The Violin-Makers of the Guarneri Family (1626-1762) (Dover Books On Music: Violin)

This famous book has the rare distinction of having been written by one family of distinguished violin-makers and experts — the Hill family of London — about another — the legendary Guarneri family of Mantua, Cremona, and Venice.
The Hills were unrivaled connoisseurs whose strong family tradition of violin-making, restoration, and scholarship was established in the middle of the eighteenth century and continues today. Several of their books form the basis of our knowledge of old stringed instruments. This generously illustrated volume is one of the most important. It is both a history of the Guarneri family and the definitive commentary on their craftsmanship.
The Hills describe and analyze the life and work of each of the five great master craftsmen of the Guarneri family, from Andrea Guarneri (c. 1626–98), the founding father, to his grandson Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesú (1698–1744), the most illustrious member of the family, and Pietro Guarneri of Venice (1695–1762). Over 130 photographs, 16 in full color, illustrate Guarneri craftsmanship in consummate detail.
The craft of each master is explored in terms of the forms, dimensions, materials, and varnishes they favored and their methods of working. The authors compare Guarneri instruments to those of Stradivari and Amati, and list those still known to exist. Filled with fascinating detail on the crafting of some of the most famous music instruments ever made, this definitive work is a book no violinist, musical historian, connoisseur or collector of stringed instruments will wish to be without.