Bernhard Simon (II) Fendt

FENDT, Bernhard Simon (II) Born 1801, died 1852 London UK. Eldest son of Bernhard S. Fendt (I), above. Trained by his father at Betts’ until c.1823. From c.1831 joined in business with Charles Farn, a violin dealer and ex-employee of his father’s partner, Charles Vernon, at 72 Lombard Street. After Farn’s death in 1832 worked with George Purdy, a dancing and fencing teacher, under the name ‘Purdy and Fendt’ at 20 Finch Lane, later at 3 Oxenden Street, Haymarket, and finally at 74 Dean Street from 1850. Contributed a quartet of instruments for the International Exhibition, London 1851. Both he and his son William died of consumption in 1852. Fully equal to his father as a gifted and ingenious craftsman, his work covers a wide variety of models, but generally focused on Stradivari, Guarneri, and Amati, executed with a admirable sensitivity to the virtues of the original instruments, and varnished with rich pliant coatings of deep red-brown colours. One of the first makers to exploit the possibilities of the Guarneri del Gesù’s style. Equally famed for his exuberant double basses made on the Brescian model with flat backs and double purfling. Bernard S. Fendt Junr./ London 1832 Bernard Fendt / London 1851 [BVMA]

Son of the above. He was an excellent workman. It is to be regretted that he did not follow the example set by his father, and let time do its work without interruption upon his instruments. Had he done so they would, in many instances, have been equal to those of his parent; but, unfortunately, he worked when the mania for obtaining supposed maturity by artificial means was at its height, and shared the general infatuation, and, in consequence, very frequently destroyed all the stamina of his instruments. Subsequently he became a partner of George Purdy, and carried on a joint business at Finch Lane, in the City of London, from whence most of his best instruments date, having removed to the West End about 1843. He was a most assiduous worker. The number of Violins, Tenors, Violoncellos, and Double-Basses that he made was very great; indeed his reputation would have been greater had he been content to have made fewer instruments and have exercised more general care. His copies of Guarneri are most numerous, numbering some hundreds. They are mostly varnished with a glaring red colour, of a hard nature. He made many good Double-Basses of the Gasparo da Salo form, the varnish on which is superior to that on his Violins. He made also an excellent quartett of instruments— Violin, Viola, Violoncello, and Double-Bass, for the Exhibition of 1851. They were certainly the best contemporary instruments exhibited, but he failed to obtain the prize medal.

Eldest son of Bernhard. b, 1800 in London ; d. March 6, 1852, at 7, Smith Street, Brompton. He learnt his trade from his father in the workshop of John Betts, where he remained till Betts’ death (1823) : then he became either a workman for or a partner with Farn, a dealer in violins in Lombard Street. Farn dying, he joined George Purdy, ” Purdy and Fendt ” commencing business in Finch Lane in September. 1832 ; in June, 1843. they also opened a shop in Oxenden Street, Haymarket ; about 1850 these two shops were closed and they moved to 74 Dean Street, Soho.
He made many very good double-basses on the model of Gasparo da Salo, using varnish much superior to that on his violins; he made an extraordinary number of violins, those on the model of Guarneri alone numbering some hundreds ; but the work is not very carefully finished, the varnish is bright red colour. He made an excellent quartet of instruments for the London Exhibition in 1851.

Ältester Sohn und Schüler von Bernhard F. in der Werkstatt von Betts.
Nachdem er seit 1823 für die Nachfolger von Betts gearbeitet hatte, verband
er sich mit George Purdy zu der Firma Purdy and Fendt. Er war überaus
fleissig und geschickt, aber nicht sonderlich sorgfältig. Wenn er aber wollte,
konnte er seine Meisterschaft beweisen; namentlich gelangen ihm seine Copien
des grossen Amati-Modells, und noch in seinem letzten Lebensjahre erhielt er
auf der Londoner Ausstellung 1851 für ein wundervolles Quartett nach Guarneri
den ersten Preis. Seine Bässe baute er nach G. da Salò, sonst aber meist nach
Stradivari. Das Holz ist gut gewölbt und der Lack hellroth.