JTL ‘Dulcis et Forte FA Glass’ French Cello - Mid 19th to Early 20th C. (FR010) SOLD

JTL ‘Dulcis et Forte FA Glass’ French Cello - Mid 19th to Early 20th C. (FR010) SOLD

This instrument was made by the Jerome Thibouville-Lamy (JTL) factory in Mirecourt, France sometime in the late 19th century or early 20th century. It is based on a Friedrich Augustus Glass model of an earlier Stradivari design. Glass was an earlier fine maker with a workshop in Klingenthal in the Saxony region of Germany. It was common practice at the time to make models in the fashion of earlier master luthiers and this cello bears the label ‘d'apres facon et vernis FRIED AUG GLASS’ (made and varnished in the fashion of Friedrich Augustus Glass).

Another label; 'Dulcis et Fortis' is Latin for 'sweet and strong' and refers to the JTL product line of stringed instruments. The cello has a number of repaired cracks to the front and ribs, common for an instrument of its age. There are no cracks on the back. It has been professionally restored and setup by a top UK luthier and has benefited from the century plus old maturity in its wood. It is a wonderful auburn in color and the back is 760mm in length.

Jerome Thibouville-Lamy (JTL)

JTL was a large woodwind, brass and stringed instrument manufacturer & exporter during the late 19th and early 20th centuries based in Mirecourt, France. It was formed by the amalgamation of smaller ateliers, each with deep historical roots in instrument manufacture. At its zenith, JTL produced up to 150,000 instruments a year targeting all levels of player and employed upwards of a 1000 people. The JTL vaults held instruments made by the great Italian & German masters and the skilled JTL luthiers used their observations of these masterpieces and deep wealth of acquired knowledge to produce some truly wonderful instruments. Jérôme Thibouville-Lamy closed its doors finally in 1969.