Bernard Harland Batts

BATTS, Bernard Harland (Jack) Born 1910 Ewing, Illinois USA. Active Johnson City as shoe-maker and part-time violin repairer c.1938-1950. Self-taught. Established in West Frankfort, Illinois, as a full time luthier from c.1960. Stradivari- and Guarneri- derived models. Michelman and, later, spirit varnishes. Arizona fir used for top wood. Credited with 125 violins and five violas. ‘J. Batts’ and the year incised internally on lower corner blocks. [Wenberg]