An excellent violin by Lockey Hill of the famous Hill family, made in London c.1800. The back is constructed from a beautiful, deeply flamed piece of maple, one-piece with a fine, transparent golden red varnish over the top. A typically English feature of the period is the boxwood purfling decorating the edges of the front and back. Lightweight and robust, it is a high performing violin, as well as a piece of history.

Tonally the violin is quite striking, with a strong, confident sound. Clear and fresh with very woody overtones, it has classic vintage sound. It would excel in quartet, orchestral and soloist situations when needed. Paired with Pirastro Perpetual strings for directness, it is one to be tried.

About The Maker:

Joseph Hill's fifth and most distinguished violin-making son Lockey Hill was born in 1756. He produced a great many trade instruments, often for the firms of Longman & Co. or Longman & Broderip. These instruments approximate the level of his father's lesser work, with a thin varnish and painted purfling, and vaguely follow Stainer and Amati models, though the differences between the two are barley recognizable. On occasion he used deeper golden or red varnishes, and many of his instruments bear a small notch in the inner edge of the back in the upper and lower bouts, which was filled in with maple. Other makers for the firm of Longman employed this technique, but its function is unknown.

Lockey Hill worked steadily through the 1790s, and after 1785 instruments bearing his own label are more common. His son Henry Lockey was a respected maker in his own right and took over Hill's shop after his death in 1810.