Instrument Type: Violin
Bow Type: --
Circa: 1984
Price: Sold
Maker: Joseph Curtin and Gregg Alf
Description: A handsome violin made by the collaborative team of Joseph Curtin and Gregg Alf in 1984. This violin is a bench copy of a Joannes Baptista Guadagnini from 1758, the “Ex Sevcik”. Two-piece top of medium wide- grain. Two-piece back of European maple with medium wide flames descending from the center. The scroll and ribs are of somewhat narrower curl. The scroll has been grafted and the varnish antiqued to match the original. Length: 353.5 mm. Upper Bout: 168 mm. C Bout: 112.5 mm. Lower bout: 205.5 mm. Paperwork includes the original bill of sale from Joseph Curtin from 2/10/1985, and an insurance appraisal from Curtin & Alf from April 20, 1995. A strong, brilliant tone, very soloistic in nature.
This is a letter from Joseph Curtin regarding this particular violin:
I’m writing at request to give some background regarding the sales price of the Curtin & Alf bench copy of a Guadagnini.
While my own instruments do indeed sell in the mid-forties, it would take a fair bit more to convince me to do a bench copy, which is considerably more work than an antiqued instrument loosely based on an Old Italian model. At Curtin & Alf, we charged almost double for a bench copy.
Curtin & Alf made at most a dozen bench copies. This was the second. To the best of my knowledge, only two others have come on the market in the last two decades. The Ex-Oliveira copy of the “Booth” Stradivari sold at Sotheby’s for what was then a world record auction price. More recently, the Curtin & Alf copy of the “ex-Huberman” Guarneri del Gesu that belonged to Ruggiero Ricci sold in auction for something like $133, 000 – establishing another world record for work by living makers.
I will add, that should its future owner be interested, I would be happy to work with him or her on getting it into its best possible voice.
All best, Joseph
Joseph Curtin Studios LLC
3493 W. Delhi Rd.,
Ann Arbor, MI 48103, USA
(734) 665-1303 www.josephcurtinstudios.com
Terms: This violin is available for examination and trial and has been meticulously set up to our exacting specifications before addition to our catalog. If you wish to inquire further about this violin, please contact us using the green button at the top of this listing or call 1-818-762-1374 during business hours.
