Hugues Emile Blondelet joined the famed Jerome Thibouville-Lamy workshop (JTL) at only 15 years of age. By the time he was 33, he had become co-director of the Mirecourt firm, contributing greatly to the firm's success. A skilled and careful maker, his workmanship is evident in this excellent and well preserved example, made just three years before his death at age 53. Our testers found the tone to be powerful and very clear, with the ability to soar above a large ensemble.

Carefully selected wood, with back of two pieces of medium grained maple, top of medium grained spruce. Medium to dark orange varnish applied over a golden ground, with delicate shading. The varnish is in excellent condition, belying the violin's 92 years.

The Jerome Thibouville-Lamy Workshop
With musical instrument making roots dating back to the 1500s, the famous Mirecourt firm of JTL (Jerome Thibouville-Lamy) emerged into prominence in 1861, after a series of mergers and marriages. Growing rapidly from that point, in its heyday JTL employed over 1,000 employees, with an annual production capacity of 150,000 instruments. Countless makers trained at and worked for JTL, with many remaining with the firm, and others setting up their own workshops. The company's success was due to two overarching factors: a strict focus on quality control standards, and meeting the demands of a wide variety of customers, from students to professionals, via three separate grades of instruments. Today's marketplace for fine violins at affordable prices owes much to Jerome Thibouville-Lamy -- simply put, JTL's massive production capacity, tightly controlled control, and responsiveness to a wide variety of customers harmoniously combined to produce sought-after instruments that are still available in today's markets.