Interesting violin by Grandjon Père, circa 1840

This French violin dating back to around 1820 illustrates the work of the young Prosper Gérard Grandjon – Grandjon père – and represents his family’s roots in the acoustic standards and finest artisanal traditions of the classic Mirecourt school of violin making.

A rare historic exemplar of the early oeuvre of Grandjon père, this instrument permits us to draw interesting conclusions about the high quality standards and excellently equipped workshop of a young master; information about his history and training are almost unknown, yet he belonged to a family which went on to have a significant influence on French 19th-century violin making, especially due to the success of his son Jules Joseph Grandjon. Within the extensive portfolio of Grandjon père’s works, this violin ranks amongst the instruments which are special hallmarks of his personal style. For this distinctive model with its widely drawn-out beesting corners, Grandjon chose the finest spruce with an unusually even grain and gently flamed maple that lends an elegant character to the one-piece back, the lovingly carved scroll, the peg box and the ribs. In the course of over its nearly 100 years, the violin’s transparent orange-brown varnish darkened and acquired appealing traces of use from earlier generations of musicians, telling a dynamic musical story. In 1904 the violin was repaired by Charles Gaillard with conspicuous respect and painstaking care, as can be seen by the note he created on the inside of the back next to Grandjon‘s original brand mark. The restorers at our workshop believe that Gaillard reworked the neck and secured it with a pin through the button – a sophisticated repair that was solidly executed as we saw for ourselves as we set up the violin. This Grandjon père violin, which is now ready to play and belongs to our trade-in guarantee programme, can fully express the full wealth of its mature warm sound which develops a clear, bright, radiant volume and pleasant sweetness in its upper registers.

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