Books on Violin Family Instruments etc.

[Bob Branstetter]

As has been noted many times, basses have been sold under "House Brands" for the past 100 years or so. Most of these are not mentioned in the traditional reference books (Henley, Jalovec, etc) since there was no real person of that name making them. My favorite reference books for the "House Brands" is the 3 book set titled "Violin Identification and Price Guide published in originally in 1978 by Roy Ehrhardt of Heart of America Press. The books were based on the huge collection of old instrument catalogs and brochures that had been saved by my late mentor, Earsel V. Atchey. The books contains reprints of hundreds old catalogs and brochures with what was considered the retail value in 1978. By careful cross referencing, Ehrhardt and Atchley were able to turn the old catalogs into a very useful book for violin dealers and collectors. The 3 volume set covers the great majority of all of the violins and violin family instruments that were made or imported into the United States from about 1880 until the date of book publication. While this is not a bass book, it does provide information about many basses. Even when the basses of a particular house brand are not included, the information about the violins (brands) is applicable to basses as well.

Unfortunately, the first volume of the set is no longer in print. However, it does frequently show up on the listings of violin book dealers. Hopefully, they will reprint this book in the future. The 2nd and 3rd volumes are available from the publisher for $55.00 each. The books are all 8-1/2" x 11" soft cover. IMO, the first volume is the best of the three, but all three are really required to cover every brand listed. The current values shown in the books were never updated in later editions, so they are not usable today. However, the original prices that were printed in the original catalogs are valuable for comparing relative value between brands. If you can find them, they are a great addition to any reference library.