STOLEN VUILLAUME

October 10, 2007 at 6:18 AM

Last saturday, during the Dutch Chambermusic Meetings, a collegue from mine lost his violin. Also 2 clarinets were stolen.
Can you all be on the look out for the instrument?

Thanks,
Carla

STOLEN: From the “BIMHUIS”in AMSTERDAM on SATURDAY 11th of OCTOBER 2007:
a VIOLIN built by J.B.VUILLAUME,
PARIS ca. 1855

Also stolen: two violin bows:
1. A.Nürnberger (silver/ebony)
2. German builder –Tourte copy (gold/ebony

From Bilbo Prattle
Posted on October 10, 2007 at 1:05 PM

This is terrible. Not that I can help, but I'll keep a look out.

From Tom Holzman
Posted on October 10, 2007 at 3:45 PM

How awful.

From Pauline Lerner
Posted on October 10, 2007 at 5:44 PM

That's terrible! I hope they are found soon.

From Emil Chudnovsky
Posted on October 10, 2007 at 6:11 PM

Hi Carla! Listen, for something like this, have the police alerted area pawnshops? Inexpert thieves (who steal clarinets alongside Vuillaumes) will probably seek to make a quick buck on the theft and never know that the goods they're fencing for fifty bucks are worth three to four THOUSAND times as much.
For more knowledgeable thieves, a much more wide-spectrum alert is in order. Have you and/or your colleagues alerted Beare, Machold and that echelon of dealers? If both sides of the spectrum are covered (i.e. low-end pawnshops to top-level dealers), I can't imagine the thieves avoiding capture.

From Charles Bott
Posted on October 10, 2007 at 6:43 PM

A Vuillaume was just auctioned at Sotheby's for almost 60000GBP, and I think about the same year or thereabouts. So we are talking about an instrument that is financially very valuable to say nothing of the emotional loss. I only hope the thieves soon return it to its owner. I also agree that you should alert all violin dealers/pawn shops of the loss.

From Elizabeth Reed Smith
Posted on October 10, 2007 at 7:43 PM

Be sure you register it on Maestronet's stolen instrument registry:

http://www.maestronet.com/stolen/

From Igor Yuzefovich
Posted on October 10, 2007 at 8:13 PM

also alert cozio.net, a great internet auction info site.

From Kristin Mortenson
Posted on October 10, 2007 at 9:48 PM

I'll pass this along to my sister, who lives in Hilversum. So very sorry!

From Bram Heemskerk
Posted on October 10, 2007 at 10:25 PM

I read it in the newspaper.
I heard a story of someone in an amateurorchestra. Her violin was stolen in a cafe where they drink something after a concert and layed their instruments somewhere in the cafe. She immediately told this to some violinbuilders, luthiers in the neighboorhood and described how the violin looks like. Soon after that the thieve entered the shop of the violinbuilder and asked whether he could sell the instrument. The violinbuilder recognized the stolen instrument and said that he did not had enough time that day and asked whether the thieve could come back the next day at 3.00 AM. That midday the thieve came back, but the owner of the violin was also there and the police, because the violinbuilder had told the owner and the police that there was a big chance that the thieve would come back the next day at 3 AM, which happened.
So thieve in jail and violin back to the owner.

From Ray Randall
Posted on October 11, 2007 at 3:19 AM

How sad. everyone of us dreads this happening. Hope the instruments are recovered.

From Pauline Lerner
Posted on October 13, 2007 at 12:22 AM

Emil's advice sounds very good. I hope that the owner follows this advice.

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