Page 44 - The Strad (February 2020)

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Vuillaume seems to
been blackened with walnut husks in imitation of the natural ,!=' ;!0'2 6!8ধ$<£!8
accumulation of dust over the years. e interior remains $!8' 3='8 2<1#'8 T
identical to the previous instruments: very large spruce blocks #'-2+ ! 68'9ধ+-3<9
$311-99-32
and tightly tted spruce linings.
e label is still an elongated octagon with handwritten text.
It is quite amusing to see that Vuillaume no longer mentions
Nicolas Antoine Lété; the business partners had by this time
had disagreements both personal and professional, and Lété
& Vuillaume was dissolved the very next year. Lété decided to
focus his energies exclusively on keyboards and organs, while
for Vuillaume, the time had come to start his own business.
He was compelled to move his workshop due to lack of space
(he had married on 14 May 1826 and two young girls were
born a month later; his brother Nicolas François also lived
with him). At the end of 1827 he settled at 46 rue Croix-des-
Petits-Champs, where he was to remain until 1858.

,' £!#'£ 3( 2<1#'8 &3'9 23; 1'2ধ32 Ì;ÌT '='2
though the two would remain partners for another year

,' £-2-2+9 ); ধ+,;£@ -2;3 ;,' 968<$' #£3$09

uring the time spent working for Lété, it is certain that
Vuillaume’s reputation had grown. His clientele had
D evolved to embrace more established musicians and
a•uent amateurs. Violin number 53, made in 1827, is certainly
the result of a special order; a signature under the ngerboard
tells us it was intended for a certain ‘Comte d’Andelard’.
Vuillaume lavished particular care and attention on this violin,
which shows the in˜uence of Charles François Gand and
Nicolas Lupot (possibly at the request of the buyer). e
Stradivari model is treated more freely. e contours are more
rounded. e front is made from one piece of wide-grained
spruce (a less common choice for Vuillaume). e back, also
of one piece, has a small, lively and regular ˜ame. It makes sense
that Vuillaume might have made an unusual wood choice,
atypical for his output in the 1820s, on account of it being
a special commission by this Comte d’Andelard.
e f-holes are very straight with wider wings than usual,
another point reminiscent of Gand. e corners are shorter and a) " )H; Z V ZaV ,#)a
wider than those seen previously. e ebony and maple pur˜ing
(three strips of equal proportion) is inlaid 4mm from the edge. r,a) r, V r,B#Z a) B
It rests at the bottom of a fairly deep channel, used here by fZf ;ʃ V A,B,Z Ba H" # B
Vuillaume to counter the eœect of a rather low arching (15mm),
and thus setting oœ the top and back.
ɘɖ THE STRAD FEBRUARY 2020 www.thestrad.com