William Voller

John Dilworth

VOLLER, William Born 1854, died 1933 London UK. Violist, painter, and violin maker. Eldest of the Voller Brothers. Apparently the most active violin making member of the family and seems to have gained some experience with F. Chanot c.1881. Worked for G. Hart (II) up to 1899 making faithful copies of Cremonese instruments handled by the shop, all of which were labelled ‘Hart & Son’. From c.1889 also actively supplied generic copies of Italian work to a dealer named George Duncan. Produced instruments for the firms of Hamma in Stuttgart and Wurlitzer in New York. The work of the brothers is very inconsistent, ranging from very commercial looking pastiches of minor Italian makers sometimes making use of genuine parts from old instruments, to almost perfect and convincing imitations of Stradivari, Guarneri, Amati, and Guadagnini. Some of the latter class may be distinguished by the use of ebony for the purfling, but other materials are used, especially in the very persuasive Gagliano copies which have appropriate purflings of beech. The most notorious example is the ‘Balfour Strad’, which was revealed to be their recent handiwork only after it had changed hands at auction in 1901 as a genuine Stradivari, authenticated by various London and Paris experts. Several watercolour paintings of the subjects of their copies by William Voller are known, as is a bronze sculpture of Alfredo Piatti with his cello. Some examples signed internally: ‘William & Charles Voller / London’. Most instruments with facsimile labels, printed by the Vollers themselves. Replica of the ‘Leduc’ Joseph / Guarnerius del Gesù of 1743 / William & / Charles Voller London 1900 / The Rudolph Wurlitzer Co. New York Voller Fratelli, Londra 189.. [Dilworth/Fairfax/Milnes]