workshop of Charles Jean Baptiste Collin-Mezin, Paris, 1890

Charles Jean Baptiste Collin-Mezin was the leading maker of violins in Mirecourt in the late 19th and early 20th century. Modeling his instruments after Stradivari, Guarneri, and Amati, Collin-Mezin produced some of highest quality workshop instruments in France. Winning multiple medals at the Paris exhibitions, he continued to earn publicity through associations with famous musicians such as Joachim.

This violin, modeled after Stradivari, comes from his more desirable earlier period and shows the same wonderful tonal clarity typically found in his best instruments.