The violin is a versatile instrument.
In the right hands it's
capable of playing sprightly folk dances
or impassioned classical concertos.
In the right hands it's
capable of playing sprightly folk dances
or impassioned classical concertos.
Yet for each kind of music
the violinist must dress the part,
and today I showcase
four musicians, all unknown,
whose elegant attire defines them
as no rustic country fiddlers
but as first-class orchestral artists.
the violinist must dress the part,
and today I showcase
four musicians, all unknown,
whose elegant attire defines them
as no rustic country fiddlers
but as first-class orchestral artists.
The first violinist is pictured in a 3/4 pose cradling his violin in what I call the preparatory position, as if he was just about to walk on stage and is testing the tuning of his strings with his right thumb. Though he is not wearing a tailcoat, his striped bow tie and dapper white vest suggest he is dressed for a daytime concert. He also has a medallion pinned to his lapel that could be an award for some musical contest. Sadly the sepia photo does not let us know if it is a blue ribbon prize.
It's a fine portrait mounted on a small carte de visite card from the studio of C. Hj. Leverin of Helsingborg, Sweden at "hörnet af" (corner of) Bärgaliden & Storgatan. The cdv format was still popular in much of Europe for many years after it lost favor in America, so I think this photo dates to the 1900-1910 decade.
* * *
The next violinist is seated looking directly into the camera lens. He holds his violin as if to display it for the viewer's inspection. He is also wearing a fine suit with black bow tie in what is probably concert attire.
His photo is also a carte de visite, taken in Warren, Ohio by L. M. Rice, "Duplicate orders filled at any time." My estimate is that this cdv dates from around 1875 or 1880. The photographer, Luther Melville Rice (1826-1913), began working as a daguerreotypist in Leicester, Massachusetts in 1852. Sometime in the 1860s, probably after the war, he moved to Ohio where he operated a studio in Warren for many years until his death in 1913. This information comes from a former Sepia Saturday member, Any Jazz, whose superb website, CabinetCardPhotographers.blogspot.com has examples and working history of hundreds of early American photographers.
* * *
My third violinist is dressed in classic formal wear of white tie and tail coat. This gentleman also clasps his violin in a preparatory manner.
This cdv was produced by at the studio of Georg Meyer in Braunschweig, Germany at Bankplatz No.3. The city of Braunschweig is in north-central Germany, east of Hanover, and is known in English as Brunswick. My guess is that this photo dates from the 1890s.
It's interesting that in this era photographers all around the world tried to assure their clients of the same things. Herr Meyer adds a message on his business imprint, "Die Platte bleibt für Nachbestellungen aufbewahrt." — "The plate (negative) is kept for re-orders." I've often wondered how many clients took advantage of this courtesy to have duplicates made and how long might a photographer be expected to store a negative since these were usually made of fragile plate glass.
* * *
My last violinist is seated in a thoughtful pose looking like the intermission may have run too long. His violin is also tucked under his elbow with the bow caught by his index finger. The fabric of his black suit is so artfully draped that he could almost be modeling it for a haberdashery. His stached high collar, cuffs and white tie practically gleam. It is a very superior portrait.
This photograph is larger than the previous photos in a cabinet card size mount from Brown's Art Studio in Wyoming, Illinois. I was unable to find any information on this photographer, but the quality of the camera image and the style of card mount are likely from around 1895 - 1900.
It should not have escaped anyone's notice that all four men have splendid long mustaches that mimic the curves of a violin. For a comparison of 'stache styles check out my story from June 2016, Grandfather's Mustache - part 1. Please be patient. I promise to post more grandfather's mustaches soon, as well as more well-dressed violinists too.
This was supposed to be my contribution to Sepia Saturday
but it seems the proprietor has closed his public house for the weekend.
Hopefully it will re-open soon.
but it seems the proprietor has closed his public house for the weekend.
Hopefully it will re-open soon.
6 comments:
Ah, another excellent essay featuring musicians. These gentlemen are definitely well dressed, and it might be assumed they will play their violins as well as they look. But I'm jumping to that conclusion based on the level of not only their attire, but the level of the photography which features them. Thanks for this collection, and I do look forward to more mustache stories with photos.
They are certainly finely dressed musicians, but as Barbara points out, do the clothes and fine photography make a fine musician? My guess is - probably. I do wonder, for fun, though, what they might sound like playing together? Who would take the lead? From their expressions, I think the first three fellows might argue a bit over it. The fourth fellow looks like he'd just as soon go along with whatever the other three decide. :)
The mustaches on these gentlemen are tame compared to those in the linked post! I would enjoy hearing these musicians play, I think.
They're all so dapper.
I got curious about the Swedish photographer, Leverin. Found some info on a Swedish website: His full name was Carl Hjalmar Leverin, born 5/4 1858 in Borås (which happens to be where I live). He seems to have started as an apprentice in engineering and architecture, before becoming a photographer. As photographer he lived/worked in Stockholm 1881-87, Göteborg 1888-93, Helsingborg 1894-1928, Viken 1929-42. Died 28/11 1942.
https://www.rotter.se/faktabanken/portrattfynd/skane/helsingborg/c-h-leverin/95495
An excellent set of photos. I was taken with the cuff links in the first and last photo -- quite the dress shirt! I also wondered about the ribbon in the second photo. A shame we are often unable to identify ribbons, lapel pins and the like in older photos -- they might hold valuable clues about the wearer. Finally, I agree with you about the reorder ads on the photos. Perhaps it was a way for photographers to assure return business from their professional clients, who may have passed out their photos at performances and benefit from a reorder.
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