John Johnson

Highest auction price achieved
£ 9600.00

By George Hart

The Violins bearing his label are dated from Cheapside. Johnson was a Music and Musical Instrument seller. In " The Professional Life of Dibdin," written by himself, we have the following reference to this City music seller : " My brother introduced me to old Johnson, who at that time kept a capital music-shop in Cheapside. I soon, however, grew tired of an attendance on him. He set me down to tune Harpsichords, a mere mechanical employment, not at all to my taste." "I saw plainly that I might have screwed up Harpsichords in old Johnson's shop to all eternity, without advancing my fortune; and as to the songs and sonatas that I brought him for sale, they had not been performed at the theatres nor Vauxhall, nor any other place, and Johnson would not print them." " The Thompsons, however, of St. Paul's Churchyard, published six ballads for me, which sold at three-halfpence a-piece, and for the copyright of which they generously gave me three guineas." Though we may not feel disposed to apply the term generous to a payment of half-a-guinea for a Dibdin ballad, yet in all probability we are indebted to the Thompsons for this particular recognition of merit. Happily true genius, when in straits, generally finds relief. Were it otherwise, and had the Thompsons been as deaf to Dibdin as John Johnson appears to have been, " Tom Bowling," " Poor Jack," and many other compositions of sterling merit, might never have been written.

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Price History

Type Title Sold Price
Violin 1790 c. Thu 1st March 90 £ 2310.00
Violin 35.8 cm London, 1756 c. Sat 1st October 11 £ 4125.00
Violin 35.7 cm London, 1750 Tue 1st March 11 £ 4000.00
Violin 35.5 cm London 1758 [Attributed to] Tue 1st June 10 £ 1200.00
Violin 35.6 cm London, 1760 (later head) Mon 1st March 10 £ 575.00
Violin 35.8 cm 1760 c. Tue 1st May 07 £ 3456.00
Violin 35.7 cm 1750 c. Thu 1st June 06 £ 840.00
Violin London, 1753 Sat 1st October 05 £ 1507.00
Violin London, 1770 c. Fri 1st July 05 £ 2400.00
Cello London, 1770 c. [Attributed to] Sun 1st May 05 £ 9600.00
Violin London, 1759 Tue 1st March 05 £ 2160.00
Cello Sat 1st May 04 £ 1658.00
Violin 1770 c. Sun 1st February 04 £ 2390.00
Violin 1764 Fri 1st November 02 £ 1057.00
Violin 1754 Fri 1st March 02 £ 5760.00
Violin 1750 Sat 1st July 00 £ 3120.00
Violin 1764 Thu 1st June 00 £ 3220.00
Violin 1759 Mon 1st November 99 £ 3200.00
Violin 1750 c. Sat 1st March 97 £ 1610.00
Violin 1759 Fri 1st November 96 £ 2439.00
Violin 1759 Wed 1st July 92 £ 3520.00
Violin 1750 c. Sun 1st September 91 £ 2090.00
Violin 1757 Sat 1st June 91 £ 1100.00
Violin 1759 Mon 1st April 91 £ 4400.00
Violin 1760 c. Fri 1st September 89 £ 825.00
Viola 39.5 cm 1763 Sat 1st June 85 £ 1364.00
Violin Wed 5th October 11 £ 4125.00

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