Glasgow has long competed with Edinburgh as the centre of violin making in Scotland, with the trade flourishing particularly during the city's rise as a major cultural and industrial powerhouse in the 19th and early 20th centuries. As Glasgow expanded, so too did its appetite for the arts: the city's luthiers found fertile ground amid the city's vibrant music scene, growing middle class, and increasing international connections. Today, we explore three violins made in Glasgow between 1880 and 1947, each contributing to the picture of Glasgow as an outward-looking, well-connected city able to support a diverse network of makers and restorers.
The first violin we examine is by George Duncan, the violin maker from Morayshire who set up shop in Glasgow whilst still in his very early twenties. Duncan achieved notable recognition at the prestigious London Inventions Exhibition of 1885, where he won the coveted gold medal. This was no small feat—his violin was judged superior to that of the esteemed Hungarian maker Béla Szepessy, a testament to Duncan’s meticulous craftsmanship! This international accolade helped to elevate Glasgow’s reputation in the world of fine instrument making, positioning it alongside longer-established centres of luthiery in Europe.
Carrying forward this idea of wider European engagement was James Briggs, a maker and dealer from Wakefield whose career spanned several decades and multiple continents. Briggs was a regular presence at major exhibitions, earning prizes in Leeds, Paris, and Vienna. His Glasgow shop became a hub for fine instruments, frequented by musicians and collectors alike. The violin featured in this video is a brilliantly observed Guadagnini copy and a particularly fine example of Briggs' work. His ability as a copyist of startling accuracy underscores his deep understanding of classical models, bringing Briggs into our understanding as a maker who had more in common with his London and Parisian contemporaries than he did with some of his Scottish colleagues.
The third violin in this trio comes from Andrew Smillie, who represents the middle generation of a family deeply rooted in the city’s musical life. The Smillie workshop spanned three generations and became a cornerstone of Glasgow’s violin trade, known not only for its own fine instruments but also for its role in the repair, sale, and distribution of high-quality violins from across Europe. Under Andrew’s stewardship, the business cemented its place in the fabric of Scottish musical culture, serving both professional and amateur musicians, and helping to keep Glasgow firmly on the map as a centre of stringed instrument excellence.
Together, these three violins and their makers tell a rich story of Glasgow’s contribution to the art of violin making. The very distinctive schools of Scottish making can sometimes give the impression that historical making in the country existed in a bit of a bubble, but cosmopolitan makers such as these remind us that this is far from the case!