Leon Mortin??? Anyone have any info on his basses?

[John Delventhal]

I can't find much on this guy....not even in my copy of "Looking At The Double Bass"

Leon Mortin - French maker late 1800s early 1900s. The only basses and info I can find are on these two pages http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=587378 and http://www.stringemporium.com/basscafe.htm

What are his dates?

Any photos of his basses?

Anyone own one???

I ask because a friend came across a possible fake by the name Leon Martin. Was there a different maker that went by this name in the early 1900s? I will try to get some photos up but, he hasn't sent me them yet. Just curious for now about the maker.

[Ken Smith]

There are several makers named Martin in both Germany and France. I am home now and all of my Books to look up names and dates are in the office. It would help if You showed some pics of the bass in question.

[John Delventhal]

I may have some photos in the next couple of days. If I'm lucky, tomorrow!

For now, I would just like to learn more about this specific maker. After I get a hold of some photos we can have a little more fun.

[frederic vidal]

I put this page in french, if you know a good translator...

http://www.luthiers-mirecourt.com/colmar1992.htm

You can see : Citons en premier la fabrique de DARTE. Cet élève de Nicolas et Jean Baptiste VUILLAUME, s’occupe, avec son beau père Nicolas VUILLAUME [32], des productions ordinaires de Jean BAPTISTE. On lui connaît comme élèves Gustave BAZIN, Paul BLANCHARD, François CLAUDOT, Henry FRANCAIS, Emile LAURENT entre autre, et ses successeurs sont Albert CUNIN, puis Léon MORTIN.

I try to find some pics but it's hard.

[John Delventhal]

Okay so correct me if I am wrong but what I got from that is this...

Leon Mortin learned from the Vuillaume School along with Claudot and Bazin. And was most likely a later successor to Jean Baptiste Vuillaume.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by John Delventhal

Okay so correct me if I am wrong but what I got from that is this...

Leon Mortin learned from the Vuillaume School along with Claudot and Bazin. And was most likely a later successor to Jean Baptiste Vuillaume.

No. Vuillaume is a name of many. NOT JB Vuillaume as implied. There was a firm/factory named Vuillaume, Darte & Cunin taken over by Martin Le'on. That is different from Leon Mortin unless it's a typo in the book. In either case NOTHING to do with JB Vuillaume or Claudot or Bazin. They just lived and worked in the same country but probably never knew each other by dates alone. The Firm above is from Mirecourt, late 19th century. An Auguste Darte worked with and supposedly succeded N.Vuillaume and worked with JB as well. Darte did, not Mortin! NF Vuillaume was his brother and finished his life in Brussels, succeded by G.Mougenot. Mirecourt was a place with many family ties and connections by trade. A tangled web if you look close enough. L.Mortin/Martin (same guy?) came later I believe. I cannot find any listing for a 'Leon' MartIn so it must be a typo for Mortin OR, a fake. Fakers often copy mistakes in spelling from books or make new ones of their own.

Show the bass. This is just talk up until now.

[John Delventhal]

So long story short...my friend missed his opportunity with this instrument. He went in to take a few photos just to find out that they sold the bass the day before. He was going to trade in a piano($7,000) and $1,300 more dollars for this bass. They sold it for $8,300 to someone else. No pictures and no bass, so this thread was a giant waste of time. Also, I now think this "friend" of mine is full of it. Thanks anyway for trying to help me learn more about this maker.