Evening Star Newspaper, July 25, 1937, Page 38

SOCIETY. The President’s Mother Invited to Stradivari Fete at Cremona—National Museum Storehouse of Musical Instruments. S MUCH as Mrs. James Roosevelt would allow, her stay in Italy was a triumphal progress. The “gracious lady” was everywhere received with distinguished honors and accorded resentative American grande dame Uncle Sam could not possibly offer anything more charming or more elegant. Italians have great reverence for age and those who attended her must have ful courtesy toward those who serve her has been largely inherited by her distinguished son, who is so much like her both in manner and appearance. Down in Georgia, the President’s “other State,” other old saying that a boy who takes from the distaff side is born to luck, certainly suits him. Word comes that Mrs. Roosevelt has been invited to stop at Austria. The historic old town is holding gala open house this Summer in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the death-— December 18—of one of the world's greatest violin makers, Antonio by the master maker which have been loaned to the exhibition at Cremona by museums and private owners are valued at some- thing like a million dollars. The Library of Congress, however, is it is not only exhibited in the rare book division at the Library, but its heavenly tones can actually be heard at some of the chamber music concerts at the Library during the Winter season. In Books, Art£olitics BY ROBERT CRAWFORD, every consideration. As an ambassador of good will and a rep- felt the beautiful dignity of her presence. Her charm and thought- the darkies think he is the “spit image” of his mother; and that Cremona, as she journeys north through Lombardy on her way to Stradivari. It is estimated that the 50 string instruments signed the proud possessor of the rarest Stradivarius in existence. And *Tis sad but 'tis true that only a limited number of about 500 people THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, Attractive Family D. G, JULY 25 1937—PART THREE. Social Items Of Interest were the guests of relatives in Clifton Forge, Va., have returned. Mrs. T. Ramsay Taylor has returned from Hickory Grove, near Haymarket, Va., following a visit with her sister- in-law, Mrs. W. Parker Wilson. Mrs. N. Peyton Young, who was the week end guest of Mrs. Ford Swetnam in_Alexandria, has returned. SOCIETY. who have just returned from three years in the Philippines. Miss Cornelia Reese has returned to Baltimore after having spent sev- eral weeks in Sandy Spring. Mrs. Robert H. Miller, jr., and her small daughter have returned to their home, South Highlands, from the Montgomery County General Hospital. HEAVILY ARMED BT. LOUTS, July 24 (#).—Police had enough homemade weapons today to equip a fair sized army. In capturing a colored assault suse pect, ther confiscated two double= can attend one of those concerts ase————— . the seating capacity is small and the concerts are by invitation. Library of Congress Owns World's Rarest Violin. This invaluable violin is one of a| quintet of Stradivari stringed in- struments given the Library of Con- | gress by Mrs. Matthew John Whit- | tall, that charming woman who| spends her Winters in the Cnpna\‘ and who has rare gifts as a lover| of music. When Mr. Valta Parma, | curator of the Rare Book Division, | was asked recently why Mrs. Whittall chose the library as the recipient of her. priceless gift, instead of the Na- | tional Museum, where there is a large | collection of musical instruments, he said it was because the chamber was air cooled and the stringed instru- | ments could be used; that like rare| pearls they must have the human| touch and contact. Mr. Parma is| sustly proud of the wonderfully con- | structed glass class in which tha/ quintet are exhibited and in which | the temperature is recorded by the most exact thermometers or thermo- | stats and kept at 75 degrees. The curator is a delightful host to the| Stradivari and other stringed instru- | ments in his division because he thinks | of art and literature as something | humanly tangible, to be handled and used on occasions, and cared for as something in the flesh. The Queen of Violins Perfect in Form. The quintet of Stradivari instru- ments is composed of three violins, | 8 viola and a violoncello: The “Betts” violin of this collectian, which is gen- erally conceded to be the rarest Stradi- VArius in existence, was made in 1704, | after the master maker had reached | his 60th year—not in the nine old men class—and had arrived just mid- way in his career, as he lived to be over 90 and worked until the last This violin, known as the “Betts”— he was a noted dealer—is catalogued | a8 belonging to the “grand pattern" period and as noticeably perfect in form. The wood is as beautiful as| & perfect piece of tortoise shell, and a8 1t rests in the case in all its queenly majesty, even a layman would single 1t out as & thing apart. Its history and peregrinations cannot be gone into here, but they read like a ro- mance. It seems Arthur Betts, a musical dealer—maybe in London— | purchased it in the early part of the nineteenth century for $5. It later| traveled to Antwerp, Paris, back to| London, Germany and finally reached | the United States, where Mrs. Whit- tall purchased it from a gentleman in Hartford, Conn. ‘The Number of Stradivarii Is Not Known. Willlam E. Hill, a London musical instrument dealer, says in his “An- tonio Stradivari"—which leaves much to be desired—that “We gather from Count Cozios' (perhaps a patron of the master) correspondence that Stradi- var{ left at his death 91 violins, two violoncellos and several violas, in ad- dition to an inlaid set of instruments, | his long life; these were principally | violins, violas and violoncellos; | he also made | ances the one in which the Stradivari Francesco, his son, who died in 1742 (some five years after his father); then same passed to Paolo, his brother, who was the cloth merchant.” Mr. Hill computes Stradivari produced more than 1,100 instruments during that violas-de-gamba, po- chettes (pocket violins), guitars and some small-sized violins. This is not confirmed by some other authorities. Link With the Great Master Maker, A more recent link in the life of the famous master maker is an interesting story of Giacomo Stradivari, a direct descendant who died in Milan in Jan- uary, 1901, and who in his youth was a follower of Garibaldi in his Italian campaigns. Giacomo relates that, in a letter from his mother from Cre- mona, she says: “There lately came to our house a Frenchman, who ac- tually offered 500 lire for the old fiddle hanging up in the kitchen, and I im- mediately accepted it Giacomo stated that he did not know whether it was one made by his ancestor or not. Mr. H. Blakiston Wilkins’ Collection in Library. In the glass case in the chamber of the rare book division, which bal- quintet is exhibited and which was also given by Mrs. Whittall, is a moet interesting collection of viola d'amore —the great-grandaunts of the violin— violoncellos and pochettes, which are 8 loan from Mr. H. Blakiston Wilkins, honorary curator of musical instru- ments in the Library of Congress. Mr. ‘Wilkins is a dollar-a-year man, and a distinguished collector of rare books, as well as musical instruments. One of the violas by Francois le Jeune, Paris, 1760, has a beautifully carved head on the keyboard or stem. If there were only time to tell even in a rambling way more about this collec- tion—but there is not. Pocket Violins Are Rare And Interesting. Just a bit more, please: Those are exquisite. Ome is about 16 inches this one has the original round leather case about large enough to hold a roll of parchment; then there are two tiny ones shaped like a regu- lar violin and another long, slender one, more the shape of a wind in- strument. These miniature violins were carried in the pocket of the dancing master and when instructing his pupils were played as he taught the dance steps. They seemed to have been used more in the eighteenth century and one can well picture the dancing master in his knee breeches, black redingote, buckled shoes and | elaborately dressed coiffure, pirouet- | ting about and fiddling as one of the belles of the day with her towering head dress, black patches on chin and cheek, her lovely brocade and French heel slippers, courtesied and | flirted behind her fan with some young macaroni dressed in the Louis | XV style. After feasting our eyes and weav- ing all sorts of romances about the | all of which passed into the hands of 516 WASH WOMEN’ $10-73 $35 FALL COATS, $24.75 LEWIS&TH°S.SALTZ INCORPO! 1409 G STR NOT CONNECTED WITH collection in the Library of Con- 75 ABLE S SUITS RATED EET N.W. SALTZ BROTHERS INC. tiny miniature violins called pochettes | long and 2 wide with four strings— | _ Mrs. William Irby, jr., wife of Capt. Irby, Cavalry Reserves, with their children., William Armstrong Irby and Martha Jean Irby. Mrs. Irby and the children will leave shortly for a stay at Rehoboth Beach, Del. —Harris-Ewing Photo. ) gress, we paid a Visit to Mr. H. W. | NJ axur S5 Krieger, curator of musical msuu-‘l\c“s of Residents ments in the National Museum and In Shg(, l’ark Hills | & well-known ethnologist. Well, that is another story. But our curiosity| Mr. and Mrs. J. Stanley Russell was satisfied as to why an ethnologist | have returned from their wedding trip should be a curator of musical instru- | and are making their home at 10 | Florida avenue northwest. Mrs. Rus- ments; Mr. Krieger made it quite seli is the former Miss Virginia plain—well, you must understand that an ethnologist deals with the |Loretta Rinaldi, daughter of Mr. and human race and all that concerns | Mrs. Michael Rinald: them in culture patterns, food, habits, Mr. and Mrs. William Archer and family life, social, cultural life, music i family have moved to Piney Point, and no end of other things. We|Md, for the Summer. heard all about moni-cords—hurdy- Capt. and Mrs. J. A. Worrell and gurdys—and there is one of the latter [ two children, formerly of Sligo Park in the museum that dates back to the | Hills, have gone to New York City, fifteenth century—or maybe earlier, | where Capt. Worrell has been trans- as Mr. Krieger is very conservative |ferred. when he talks about dates and pe-| Miss Connie Cooksey riods. Then spinets—a rare one |day night for Toronto, trunk shaped—decorated with flowers |attend the convention of the | in colors, date about 1620, or earlier; | Sigma Sorority and will return harpsichords, clavichords, later spin- | her home tomorrow. ets, all the great-great-grandparents Mr. O. D. Field, of pianos, melodeons and the instru- ments in common use today—but here | ing relatives is the most amazng and interesting |the State, thing: None of these great-greats | had any feet or legs. They sat on| Camalier & Buckley Hand Carry ng tables made for the purpose, usually, WARDROBE and the smaller instruments were sometimes placed on the lap of the | For Rail and Auto Travel left Wednes- Canada, to sr., Is spending performer. The late lamented will | Rogers’ clock is striking and this may be continued in our next, Mr. and Mrs. Huston Observe Anniversary Mr. and Mrs. John A. Huston cele- | brated- their fiftieth wedding anniver- sary July 19 at their Summer cottage at Avalon Shores, Md., on West River. About 40 guests from Washington were present. The Sunshine Com- mittee of Bethany Chapter, O. E. 8., of which Mrs. Huston is a past ma- | tron, presented them with a beautiful | clock, also served the dinner and supper on the porch of the cottage. Mr. and Mrs. Huston were mar- ried in Terre Haute, Ind.. in 1887. For some years Mr. Huston was proof- reader in the State printing office at Indianapolis. In March, 1898, he re- ceived an appointment as proof- reader in the Government Printing | Office here, & post from which he re- tired June 1, 1932, after 34 years of service. The Huston residence on Upshur street is occupied by Mr. Robert C. Huston and his family, while his par- ents spend their Winters in Florida and their Summers at their Summer cottage at Avalon Shores, Md. e — W —N Camalier & Buckley t Fne Leatherware j 1141 Connecticut Ave, Doers Above May 14 Turkey's exports are nearly A thirds greater than a year ago. two- S Expert Repairing . MILLER Have you all the shoes you want? WHY NOT? Look at the dramatic SALE VALUE in our Semi-Annual Sale Plenty of smart styles, but naturally not every size in every style. 1. Milter Dclu“-“‘“' mode Originolly & COMPANION SALES of 1. Miller Beautiful Hosiery and Handbags! : COME IN AND COOL OFFI OUR SHOP IS AIR-CONDITIONED! 1222 F St. N.W, DURING JULY AND AUGIST THIS STORE WILL BE CLOSED SATURDAYS LR} Chi | to several weeks in North Carolina visit- | in various sections of | In Fairfa Mr. and Mrs. Blake Go on Motor Trip to Roanoke. AIRFAX, Va,, July 24.—Mr. and F Mrs. Ronald Blake left Wednes- day on a motor trip to Roa- noke, Va., and to Chilhowie, Va. On their return they will stop at Blacksburg, where their son, Mr. Ronald Blake, jr., has attended a week of meetings of the Virginia Federa- tion of Home Demonstration Clubs at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute. Mr. Ellis Middleton, jr, of Stan- ford, Conn,, arrived Tuesday to spend the remainder of the Summer at the home of his uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. Blake. Mrs. Fanny Lou Seamans, her daughter, Miss June Seamans of Fair- fax, and Miss Peggy Lincoln of Ar- lington County, have returned from a two-week visit in Springfield, Mo, Miss Helen Brown, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Brown of Five Oaks, near Fairfax, who has spent two weeks | as the guest of Mrs. Fauline Gilpin in St. Louis, Mo, accompanied Mrs. Seamans back to Fairfax. | Mrs. F. Shield McCandlish, who accompanied her sister-in-law, Miss Nannie McCandlish, to Saluda, Va.,| for a visit, has returned to Fairfax. Mrs. W. Peyton Moncure, accom- | panied by her daughter, Mrs. Frankiin P. Sagendorf, and granddaughter, Miss Joan Sagendorf, left Thursday to visit another of Mrs. Moncure's daughters, Mrs. D. D. Brinckloe, in Easton, Md Mrs. Vernon Ford of Easton, still an- other daughter, who has spent several weeks with her mother, returned with them to her home. 1 Miss Isabel Gill, & student nurse at the Alexandria Hospital, who for the past week has been with her uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. W. T. Wood- son, left yesterday to visit her mother, ' | Mrs. A S. Stephenson in Crozet, Va., and her sister, Miss Marie Gill, in | | Farmville, Va l Mr. and Mrs. Pierce Davies, who style PRICES —- Plan « » This annual sale ters an op all of the STYLE value FURS at pric the occasion. we will store in ur\fi we will be | Sunday, July 18, Col. and Mrs, Myron Sale exceptional savings JAP WEASEL FU finest super-quchry effects. HUDSON SEAL- ments, rich an riety of beau A small deposi Open a charg portunity to QUALITY and | desired in th pleased to budget payments or or CHARGE A Mr. James Nickell, jr., has returned from a visit with his uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. L. N. Cook, in New Phila- delphia, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. D. M. Woodard have as their guest for the remainder of the Summer Mrs. Woodard's sister, Mrs, ‘Wilson Crossley of Chester, England. Social Activitics In Sandy Spring Miss Mary Miller Stabler has re- turned to her home, Edgewood, after spending a week with Mr. and Mrs. James Andrews at their home near Orange, Va. Mr. and Mrs. William John Thomas left Wednesday for Lake Canandaigua, N. Y., where they will visit for a short stay Mrs. Thomas' sister, Mrs. Karl| Wilson, and her family. Miss Florence Bently accompanied her brother-in- law and sister. Mr. Malcolm Thomas of Clifton, left Monday for West Virginia. Mr. and Mrs. Addison G. Foster of the Bungalow had as dinner guests Cramer, with their two daughters, Miss Emily Cramer and Miss Mary Cramer, VIRGINIA 275-ACRE ESTATE 10 Miles Washington by fine Calonial Accessible roads. $ dence of quair with every mode. fence 7 bedroom SPTVAnte’ cottage. cin: tage with 4 bed baths. Barns fo stock Productiy woods, stream. scenie resi- L. S. Scott Corporation 815 15th St. N.W. Phone National 1392 CAPITOL F ANNUAL SUMMER R COATS—Coats of peits . .. many unique SUMMER SALE DYED MUSKRAT gor- d luxurious, in @ Wdeg,zié tiful styles SUMMER 89.50 to $259.50 t reserves any selection. Use the Budget unt ... e acco oy System. . Use the Lay-4w YOUR SELECT! pe riod of- secure CAPITOL es lowered for Buy now . - - your selection e Fall and range for a CCOUNT. Mr. Douglas Whitlock has returned home after a trip to Pittsburgh, Pa. Frederick McReynolds enter- tained at her home, Mount Airy, Mon- Mrs. barreled shotguns, day afternoon, honoring Mrs. Dorothy | revolver, all loaded. Medders Robinson of Westminster, | Md.,, who is chairman of the Maryland Branch of Women for International | Peace and Freedom, caught fire shimmering BLACK SATI A suave found in the waist and siim this town dress at the neck o create lights. two makeshift shotguns made of pipe, three weapons resembling automatic pistols and a | Ten tear gas shells failed tn dise | lodge the suspect, who was finally subdued after his barricaded ck N IN a group of dresses of; throughout ou v ON STORED FREE BEERIEY EN ICET \EUULL 7.93 Formerly up to pr and other: are ch 1108 Conn. Ave. UR SHOP r entir SILVER AN ger, boxy - smart fitt MER SALE PRICE- o new shoulder ed and princess PREMIER BONDE —finest Northern Every imagind MER SALE PRICES $99 The largest vidual fur .« 2 ink, Ermin Eastern Min 2l Cat, Beaver, Caracul, e. L UNTIL WANTED ble style treatment. .50 to $ assortment ther perfect nts, cottor < make U < 1213V F St. Fusa e stock D DARK MUSKRAT—swag- treatment . . - styles 5 $129.50 up D DYED CONEY Cogts Guaranteed quality. SUM- 125 each indi- Roafrrn»"- F””‘[,‘ , Leopar copard pelts. “COMFORT SR