inventory, inasmuch as it satisfactorily shows the
age Stradivari was considered to be by his own family, since Count
Cozio communicated the information to Lancetti from correspondence
with Paolo Stradivari, son of Antonio. In passing, it may be observed
that Stradivari died December 18, 1737, and therefore the year
mentioned by his son Paolo was only incorrect by thirteen days. He was
equally as near the truth in saying his father was ninety-four when he
should have said he was in his ninety-fourth year.

Having referred to the manuscript inventory, upon which rests the date
of birth as given by Fetis--which document, taken by itself, it must
be said is unsatisfactory--and having noticed the age of Stradivari as
represented by his son, I will turn to other evidence in support of
the inventory. The late Mr. Muntz, of Birmingham, possessed a Violin
by Stradivari, dated 1736, and, in writing, the age of the maker is
given as ninety-two. Another Violin by Stradivari, made in the same
year, and similarly labelled, was bequeathed by the late Mrs. Lewis
Hill to the Royal Academy of Music. This Violin has been regarded as
one of the instruments found in the maker's shop when he died. It
originally belonged to Habeneck, the well-known professor, and was
taken to Paris between the years 1824 and 1830. Luigi Tarisio became
possessed of some of the instruments mentioned in the inventory found
among the papers of Carlo Carli, the banker, and one of these Violins
in all probability furnished the evidence of the date of birth
referred to by M. Fetis, and both instruments were probably purchased
by Tarisio, together with the Violin dated 1716, named by Vuillaume
"le Messie."[15] The last instrument necessary to notice in
confirmation of the date, hitherto resting alone on the inventory, was
in the possession of the late M. H. de St. Sennoch, of Paris. It is
dated 1737, and in the handwriting of Stradivari is his age,
ninety-three years, which decides the correctness of the statement
made by Lancetti (upon the authority of Count Cozio di Salabue, who
received the information from Paolo Stradivari in 1775) that "Antonio
worked up to the age of ninety-three years."

[Footnote 15: The information which M. Fetis gives of this Violin was
based on the inventory of Carlo Carli. It is also mentioned in the
correspondence between Count Cozio and Lancetti.]

In the absence of direct information concerning the life of
Stradivari, we must turn