John Dilworth
MANN, John Alexander Born 1810 Forfar, Worked from 1845, died 1889 Glasgow, Scotland UK. Maker dealer and repairer, active in Glasgow from 1845. Most of the instruments bearing his labels appear to be imported from Thibouville-Lamy in France, some showing slight modifications. Several local makers worked for him including Archibald Morrison, and he occupied prominent premises at 21 Argyle Street c.1863, 15 Bath Street from 1873, 3 Sauchiehall Street from 1883, and finally 11 Miller Street. Original Strad Copy / fait par John A. Mann 1865 Fait par John A. Mann / Glasgow 1885 Rétabli Soigneusement / par J. A. Mann Glasw. 1877
William Meredith Morris
Mann was a remarkable person in many respects, and in some unique. He was never more at home than when amongst curious machines, nor more at ease than when evolving mechanical intricacies. He was for many years the right-hand man of the conjurer, J. H. Anderson — “The Wizard of the North.” His mystical proclivities and love of the occult followed him to the atelier, if we are to believe the apocryphal revelations of a well-known author. I regret that careful investigation has led me to doubt the correctness of many of the tales anent the intercourse between him and Vuillaume, and I prefer to leave these, however idyllic their character, severely alone.
The fewer instruments attributed to Mann which I have had the fortune to see were not calculated to rouse the connoisseur into ecstatic utterance. They were beautifully made, but timid and tame. They reminded one of Sir Joshua Reynolds’ criticism of a picture. The great painter was standing before a painting by another celebrated artist one day, and on being asked his opinion of the work, replied : ” It wants — it wants — d-n me ! it wants that.” Nothing aggravates the connoisseur like frigid monotony. No genius in the poetical world ever reached the summit of Parnassus by a path previously made, and no two great violin-makers ever walk exactly the same road.
Willibald Leo Lütgendorff
Da er in seiner Jugend ein besonderes Talent zum Bildnissmaler verrieth,
sandte man ihn nach Edinburgh auf die Kunstakademie. Das Studium sagte ihm
aber nicht zu, deshalb gab er es wieder auf und ward zuerst Theater-Maschinist.
Um 1845 liess er sich in Glasgow als Geigenmacher nieder, und weil er ein zu
allen Kunstfertigkeiten besonders begabter Mann war, erreichte er mit der Zeit
eine Meisterschaft im Geigenmachen, sodass er den besten schottischen Geigenmachern
an die Seite zu stellen ist. Er ahmte das Stradivari-Modell nach und
hatte einen guten, dunkelgelben Öllack. Manche seiner Geigen sehen allerdings
aus, als waren sie in Frankreich vorgearbeitet; thatsachlich hatte er auch
einen Gehilfen aus Mirecourt, Namens Lamy, und fuhr jährlich ein Mal nach
Frankreich, um Einkäufe zu machen. Bei dieser Gelegenheit knüpfte er auch
eine warme Freundschaft mit J. B. Vuillaume an.
