isfactorily shows the
source whence his early instructions were derived, and may be said to
have inscribed the name of his great master, not in print, but in the
entire body of every instrument which he made. This cannot be said of
Giuseppe Guarneri. On the contrary, there is not a point throughout
his work that can be said to bear any resemblance to the sign manual
of Stradivari. As this interesting subject is considered at length in
the notice of Giuseppe Guarneri, it is unnecessary to make further
comment in this place.

The instruments of Carlo Bergonzi are justly celebrated both for
beauty of form and tone, and are rapidly gaining the appreciation of
artistes and amateurs. Commercially, no instruments have risen more
rapidly than those of this maker; their value has continuously
increased within recent years, more particularly in England, where
their merits were earliest acknowledged--a fact which certainly
reflects much credit upon our connoisseurs. In France they had a good
character years ago, and have been gaining rapidly upon their old
reputation, and now our neighbours regard them with as much favour as
we do.

They possess tone of rare quality, are for the most part extremely
handsome, and, last and most important of all, their massive
construction has helped them, by fair usage and age, to become
instruments of the first order. The model of Bergonzi's Violins is
generally flat, and the outline of his early efforts is of the
Stradivari type; but later in life, he, in common with other great
Italian makers, marked out a pattern for himself from which to
construct. The essential difference between these two forms lies in
the angularity of the latter. It would be very difficult to describe
accurately the several points of deviation unless the reader could
handle the specimens for himself and have ocular demonstration; the
upper portion from the curve of the centre bouts is increased, and, in
consequence, the sound-holes are placed slightly lower than in the
Stradivari model. Bergonzi was peculiar in this arrangement, and he
seldom deviated from it. Again, increased breadth is given to the
lower portion of the instrument, and in consequence the centre bouts
are set at a greater angle than is customary. The sound-hole may be
described as an adaptation of the characteristics of both Stradivari
and Guarneri, inclining certainly more to those of the former. As a
further peculiarity, it is to be noticed that the s