George Craske

Born in Bury St Edmonds in 1795.

He studied string instrument making under William Forster III (1764-1824) in London.

Initially, the company produced instruments for companies such as Thomas Dodd (1764-1834) and Muzio Clementi.

He left London for Bath, where he met the amateur player and collector Sir Patrick Blake, who gave him the opportunity to copy his Stradivarius and Amati instruments.

He then spent short periods in Leeds and Sheffield before opening his own workshop in Birmingham.

He worked in Birmingham for about 20 years, and even repaired the famous Guarneri del Gesu "Cannon" belonging to Nicolo Paganini (1782-1840) when he visited England.

He subsequently moved to Manchester, Salford and finally retired from production in Stockport before returning to Bath.

Craske instruments were initially coated with a clear varnish, but gradually they began to be coated with a dark red varnish, and although they were made from high-quality wood, some have extremely low arching, perhaps due to the need to save materials through mass production.

Craske was an exceptionally prolific maker, having produced an astonishing 2,050 violins, 250 violas, 300 cellos, and 20 double basses without any assistants.

He lived off his investment income in his old age and died in Bath in 1888 (aged 93).

After Craske's death, a large number of unsold and unfinished instruments remained on his property, which were sold to W.E. Hill & Sons through his close friend George Crompton, who sold them under the Hill label bearing Craske's name.

Quote《The Brompton's Book of Violin and Bow Makers》