Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 40.djvu/819

 most noted of early American makers. He was in the field in 1820, The first makers of instruments of the violin family were Benjamin Chrehore, of Milton, Mass., spoken of in connection with pianoforte-making, also Clement Clans, of New York, who came from London in 1790. Samuel Long, of Hanover, N. H., won considerable notoriety from 1812 to 1825 in that field; while Abraham Prescott, of Concord, N. H., took the place of the latter and became equally esteemed. Among the most famous were Warren A. White, of Boston, and Calvin Baker, of Weymouth, Mass., both more recent makers than Long and Prescott. Nearly all the violins turned out by those domestic violin-makers mentioned went among amateurs and into unpretentious orchestral circles. The professional musicians had always a preference for old instruments, and these of necessity came from abroad.

But within the past thirty years American violins fully equal to the best European instruments of modern times have been produced, some of which will be ranked with the finest examples of the Cremona masters in future years. These have come from the workshops of the Gemunders. George Gemunder is a native of



Germany, where he was born in 1810, but he has lived here since 1847, almost a half-century, and is the only American violin-maker that exhibited in the musical instrument department of the famous World's Fair in London in 1851. He learned the art of violin-making from his father, and at nineteen became a pupil of Voillaume, in Paris, where he stayed four years. He began business in Boston in 1847, and in 1851 removed to New York, where he has since been located. August Gemunder is equally a renowned maker, his instruments being in the hands of some of the leading soloists. He was also born in Germany, but has been here since early manhood. Lesser makers in various cities produce good violins, while nearly all manufacture violas, violoncellos, and basses as well.

The modern transverse flute, passing over its precursors, was invented in Germany in the seventeenth century; hence the term "German flute." It was first used by Handel in orchestral scores, and speedily achieved a leading place, although up to recent years a very imperfect instrument. In its present perfected state it is very satisfactory, and capable of producing excellent artistic effects. The piccolo, a smaller species, has also come into being, and is employed in conjunction with the other in orchestras and bands. The latter is capable of producing the sharpest and highest tones known in the compass of any instrument. The flageolet