DHV:
1112
Tourin ID:
Size:
Bass
Place Made:
Maker:
GB
London
George
Saint George
Date:
1895
Label Text:
G. Saint-George / fecit / London, A.D. 1895 [handwritten]; 1895 / G [monogram][inked in center of table ornament]
Body Shape:
Viol
Current Location:
USA
New York, NY
No. of Strings:
6
Collection:
Private Collection
Sound Holes:
C
Catalog Number:
Head:
Dolphin
Private Owner:
Yes
Previous Owner:
John Appel, New York, 1988-93; Sally Pinchot, Guilford, CT, 1978-88; Henry Burnett, New York, -1978
Measurements:
Body Length:
65.9
String Length:
67.1
Rib Depth:
12
Upper Width:
30.1
Middle Width:
22.1
Bottom Width:
37.1
Information
Source:
TGM visit 9/94
Literature:
Rutledge 1991, pp. 412-13; van der Straeten 1910c, p. 399; Strad no. 76 (August, 1896), pp. 103-04.
Photographs:
Rutledge 1991, p. 413 (head 3/4); van der Straeten 1910c, p. 400 (front 3/4, head 3/4); [by TGM: FB+S, head FB+S, table ornament, FB+TP inlay]
Recordings:
Auctions:
Comments:
2-piece table with central Norman-style ornament; 1-piece back with floral outlines at bottom, in center, and below fold, plus 2 smaller at lower corners of folded section; both with double purfling. Elaborate inlay on fingerboard and tailpiece, featuring dolphins to complement the carved head; back of pegbox also carved, but sides plain. Handwritten in ink inside back: a) below soundpost plate: “This instrument was made entirely by / G. Saint George (prof. & composer / of music), 39 Westtowne Park Road, Bayswater / Sept. 1895 / for his only son Henry, the incomparable / gamba player of the 19th century / G [monogram]”; b) above fold: “The Dolphin head, fingerboard, / tailpiece & ornamental purfling / were designed & executed by me / G [monogram]”. Rutledge 1991: “We do know of four violas da gamba built around 1896 by George Saint-George” (other three not mentioned, and current locations unknown). Van der Straeten 1910c: “He has made two bass viols, and is now working on his second viol d’amour. The bass viols he calls respectively ‘The Dolphin’ and ‘The Ram’s Head’.”