Caressa a Français

Description

Felix Albert Caressa (b. 1866 Nice) and Henri Français (b.1861 Mirecourt) were pupils and junior partners of the great Gand and Bernadel firm. In 1901 following the retirement of Gustave Bernadel, Caressa became head of the firm and formed a partnership with Caressa. The two ran the firm as Caressa a Français, and ran it until 1920 when Français retired. The two owned many works from master makers including Stradivarius, Giuseppe Guarneri, J.B. Guadagnini, Tourte and D. Peccatte. The firm collaborated with many great instrument and bow makers including Gustave Vuillaume, Emile Boulangeot, Claude Thomassin, Jules and Victor Fétique.

This violin was made in 1906 with an extreme attention to detail and a glowing red varnish, a specially made instrument. The back features a gold guilding reading “Premier Prix dècernè par le conservatoire naitonal de musique á louis carem l’an”