This section is for those who collect hand-made stringed instruments of all types.  It will include stories, web-site links, opinion, photos ... all kinds of info related to collecting fine stringed instruments.

Silencing The Great Violins - from Arts Journal Extra

by: Jack Miles & Douglas McLennan

As prices for great Old Master string instruments escalate in the collectables market, only banks and investors can afford to own them. They're increasingly out of reach of even the best musicians.

It’s increasingly rare for Old Master paintings to be owned by individuals. As the available supply dwindles [The Telegraph], prices have zoomed – in December a Rembrandt sold at auction [CNN.com] for $27.8 million. Most Old Masters are now owned by museums and institutions which will never sell them.

The same thing is happening [NY Times] to Old Master string instruments. Cremonese instruments of the 1700s are prized as the best ever made, and 200 years of technological advances have yet to improve (or even equal) them. Top soloists consider playing one essential to their careers. Top orchestras and chamber ensembles believe that the quality of their string instruments is indispensable to defining their sound.

But there are only about 700 surviving Stradivari, and only about 100 del Gesu’ Guarneris – maybe only a couple ... more

Violins: Buy American - from http://www.pbs.org

by Dennis Gaffney

Those who have dreamed of collecting violins, long the star of the classical string orchestra, usually assume that such purchases are only for deep-pocketed collectors. And traditionally, they are right. To purchase a 17th- or 18th-century Italian violin in pristine condition crafted by one of the Cremonese masters, a buyer would have to put down anywhere from $300,000 to $6 million dollars—hardly affordable to most collectors.

But there is a new and very exciting option for violin lovers: the more affordable 19th-century American violin. "Collectors are beginning to recognize the quality of the work done on American violins, which has all too often been overlooked," says Kerry Keane, of Christie's in New York City. "Whenever it comes to the value and price of instruments, you will always get ... more

Luthier's legacy lives on in collection of legendary handmade jazz guitars - from MyJersey.com                        

A Gannett Company

Mary Ann Bourbeau, 732-565-7245, mbourbeau@MyCentralJersey.com

After Howard Krive died in 2008, his brother Alan was going through the guitar
collection in Howard's attic. He asked his brother's close friend, Christopher Wylde, to accompany him, because Wylde is a guitarist, unlike Alan Krive, whose talent is fixing cars.

“There were close to 150 guitars there,” said Wylde, who lives in Milltown. “It was
basically Howard's life's work.” ... more

Stringed Instruments at the Library of Congress - from The Library of Congress

The Library’s Music Division was established by 1896. From 1924 to 1935, aided by the philanthropy of two remarkable women, Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge and Gertude Clarke Whittall, the mission of the Music Division included musical performance and music commissions. The unprecedented generosity and foresight of these two patrons furthered the Library’s musical activities. more