Note that we have moved to:
30 East Adams, Suite 1200
Chicago, IL 60603
312.566.0429

Gallery of Instruments

This page links to a database of articles highlighting noteworthy and/or unusual instruments Darnton & Hersh Fine Violins has handled. Due to the importance of these instruments, we've also provided a printable version of each article, with full-sized, high-resolution photos like those we use in our own archives. We'll be continually adding to our collection of articles, so check back often. Eventually you'll be able to build your own violin notebook from this resource!

  • A J.B. Vuillaume viola of the best size

    The vast output from the J.B. Vuillaume atelier--a reported 4000 instruments--is most remarkable for the consistent quality of that output. J. B. Vuillaume’s rigorous quality control can be felt in every aspect of the Vuillaume line. Read more...Posted 04-29-2008

  • Two Stradivari Violins1701 Dushkin and 1702 Lyall

    Many of the most celebrated human achievements in craft, art and science pale by comparison with the production from the Stradivari workshop in terms of innovative, artistic vision, overall quality, and quantity of output. Read more...Posted 07-08-2007

  • Brothers Amati ViolinCremona, c.1624

    Of all the violin making families of the classical period of Italian violin making, the Amati family of Cremona is the most important. Andrea Amati (born before 1511, died 1577) is the earliest maker of violins from whom we have surviving instruments, and may have invented the present form of the instrument. Read more...Posted 06-28-2007

  • A Violin by Antonio Stradivari1710 ex-Vieuxtemps

    The re-emergence of a long unseen Stradivari violin of the most desirable form, in superb condition, having a first class provenance and a famously splendid tone, is a rare occurrence. Read more...Posted 06-10-2007

  • An Instrument by Leandro Bisiach1915 Cello d'Amore

    Leandro Bisiach (1864-1945) was one of the most influential violin makers and dealers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He won important recognition and prizes in International exhibitions in London (1895), Atlanta (1895-96), Turin (1898), Paris (1900), Milan (1906), and Brussels (1910), and in 1905 opened and successfully ran a workshop that can be compared to the great workshops of J.B. Vuillaume and W.E. Hill and Sons. Read more...Posted 06-10-2007

  • Two Violas by Zanetto & PeregrinoEarly 16th Century

    There is an air of mystery surrounding Peregrino Micheli, an extremely rare maker from the very dawn of violin-family history. His name, as printed on the original label in this nearly-unique viola, means "Peregrino, son of Zanetto" but any knowledge of Peregrino and his father rests almost solely on their instruments; little hard information is available. Read more...Posted 06-10-2007