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The Best of Trade Secrets 5

£40.00
Necks, scrolls, f-holes, arching, edgework, inlay, tools, set-up - this new compilation covers more topics than ever before.  

The Best of Trade Secrets

£29.95
Ever since its beginnings in 2006, Trade Secrets has been The Strad’s most popular section for instrument makers. Luthiers from

The Best of Trade Secrets 4

£35.00
The latest collection of articles from The Strad's popular Trade Secrets section brings together methods for everything from reinforcing a cello neck to making lake pigments for varnish.

The Best of Trade Secrets 3

£29.95
Written by luthiers for luthiers, this third compilation of articles from The Strad’s popular Trade Secrets section brings together over

The Best of Trade Secrets 6

£40.00
The April 2005 edition of The Strad saw the first in a new regular section: Trade Secrets, in which violin and bow makers would share the technical tips and tricks that they’d worked out for themselves and wanted to share with their peers. Almost two decades later, Trade Secrets is still a mainstay of the magazine, having featured over 200 fully illustrated parts of the making process penned by more than 140 makers around the world. This latest collection brings together 35 of the most recent articles, drawn from the magazine’s pages since the pandemic year of 2020.

The Best of Trade Secrets 2

£29.95
Following the huge success of the first volume of The Best of Trade Secrets, the second appeared in 2012. Like

BUNDLE – The Best of Trade Secrets 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5

£140.00

Bundle contains:

  • 1 x The Best of Trade Secrets
  • 1 x The Best of Trade Secrets 2
  • 1 x The Best of Trade Secrets 3
  • 1 x The Best of Trade Secrets 4
  • 1 x The Best of Trade Secrets 5

In Focus 2

£35.00
The Strad ’s second compilation of fascinating articles, written within the last 5 years, brings together fine instruments by some of the world’s greatest instrument experts. In this new anthology, every instrument has been given three pages to include more close-up photographs, archings, angles and tiny details.

In Focus

£40.00
For a limited time only, The Strad is issuing the first in the In Focus series with a beautiful, new limited edition cover. This collection of articles from The Strad’s long-running In Focus series brings together more than 80 fascinating stringed instruments, with commentaries by some of today’s top instrument experts. Makers include Antonio Stradivari, Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ and G.B. Guadagnini, but also lesser-known masters such as Paul Knorr, Dante Baldoni, Charles Nicolas Altermatt and many others. This makes it an essential resource for anyone seeking to extend their lutherie knowledge into areas and makers whose work is more rare, and a significant addition to the lutherie literature. In Focus features exceptional high-quality photographs for every featured instrument – front, back and scroll – this book will provide inspiration for today’s makers and anyone who enjoys the beauty and variety of stringed instruments.

Violin Varnish

£45.00
Notes and articles from the workshop of Koen Padding. Edited by Helen Michetschläger.

Great Instruments

£19.95
Every generation of violin makers has sought to analyse and understand the classic forms, and, for the past 122 years, the violin world's leading experts have assessed the latest research into the finest instruments in the pages of The Strad. Great Instruments includes 15 authoritative and beautifully illustrated articles from the past ten years, which provide unique insights into some of the world's most celebrated stringed instruments. Full list of featured instruments
  1. c.1566 Andrea Amati Violin
  2. c.1600 Brothers Amati Cello
  3. 1619 Henry Jaye Viol
  4. c.1650 Jacob Stainer Tenor viola
  5. 1709 Antonio Stradivari 'Viotti' violin
  6. 1715 Antonio Stradivari 'Titian' violin
  7. 1716 Antonio Stradivari 'Messiah' violin
  8. 1717 Domenico Montagnana Violin
  9. 1717 Pietro Giacomo Rogeri Cello
  10. 1721 Antonio Stradivari 'Kruse' violin
  11. 1735 Guarneri 'del Gesu' 'Plowden' violin
  12. 1736 Carlo Bergonzi Violin
  13. 1736 Guarneri 'del Gesu 'Cessole', 'Teja-Ferni'
  14. 1740 Domenico Montagnana Cello
  15. 1808 Niclas Lupot Violin

BUNDLE – In Focus and In Focus 2

£60.00
The In Focus anthologies brings together many of the world’s most fascinating stringed instruments, with commentaries by today’s top instrument experts. Both books feature exceptional high-quality photographs for every featured instrument – front, back and scroll – and will provide inspiration for today’s makers and anyone who enjoys the beauty and variety of stringed instruments. This bundle includes:
  • In Focus (with new limited edition cover)
  • In Focus 2

BUNDLE-The Best of Trade Secrets 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6

£170.00

Bundle contains:

  • 1 x The Best of Trade Secrets
  • 1 x The Best of Trade Secrets 2
  • 1 x The Best of Trade Secrets 3
  • 1 x The Best of Trade Secrets 4
  • 1 x The Best of Trade Secrets 5
  • 1 x The Best of Trade Secrets 6

Violin Virtuosos: From Paganini to the 21st Century by Henry Roth

£30.00
Renowned critic Henry Roth brings his formidable knowledge and enthusiasm to bear on some of the greatest violinists in history. Paganini, Thibaud and Huberman rub shoulders with the likes of Isaac Stern and Itzhak Perlman in his comprehensive survey, which also provides an unusual history of the instrument itself. Paperback. 392pp. California Classics Books; First Printing edition (March 1997)

Antonio Stradivari by Horace Petherick

£19.95
This book tells us much about the understanding of experts at the turn of the century.

An A-Z of Instrument Care by Jane Dorner (2nd Edition)

£4.99
A first-aid manual and good-health guide for your most precious possession. This essential book for players of the violin family is the most convenient guide on the market. Paperback. 64pp.

Varnishes and Very Curious Secrets: Cremona 1747, ed. Vincenzo Gheroldi

£50.00
This study is based on a collection of varnish recipes in an 18th-century manuscript in a Milan library. Based on this manuscript, Gheroldi, Stefania Vitale and Luciano Colombo provide the cultural background to the amateurs who wrote artistic recipe books and their preferences and technical skills in preparing varnishes for paintings, as well as 'Chinese varnishes' and varnishes for miniature paintings. Two further essays deal with 18th-century varnishes for violin making and restoration. This is a fascinating document for understanding the techniques of the 'Golden Age' of Cremonese instruments, and to further experimentation for contemporary violin makers. Paperback in hard box. 251pp; text in English and Italian.

Great Instruments 2

£19.95
In 2011 The Strad published a 92-page collection of articles on some of the finest violins, violas and cellos to grace its pages over the previous decade. As well as examinations of historic works such as the Amati 'King', thought to be the oldest cello in existence, and Stradivari's 1713 'Huberman' violin, now played by Joshua Bell, this new collection introduces articles on double basses by Rocca, Gofriller and Gasparo da Salò. With high-quality photographs throughout, this is a must for anyone interested in the history and development of beautiful stringed instruments. Full list of featured instruments
  1. c.1550 Gasparo da Salò double bass
  2. Mid-16th century Andrea Amati ‘King’ cello
  3. 1686 Francesco Rugeri violin
  4. 1710 Antonio Stradivari ‘Baron Rothschild, Gore-Booth’ cello
  5. 1713 Antonio Stradivari ‘Huberman’ violin
  6. c.1720 Matteo Gofriller double bass
  7. 1726 Antonio Stradivari ‘Saveuse’ cello
  8. 1743 Giuseppe Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ ‘Brusilow’ violin
  9. 1767 José Contreras violin
  10. 1774 Giovanni Battista Guadagnini ‘Salabue’, ‘Berta’ violin
  11. c.1851 Giuseppe Rocca double bass
  12. 1865 Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume cello

Available from our third-party merchants

An Introduction to the Old Italian Violins (simplified mandarin)

£170.00
The book offers an overview of 300 years of violin history. Exploring the historical circumstances in Northern Italy, namely the city of Cremona, where the violin originated, it takes the reader from Andrea Amati's workshop to those of the most famous Cremonese violin makers such as Antonio Stradivari, Guarneri del Gesù and Carlo Bergonzi. From there violin making spread across other Italian and European cities. Illustrated with more than 600 pictures of instruments, the book is a unique guide to the complex world of violin family instruments; it provides valuable advice on how to choose the best violin, and how to take care of it.

Antonius Stradivarius Volumes I-VIII (Edited by Jost Thöne)

£3,950.00
Sold by: Jost Thöne
“Taken together, these eight volumes are a massive achievement, a substantial reset of the standards and quality of documentation, and

Cello by William Pleeth

£19.95
Foreword by Jacqueline du Pré

Contemporary Violin Makers

£325.00
Sold by: Jost Thöne
This publication is designed to share rare insight into the world of contemporary violin-making. Two magnificent volumes offering a full

FÜSSEN LUTE AND VIOLIN MAKING by Josef Focht, Klaus Martius, Thomas Riedmiller

A captivating book with excellent reviews set in the Early Modern Era, when lute making in Füssen played a decisive role in influencing the production of stringed instruments in larger parts of Europe. This was possible because town of Füssen settled on one of the most important trading routes across the Alps. The town had access to valuable and unusual wood types on the northern edge of the Alps for which instrument makers gravitated to capture the heart of their sounds.   Read the review, The Strad, July 2019

Italian and French Violin Makers, Volume I-IV

£1,275.00£2,245.00
Sold by: Jost Thöne
This unique volume brings together a collection of instruments crafted by the legendary lutherie masters of the last four centuries

Jean Baptiste Vuillaume

£230.00
Sold by: Jost Thöne
This splendid volume of different instruments built by the celebrated French master violin-maker Jean Baptiste Vuillaume, includes models by Stradivari,

Jean Pierre Marie Persoit: His Life and Work, by Paul Childs

£105.00
“The great and intriguing bow maker, Jean Pierre Marie Persoit, has for many years been an inspiration to other bowmakers

JOANNES BAPTISTA GUADAGNINI FECIT PARMAE SERVIENS C.S.R.

£315.00
Masterpieces from the 2011 Parma Galleria Nazionale Exhibition

Listening through the lens by Christopher Nupen (with sampler DVD)

£30.00
The official autobiography from BAFTA award-winning film maker, Christopher Nupen, director of The Trout - one of the most watched classical music films. Foreword by Vladimir Ashkenazy Read the review, The Strad, January 2020

Monograph of the Antonio Stradivari Cello c.1690 ‘Barjansky’

£790.00£1,490.00
Sold by: Jost Thöne

Probably the most extensive and detailed study of a stringed instrument that has ever been published

  Read the review, The Strad July 2021

My Viola and I by Lionel Tertis

£19.95
My Viola and I explores the history of the viola and music making during the late nineteenth century and early

Questionario Renzo Bacchetta del 1936

£125.00
Sold by: Luca Bastiani
59 Italian Luthiers Tell Their Story Through the Answers to the 1936 Renzo Bacchetta Survey, where they started to learn their craft and how they learned it. Including: Historical introduction Complete transcriptions of the surveys Complete translations of the surveys in English 43 labels conserved in the Fondo Renzo Bacchetta 59 pages of photographic details of the original documents showing the handwriting and signature of the maker Hard cover 238 pages Published in 2021, presented online with the patronage of the state library of Cremona. Price excluding VAT where present and import taxes. Read the review in The Strad, January 2020

The Bowmakers of the Peccatte Family, by Paul Childs

£199.00
This rare book details the lives, histories, styles and influences of the Peccatte family with special chapters on Dominque, Francois

The English Double Bass

£465.00
A unique leather-bound, limited-edition book exploring the fine double basses made in England - £465 plus P&P The ultimate collector’s investment for anyone with an interest in fine double basses, The English Double Bass is the authoritative work on double basses made in England. Featuring 766 stunning colour photographs of 100 double basses by 40 of England’s great double bass makers, this 524-page book is a collector’s item. The authors have gathered a rare collection of double basses never seen before and presented them in a beautiful leather-bound case. ISBN: 978-1-916-4053-0-1   Read the review in The Strad, May 2019

The Essential Handbook for Violinists’ by Rebecca Houghton

£20.00
Sold by: Viva Violins
Violin maker and restorer Rebecca Houghton wrote this book as a gift to players, teachers and parents who need essential

The Fulton Collection: A Guided Tour by David Fulton

£120.00
1st edition volume featuring large-format linen-bound hardcover, high quality photos and never-before-seen archival material including excerpts from “The Hill Diaries” and “Alfred Hill Notes.”

The Golden Age of Violin Making in Spain

£485.00
Edited by leading expert Jorge Pozas, this magnificent (and rare) title features a collection of 50 of the greatest Spanish

Tourte Le Jeune (The Tourte Exhibition of London, November 2008)

£99.00
Celebrating the life and work of François Xavier Tourte from the 1st through the 30th of November, 2008 at London’s

Valentin Berlinsky – A Quartet for Life by Maria Matalaev

£19.95
The compiled memoirs of Valentin Berlinsky, cellist with the Borodin Quartet for more than six decades. Foreword by Steven Isserlis   Read the review, The Strad, June 2019

Violin & Viola by Yehudi Menuhin and William Primrose

£19.95
Yehudi Menuhin was indisputably one of the finest violinists of all time, with a technique that was the envy of

Violin and Bow Makers, Volume 1

£40.00
Sold by: Jost Thöne
This publication, measures 320 mm by 240 mm (complete with a hardcover and gold embossed print), and features forty full-colour

W.E. Hill & Sons Violin Makers 1880-1936, by John Basford and Tim Toft

£95.00£275.00
W.E. Hill and Sons was Britain’s most important violin dealership in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century and, during this period, became renowned throughout the world for its expertise in instrument identification and repair. This new book gives a clear photographic and documentary record of instrument making at W.E Hill and Sons, from its inception in the early 1880s to 1936, when the first phase of production ended and the last instrument from that first phase of production was recorded in the original sales ledger.   Read the review, The Strad, May 2020

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