Images from The Rawlins Gallery The Harrison Violin by Antonio Stradivari, 1693 NNM 3598. Violin, The Harrison, by Antonio Stradivari, Cremona, Italy, 1693.   Called the greatest concert violin built before 1700, it is one of but half a dozen Strads to survive with its original neck. "Modernized" probably early in the 19th century, when Italian instruments became the preferred standard, as performing venues got larger. Shown in color as the frontispiece of the standard biography, Antonio Stradivari: His Life and Work (1644-1737), published in 1902 by William E. Hill & Sons of London, it was one of 44 instruments chosen to be shown at the international exhibition held in Cremona in 1987 to mark the 250th anniversary of Stradivari's death. Nicknamed The Harrison after Richard Harrison, an English solicitor and amateur musician who owned the instrument in the 19th-century; he, like many of his colleagues, played string quartets in his home on Sunday afternoons. The instrument can be heard on modern recordings by Kyung-Wha Chung, the great Korean violinist. Ex. colls: Richard Harrison, London; Henry Hottinger, New York; Kyung-Wha Chung, London. Rawlins Fund, 1984. The Harrison is one of only a handful of Stradivari violins that survive with its original neck, blocked out at the base of the neck (clearly visible), with oxidation showing from the three original nails. Detail of the bass soundhole on The Harrison, a "long pattern" violin, one of the models made by Stradivari in the 1690s. In addition to preserving The Harrison violin, the Museum is the home for one of only two documented Stradivari guitars; one of only two Stradivari mandolins known to exist; and, one of only two bows attributed to the Stradivari workshop.   Click arrow to continue Rawlins Gallery Tour Go to Rawlins Gallery Tour Index Go to Virtual Tour Index Go to Checklist of Bowed Stringed Instruments Made Before 1800 Go to Checklist of 16th- and 17th-Century Instruments Postcard of The Harrison Stradivari violin available from Gift Shop   If you think you have a Stradivari violin, please read this information before contacting the Museum. National Music Museum The University of South Dakota 414 East Clark Street Vermillion, SD   57069 National Music Museum, 1996-2004 Most recent update:   March 11, 2004 You are the 84,799th visitor to this page. College of Fine Arts The University of South Dakota Return to Top of Page