Amati > Makers Archive > B > Bernard Harland Batts

Bernard Harland Batts

Ewing, b. 1910

Active Johnson City as shoe-maker and part-time violin repairer c.1938-1950. Self-taught. Established in West Frankfort, Illinois, as a full time luthier from c.1960. Stradivari- and Guarneri- derived models. Michelman and, later, spirit varnishes. Arizona fir used for top wood. — John Dilworth

Worked Ewing

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Biographies

The overview above is drawn from the following published accounts. Read them in the original:

John Dilworth+

BATTS, Bernard Harland (Jack) Born 1910 Ewing, Illinois USA. Active Johnson City as shoe-maker and part-time violin repairer c.1938-1950. Self-taught. Established in West Frankfort, Illinois, as a full time luthier from c.1960. Stradivari- and Guarneri- derived models. Michelman and, later, spirit varnishes. Arizona fir used for top wood. Credited with 125 violins and five violas. ‘J. Batts’ and the year incised internally on lower corner blocks. [Wenberg]

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