The Dark Side of Vintage String Instruments

Here's one source of consolation for vintage guitar collectors who complain about escalating prices and issues of authenticity: they aren't buying and selling violins. While vintage Stratocasters sell for tens of thousands of dollars and Burst Les Pauls go for six figures, the sticker price of violins from master craftsmen such as Stradivari, Gagliano, and Guarnieri "del Gesu" is often in the millions. Guitar enthusiasts may complain about the evils of eBay, but violin collecting is no walk in the park according to this 2002 article in the U.K.'s Guardian Limited. The piece chronicles some of the shenanigans associated with the estate of eccentric violin collector Gerald Segelman, who died in 1992 leaving a fortune in rare violins under his bed, and provides a glimpse into the world of the high end vintage violin dealers, which industry watcher Fritz Reuter calls "the violin mafia".