John Dilworth
HAMILTON, William Worked circa. 1900 Uddingstone, Lanarkshire, Scotland UK. Trained as an engineer. Amateur violin maker. Stradivari model violins; Brescian model violas. Good workmanship using commercially produced Whitelaw’s amber varnish. Manuscript label: William Hamilton / Uddingstone, 1896
William Meredith Morris
An amateur maker who has made some first-class instruments. He was born at Anderston, Glasgow, May 5, 1861, and is by profession a consulting engineer. He spent some time in a pattern shop, where he was trained in the use of wood-working tools.
A copy of Gasparo da Salo by him is one of the finest examples of the copyist’s art that I have seen — certainly it is the finest Gasparo copy that I have ever examined. The wood in the back of this instrument is superb ; the curl being of medium width and of mathematical regularity. The varnish is an oil one; colour, golden orange. The tone is exceedingly powerful, rich, and free.
Another instrument by him was on an original model, which rather exaggerated the proportions of the Brescian model, and was altogether too large, the length being 14 3/8in. ; width across upper bouts 6 7/8in., and across lower bouts 8 5/8 in. The tone was not correspondingly large ; on the other hand, it was of a nasal, viola-like quality, and did not carry. The workmanship is faultless, and careful attention is paid to the minutest detail. The maker should confine his attention to the Gasparo model, as he is evidently in sincere and deep sympathy with it, and shows a better hand at it than any maker does that I am acquainted with. He uses no label, but has written across the back his autograph, name of town, and date.
Willibald Leo Lütgendorff
Er stammt aus Glasgow und ist Ingenieur. Aus Liebhaberei macht er Geigen nach einem eigenen Modell, aber auch nach Stradivari, Guarneri und Caspar da Salò. Er gebraucht Whitelaw’s Bernsteinlack.
