John Christie

He made a large number of instruments on the Amati and Stradivari lines. I have seen some two or three of them, and the wood, workmanship, and tone were excellent. The varnish was a spirit one, but was so thinly laid on that it did not do very material harm. If he had used oil varnish of a good quality, his violins would compare very favourably with the best work of the early nineteenth century. No label ; but one of the violins had the words "J. Christie, maker, 1850" written across the back.