Bernhard Simon (II) Fendt

Son of the above. He was an excellent workman. It is to be regretted that he did not follow the example set by his father, and let time do its work without interruption upon his instruments. Had he done so they would, in many instances, have been equal to those of his parent; but, unfortunately, he worked when the mania for obtaining supposed maturity by artificial means was at its height, and shared the general infatuation, and, in consequence, very frequently destroyed all the stamina of his instruments. Subsequently he became a partner of George Purdy, and carried on a joint business at Finch Lane, in the City of London, from whence most of his best instruments date, having removed to the West End about 1843. He was a most assiduous worker. The number of Violins, Tenors, Violoncellos, and Double-Basses that he made was very great; indeed his reputation would have been greater had he been content to have made fewer instruments and have exercised more general care. His copies of Guarneri are most numerous, numbering some hundreds. They are mostly varnished with a glaring red colour, of a hard nature. He made many good Double-Basses of the Gasparo da Salo form, the varnish on which is superior to that on his Violins. He made also an excellent quartett of instruments— Violin, Viola, Violoncello, and Double-Bass, for the Exhibition of 1851. They were certainly the best contemporary instruments exhibited, but he failed to obtain the prize medal.