Search Results - David Laurie

David Laurie

David Laurie (b.Netherton 1833 - d. Brussels 1897) - was a distinguished 19th century violin collector (known worldwide, as good friend of J. B. Vuillaume).

Born in 1833 in Netherton, Kinross-shire Scotland, he was an only son of John Laurie laird of Drunzie, Kinross-shire. He married and had six children with his first wife and then after her death married again and had twelve more children.

He was an oil merchant, as well as an amateur violinist, though his passion was fiddle collecting which eventually changed to his livelihood. His personal violin was the "Alard" Stradivari of 1715, which he bought from Alard in 1876 (upon his retirement). Prior to that, in the mid-19th century the instrument was bought by a banker from Belgium in Florence and subsequently passed to J. B. Vuillaume in Paris who gave it to his son-in-law M. Delphin Alard a professor of violin at the Paris Conservatory. Mr. Laurie once was offered £2,000 for the "Alard" Strad which he refused.

He amassed a great collection of the finest string instruments in the world. Among the many great instruments which passed through him were:

Antonio Stradivari (STRADIVARIUS) violin(s) of 1684 "Wilmotte", 1688, 1701, 1702, the "Dancla Stradivarius (1703)", the "Lafont" of 1708, the "Ernst"of 1709, 1710, 1712, ex- "Marquis de Sayve" of 1713, "Cremonese" now known as the ex-Joachim of 1715, the "Alard" of 1715, 1717, another ex- "Joachim" of 1722, 1726, The 1734 "Gibson" Viola as well.

Also Stradivari cello(s) the "Gore-Booth" of 1710, and the "Bass of Spain" of 1713. Del Gesu "Il Canone", "King Joseph" Guarnerius Del Gesu, the d'Egville of 1735 and the "Leduc" of 1743/5 Del Gesus, as well one c. 1744.

Other instruments include an Amati violin of 1688, Nicolò Amati violin 1645 (sold to J. Joachim), Bergonzi tenor, Bergonzi cello, Lupot violin, Ex- Garcin J.B. Vuillaume of [https://web.archive.org/web/20110405072736/http://www.cozio.com/Instrument.aspx?id=10865 1868] violin (which he bought from Garcin), and another Vuillaume violin of 1874 which showcases inlaid ebony fleur-de-lys designs and is one of the last instruments to come out of Vuillaume's workshop, made a year before his death. "Made for the famous violin dealer David Laurie, it's a copy of a Nicolò Amati violin originally belonging to Prince Nikolai Borisovich Yusupov (junior) (a Russian aristocrat and pupil of Henri Vieuxtemps). Only six copies were made."

According to Laurie's book "Reminiscences of a Fiddle Dealer" c.1900, he purchased a big collection of rare instruments in Saint Petersburg. He tells the story of how he received a letter from a widow in Saint Petersburg, Russia whose husband left a collection of rare and expensive string instruments, and that many of her friends advised her to connect with David Laurie to see if he would be interested in purchasing them. This whole account was featured in an article by Gennady Filimonov in the STRAD magazine June 2023, as he discovered the name of the nobleman (which eluded everyone since 1876), and all of the instruments, which included three Stradivari cellos (including the Wilmotte/St. Senoch and the Bass of Spain), as well as a 1708 Antonio Stradivari violin, Guarneri Del Gesu c. 1742 (which the nobleman gifted to a talented young violinist Aleksandra Unkovskaya born Zakharina) now part of the Russian State Collection, a St. Nicolas J.B. Vuillaume c.1872 violin (which was a gift from Vuillaume to the Russian Nobleman Nikolai Alexandrovich Haller for purchasing a big collection) which Haller gifted to Sonya Zakharina (Aleksandra's sister), Nicolo Amati violin and a Carlo Bergonzi viola. This fascinating account sheds light on some of these famous instruments and their illustrious owner.

He conducted his business from his home 36 Lansdowne Crescent, Glasgow. David Laurie died in Brussels, 1897.

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