); coloured armorial on front cover; top edge gilt. £325.00

The 1690 "Tuscan" Stradivari violin in the Accademia of Santa Cecilia, Scrollavezza & Zanré SOLD

The Girolamo Amati Viola in the Galleria Estense, Scrollavezza & Zanré SOLD

Antonio Stradivari His Life and Work, W.E. Hill & Sons 1980 £95.00

The Violin-makers of the Guarneri Family, Guarneri, W.E. Hill & Sons 1980 £95.00

W.E. Hill & Sons: Violin makers, 1880-1936, Basford & Toft £95.00

W.E. Hill & Sons: Violin makers, 1880-1936, Basford & Toft deluxe edition £275.00

I Violoncelli di Antonio Stradivari, CLASC , 2004 £195.00

Edward Withers Ltd, Whone, 1996 £35.00

The Violin Makers of the Guarneri Family, A., A., and W. Henry Hill, Holland Press, 1965

(Dedication from, and signed by, Malcolm Sadler, with Dollin and Sadler stamp) £60.00

G.B. Guadagnini e gli Interpreti del Novecento, Accorneo et alia, 2008 (Italian and English) £260.00

Carlo Bergonzi: Alla scoperta di un grande Maestro, Cremona 2010, (Italian and English) SOLD

I Segreti di Sgarabotto, Scrollavezza and Zanre, 2020, £300.00

Walter H. Mayson: A Celebrated Violin Maker, Meredith Morris, 1906. £30.00

The Voller Brothers, B.V.M.A., SOLD

COLLECTIONS/EXHIBITIONS

The Henry Hottinger Collection, Rembert Wurlitzer Incorporated, 1967 £75.00

Loan Exhibition Stringed Instruments and Bows, New York City, 1966 £90.00

Old Violins Collection 1896-97 with Historical Sketches, Lyon & Healy, 1896 (tear to cover) £55.00

The Hill Collection, Boyden, 1970, (Dust wrapper edges tatty) £18.00

The Stradivari Influence Exhibition Part III The Stradivari Influence, December 1987

(with invitation card of Ealing Strings signed by Malcolm Sadler) £25.00

Violins of France, A Retrospective Exhibition Presented by Jacques Francais, Lincoln Center 1971

(18 page catalogue, slight marks and scuffs to paper cover) £25.00

Old Violins Violas and Violoncellos and Bows, Rudolph Wurlitzer Co. c.1926 £40.00

17th, 18th and 19th Century Rare Violins, Rudolph Wurlitzer Co. c.1934 £40.00

Good Violins Bows and Accessories, Rudolph Wurlitzer Co. 1938 (some staining to cover and adjacent

pages) £40.00

The Becket Collection of Historical Musical Instruments, Rattray, et alia, RA London, 2010, £75.00

MAKERS BY SCHOOL/TYPE

Liuteria Italiana, Vols I-IV, Eric Blot, SOLD

Index of Mirecourt Luthiers 1886, Basford, 2017, £25.00

Index of Mirecourt Luthiers 1896, Basford, 2019, £25.00

Alte Geigen und Bogen, EILA, 1997 (text in German and English) £285.00

Alte Meistregeigen Vol VII Die Turiner Schule, 1981, (text in German) £95.00

Violin Makers. The Renaissance of Italian Lutherie DVD, Zanrè and Parmiggiani £35.00

Umeni Houslaru, Pilar and Sramek, 1989 (text in Czech) SOLD
La Pochette du Maitre a Danser, Lebet, 2007 (text in Italian, French and English) SOLD

British Violin Makers, Meredith Morris, 1920 2nd edition £12.00

Die Lauten und Geigenmacher des Fussener Landes, Bletschacher, 1978, (Bookplate of Stephen Gottlieb and written inscription, some wear to dustwrapper edge, text in German) SOLD

Deutsche Bogenmacher, K.Grunke £345.00

HISTORICAL/GENERAL/OTHER

The Violin and Its Story, Abele, trans. Alwyn, 1905, £12.00

The Violin, Dubourg, 5th edition 1878 £22.00

The Violin Makers: Portrait of a Living Craft, Alburger, 1978 (ex-library) £10.00

The Violin Book, Stowell, et alia, 1999, (some fading to slipcase) £22.00

Esterby’s not so fine Musical Instruments, Barker and Cambridge Violin Makers, 1991, £12.00

Guarneri, Violin Maker of Genius, L. Wibberley, (fiction) £5.00

Fiddles: Their Selection, Presentation and Betterment, H. Saint-George, 2nd ed. 1921, £8.00

The Art of Tone Production on the Violoncello, Emil Krall, 1923, £6.00

The Value of Old Violins, E. Polonaski, 1912, £28.00

Violins and Violinist, F.Farga, 3rd impression 1955, (ex-library) £12.00

What Are the Broad Distinguishing Marks of a ... Stradivari Violin, Balfour & Co., 1901, (small corner tears to cover, small margin tears to pages) £30.00

The British Violin Makers Guild, promotional booklet c.1915, 24 pages paperback, £45.00

MAKING/REPAIRING

Violin Making Made Clear and Concise, Geiger and Cole, 1935 £25.00

The Old and Modern Varnishes for Violin Makers, S.L. Corbara, 1987, £115.00

History and Construction of the Violin, G. Foucher, 1897, £15.00

The Principles of Violin Construction, J. Taylor, Kellow reprint 1984, £6.00

Violin and ‘Cello Building and Repairing, R. Alton, hardback, 1946, £22.00

Violin Making and Repairing, “Work” Handbooks , R. Alton, paperback, 1923, £12.00

Violins & Other Stringed Instruments How to Make Them, “Work” Handbooks, hardback, 1906, 28.00

Varnishes and Very Curious Secrets, ed. V. Gheroldi, 1999, in paper slipcase, £38.00

F-Modelle Alter Mesitergeigen, H. Edler, 1983, £105.00

Geigenlacke, J and R Hammerl, 1988, (in German) £35.00

Preservation and Restoration of Musical Instruments, A. Berner et alia, 1967, £12.00