William Meredith Morris
He was born at Stenton, Jan. 5, 1828, and died at Lint Mill in 1902. He received no school education in early-life, his father, who was a labouring man, giving him what home teaching he could. He was, however, possessed of wide information upon a variety of subjects, and distinguished in mechanical knowledge and skill. The Rev. G. Marjoribanks, vicar of Stenton, thus concludes his account of Nisbet’s life and work in the Haddington Courier : ” It is not too much to say that, in whatever direction he has turned his energies, he has always excelled. Few, indeed, would suppose that the modest-looking yet trim little cottage which stands near the picturesque ruins of the old mill, was occupied by a man possessed not only of rare technical skill, but of such accurate and extensive information, gathered mainly from personal observation and study in the fields of natural history and science, whether as a photographer, wood-carver, carpenter, basket-maker, violin-maker, or in more recent years as a market-gardener, the productions of his genius and labour have been equally admired and appreciated, and this none the less because ac- companied by a singular modesty of character and demeanour, and without his having had the benefit of any special training and education. In short, if the well-known author of ‘ Self- Help’ wishes to find solid material for a new biographical sketch, he could hardly do better than select for his theme the subject of this little notice.””
Nisbet made 120 violins. The earlier ones are on the model of Maggini, and the later ones are said to be on the model of Amati, “with a broadened waist to give more tone.” Those examined by me were not on the Amati model at all, the differences being so marked and numerous as to justify one in describing the model as original. The following measurements, taken from an instrument made in 1891, will bear out the last statement : —
Length of body … 13 15/16ins,Width across upper bouts … 6 7/8ins,Width across middle bouts … 4 5/8ins,Width across lower bouts … 8 1/8ins,Distance between corners … 3 3/16ins,Length of sound-holes … 2 7/8ins,Distance between sound-holes at top … 1 3/4ins,Depth of ribs at top and bottom … 1 1/4ins,
The workmanship is excellent, and the tone large and telling. The only faulty part of the work is the varnish, which is a spirit one of a dull, lifeless colour. He was awarded two bronze medals for an exhibit of violins at the Edinburgh International Exhibition in 1886.
Nisbet used no label, but inscribed with a hard lead pencil on the back in the place where the label usually stands the following : —
