Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume ran the leading Parisian violin shop of the 19th century and became one of the world\'s most famous dealers in stringed itruments, handling many Stradivari and Guarneri del Gesu itruments. Born in Mirecourt, Vuillaume studied with his father before moving to Paris to work for François Chanot and later Joseph Dominique Lété. A prolific maker, he had produced around a hundred itruments by the time he established his own workshop in 1828. Vuillaume began dealing in old itruments at an early stage, but it was when the Italian dealer Luigi Tarisio died in 1855 that the Parisian made his most astute busine move in a famous dash to Italy to buy up Tarisio\'s stock of 144 itruments. The collection included many of Stradivari\'s best itruments, not least the infamous \'Meiah\'. Vuillaume went on to copy some of these itruments, producing many versio of the \'Meiah\'. Alongside his dealing and making, Vuillaume established a bow workshop which was reoible for training many of the most important French makers of the 19th century. He was also an inventor, numbering the giant octoba and the self-rehairing bow among his creatio.
Vuillaume was the single most influential personality in the violin world of the 19th century. A prolific maker, inventor, connoisseur and dealer, he established Paris as the centre of the violin trade, which it remained until after his death.
During his career he employed many of the most skilled violin and bow makers of his day, including Nestor Audinot, Charles Maucotel, Hippolyte Silvestre, Honoré Derazey, the Peccatte brothers, Jean Persoit, Joseph Fonclause, Pierre Simon and Francois Voirin. Vuillaume\'s early instruments were very much in the mould of Lupot, but he soon began to develop as a copyist, particularly of Stradivari and Guarneri del Gesu, and occasionally of Maggini and Amati. His love of old instruments had a strong influence on his work. In a career spanning over half a century, he and his workshop produced more than 3,000 instruments, and the fact that they exist in such great numbers makes them relatively easy to identify. In addition, the vast majority of them are labelled, branded, numbered and signed as Vuillaume\'s work. (excerpted from Four Centuries of Violin Making by Tim Ingles.)
Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume ran the leading Parisian violin shop of the 19th century and became one of the world\'s most famous dealers in stringed itruments, handling many Stradivari and Guarneri del Gesu itruments. Born in Mirecourt, Vuillaume studied with his father before moving to Paris to work for François Chanot and later Joseph Dominique Lété. A prolific maker, he had produced around a hundred itruments by the time he establish...
Vuillaume,Jean Baptiste(J.B)
