Bernard Simon Fendt I - Viola c1820 Amazing quality of sound, powerful and great projection. A ‘must play to believe’ instrument given its small size and light weight. Over its 200 years, as expected, the instrument has some wear and cracks, all of which have been professionally repaired. Bernard Simon Fendt I and son Bernard Simon Fendt II, worked in the workshop of John Betts, where the two men worked until the mid-1820s. Following their departure from the Betts firm, Fendt entered into several interesting partnerships, one with a teacher of dancing and fencing. Unfortunately, his vast reserves of talent did not seem to compensate for his spendthrift habits, and Fendt died of tuberculosis, impoverished, in 1852. Fendt and his son were brilliant copyists of Cremonese models, and were among the earliest to copy 'del Gesù', whose popularity skyrocketed after Paganini's visit to London in 1831. Unlabelled LOB: 15 1​/​4 inch