Carlo Bergonzi (Cremona, b 1683; d 1747) A violin Cremona, Circa 1720

Provenance
The violin is first recorded by Vuillaume, around 1870, in the possession of Charles Louis, son of Baron Louis, but he notes that it came from Paganini’s collection, and that he, Vuillaume, had acquired it from Paganini’s son.  By 1876 the violin was in the hands of Augustin Lefort, professor of violin at the Conservatoire de Musique in Paris, who retained possession until 1921.  In that year he sold the instrument to Léon Fischesser for 50,000 francs.  Seven years later Fischesser sold it to a Mme. Ducas, and Herrmann reports some years later that around 1930 it was in the collection of Thomas C. Petersen of San Francisco.  Petersen sold the violin to Roger Chittolini of New York in 1948, from whom it passed, via Herrmann, to John Corrigliano, concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic from 1943 to 1966.  Corrigliano parted with it in 1957, again via Herrmann.  This time the purchaser was an amateur who cherished it for many years, and the violin remains in the possession of this family.

Certificates
Jean Baptiste Vuillaume, Paris, undated
Emil Herrmann, New York, dated 1^st December 1950
Emil Herrmann, New York, dated 12^th June 1957
Rembert Wurlitzer, New York, dated 11^th June 1959
Léon Fischesser, St. Maur, dated 6^th July 1928

Documents
A letter from Rember Wurlitzer, New York, dated 11^th June 1959, referring to the violin as ‘an exceptionally beautiful example of Bergonzi’s work’
A receipt from Léon Fischesser, Paris, dated 13^th May 1921, and signed by A. Lefort