John Mackintosh (luthier)

John Mackintosh or John Macintosh (Irish: Seán Mac an Taoisigh; c. 1780–1841) was a luthier and professor who worked in Dublin.[1][2] Towards the end of his career, he wrote a short publication on violin making and the Cremonese school.[3] One of his violins is preserved as part of a collection at the National Museum of Ireland, Dublin.[4]

John Mackintosh
Seán Mac an Taoisigh
Violin by Mackintosh, c. 1817
Bornc. 1780
Died1841(1841-00-00) (aged 60–61)
Dublin, Ireland
EducationThomas Perry
Known forLuthier
Notable workviolin, NMI collection
Style
  • Amati style
  • Guarneri style
  • Stradivari style
MovementIrish school
ChildrenRobert J. Mackintosh (son)

Early life

Very little is known about Mackintosh's early life. While it is well documented that he spent most of his adult life living and working in Dublin,[1][5] it is thought by some that he was born in Scotland.[6]

Career

Apprenticeship and early career: 1808–1817

Mackintosh probably began his training as a luthier in the early 1800s.[5] He was apprenticed to Dublin maker Thomas Perry at 6 Anglesea Street between 1808 and 1817.[7] Following his apprenticeship to Perry, Mackintosh set up his own workshop at 1 Essex Quay, Dublin, in 1817. Mackintosh's choice of address was likely not haphazard; there were various skilled craftsmen, such as watchmakers, clockmakers and other musical-instrument makers, on the quay during first half of the nineteenth century.[8] Probably the most notable craftsman to work on Essex Quay was the Dublin medallist William Mossop (1751–1804), who resided at 13 Essex Quay from 1784, where his son, also William (1788–27), succeeded him. In fact, it is believed that Mackintosh shared his premises with a pipemaker named Timothy Kenna, who had earlier succeeded his father's business on Essex Quay.[8]

Front cover of Mackintosh's 1837 publication on violin making

Experimentation and later career: 1819–1841

In 1819, Mackintosh moved to 10 Essex Quay, where he worked until 1824.[1] Around the same time, John Dollard, another former apprentice of Perry's, moved to 15 Essex Quay. In 1825, Mackintosh moved to 11 Astor's Quay, where he remained until 1834.[1] This was another area where notable Dublin luthiers had previously resided, such as George Ward. From 1834 onwards, Mackintosh resided at 12 Lower Ormond Quay with his son, Robert J. Mackintosh, a professor of music and accomplished violinist.[1] In 1837, Mackintosh published a short book on violin making titled Remarks on the Construction and Materials Employed in the Manufacture of Violins. In the book, he deals with the topics of wood, tone, bridge and sound post, and the Cremonese school. In particular, he stresses the importance of choosing good quality, mature timber with pores of a certain size and formation. Furthermore, he states that age is not necessary to produce a good instrument and that violins as good as those of the Cremonese school can be achieved by contemporary makers with the correct approach.[3] Mackintosh continued to work at Lower Ormond Quay until his death in 1841.[5]

Style and technique

Mackintosh's style was typical of the Irish school and heavily influenced by the Cremonese style of violin making. During his apprenticeship, he learned to make violins based on the Amati model, which his teacher, Perry, had by then adopted in favour of the earlier Stainer model. Perry is said to have studied directly from an Amati instrument lent to him by the Duke of Leinster.[9] Additionally, Mackintosh would typically brand his violins externally at the back below the button 'MACKINTOSH/DUBLIN', a signature of the Irish school.

Mackintosh based his violins broadly on Italian models, including Amati, Stradivari and Guarneri.[6] In his 1837 publication, Mackintosh states that he had studied each of these makers in great detail, particularly Stradivari, of whom he had several instruments pass through his hands.[3] Mackintosh also experimented greatly in pursuit of replicating the old Italian masters' instruments. He states that he tried "steaming, steeping, stoving, boiling, and baking the timber; I have also used all kinds of spirits, caustics, and acids, but all these disorganised the pores and impaired the fibres of the timber".[3] He also states that he discovered the process by which such instruments could be achieved, and that 16 years earlier he had produced "three violins of timber which had been in a certain situation for a particular purpose" which were since reported by their owners to be as good as any Cremona instrument.[3] This would suggest that he made such instruments around 1821.

The Irish violin-making school
Thomas Molineux
c. 1700–1757
John Perry I
c. 1710–1787		Martyn Molineux
c. 1720–?		George Ward
c. 1715–1769		John Ward
c. 1703–1778
Thomas Perry
c. 1738–1818
James Perry
c. 1759–1810		John Delany
c. 1769–1838		William Ringwood
c. 1769–1842		Richard Tobin
c. 1766–1847		William Wilkinson
c. 1767–1830		John Mackintosh
c. 1780–1841
Daniel Compton
?–?		Arthur Ringwood
c. 1812–1860		George Tobin
c. 1809–1861
  • solid lines = Pere-Fils
  • dashed lines = Maitre-Eleve

Extant instruments

It is unknown how many instruments Mackintosh produced in his lifetime as they were not numbered. One of his violins is preserved in the National Museum of Ireland as part of a collection of musical instruments by Irish makers.[4] The collection also includes instruments by other 18th and 19th century luthiers including Mackintosh's teacher, Perry, as well as John Delany, Thomas Molyneux and George Ward.[4]

Some of Mackintosh's extant instruments:

Publications
  • Mackintosh J. (1837) Remarks on the Construction and Materials Employed in the Manufacture of Violins. Dublin: Martin Keene & Son.

See also

References
  1. Teahan, John (May 1963). "A List of Irish Instrument Makers". The Galpin Society Journal. 16: 28–32. doi:10.2307/841092. JSTOR 841092.
  2. Boydell, Brian. Brian Boydell Dublin Music Trade Card Index. Dublin: Dublin Music Trade.
  3. Mackintosh, John (1837). Remarks on the Construction and Materials Employed in the Manufacture of Violins. Dublin: Martin Keene & Son. p. 12.
  4. Gogan, L.S. (1952). "Musical Instrument Collections in the National Museum of Ireland". In Fleischmann, Aloys (ed.). Music in Ireland: a Symposium. Cork: Cork University Press. p. 303.
  5. "Mackintosh, John". dublinmusictrade.ie. Dublin Music Trade. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
  6. Rice, John Kenneth (1993). The Life and Work of Thomas Perry (Doctorate). St Patrick's College, Maynooth. p. 57.
  7. Stainer, Cecie (1896). A Dictionary of Violin Makers. London: Novello, Ewer & Co.
  8. Donnelly, Seán (March 2002). "A century of pipemaking, 1770-1870: new light on the Kennas and the Coynes" (PDF). The Seán Reid Society Journal. 2: 17. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
  9. Morris, William Meredith (1920). British Violin Makers (2 ed.). London: Pelican Publishing.
  10. "John Macintosh". amati.com. Amati Auctions. Retrieved 4 July 2023.
  11. Hogan, Ita Margaret (1966). Anglo-Irish Music 1780–1830. Brighton: Cork University Press. pp. 106–108.
  12. Woodcock, C (1972). Universal Dictionary of Violin & Bow Makers: Price Guide Supplement 1971–72. Brighton: Amati Publishing. p. ix.
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