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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW.
The Story of a Violin.
HE arrest of Victor Flechter, the musi-
cal instrument dealer of Union Square,
on a charge made by Matilda Bott that he
had in his possession a valuable violin
which had been stolen from her husband,
brings up an interesting story.
The Bott violin was a Stradivarius,
which was once owned by the Duke of
Cambridge. After his death it passed into
the hands of a musician who went with it
to Hanover, Germany. The violin attracted
Prof. Bott, who was then leader of the or-
chestra in the Royal Conservatory of Music.
The price asked for it was twelve thousand
florins. The attraction was so strong for
the Stradivarius that the professor began to
save his earnings, hoping some day to ac-
quire the ownership of the violin. Finally
the owner of the instrument died, and the
violin was put up at auction. Musicians
from all over Europe either attended the
sale in person or were represented by
agents. Prof Bott became the owner of
the much-sought-for Strad at a cost of six-
teen thousand marks. In the course of time
he drifted to this country and became re-
duced to very straightened circumstances.
He parted with many family keepsakes in
order to stave off starvation, but clung to
the Strad.
But, alas, more pinching had to be done,
and with almost a broken heart, the old
musician decided to part with his treasure.
He communicated with Victor Flechter,
and after a time Flechter and a musician
named Mollenhauer, introduced Bott to
Signor Nicolini, Adelina Patti's husband.
A meeting was arranged at Flechter's store,
No. 23 Union Square, and the professor
was asked to bring the instrument with
him. He refused, and in order to see it
Nicolini had to go to the Bott apartments.
Several meetings were held, and Bott at
last consented to sell the violin for $4,500.
He met Nicolini and Mme. Patti at the
Windsor Hotel in 1894, on the day before
T
Of Course...
A high-grade piano costs more
than an instrument which is in
that class known as "medium,"
but what a satisfaction to sell a
high-grade piano, and how pleasant
to meet the customer and friends af-
ter the sale is made, particularly if it is a
Good Friday. Nicolini offered a check in
payment, but the old professor refused to
accept anything but gold. Again, the next
day, the negotiations were resumed, but as
the banks were closed, and Nicolini, always
an excitable person, became impatient, he
went away on the steamer sailing the next
morning without the Stradivarius.
nANUFACTURERS OF
The very next Saturday evening, March
31, 1894, the jealously guarded prize was
stolen from Professor Bott's room at No.
355 West Thirty-first street. The old man
was almost heartbroken. The instrument
had been lowered from Bott's window with
a string, which was found hanging from
the window sill, but that was the only clew.
Day after day the old man wandered aim-
lessly about hoping against hope that he
would again fuid his treasure. Detectives
Evanhoe and Vallely were put on the case,
but
they could learn nothing.
For terms and territory address
The servant girl for the Botts said that
on the evening of the theft a carriage with
two men drove to the door. Professor and
Mrs. Bott were out, and as a young man
asked for the professor she happened to
turn' aside. A neighbor saw the young
man leave with a bundle. The next day
Edward Mollenhauer, Bott's friend, and
the only man who knew that the violin was
kept in a bureau drawer, called and con-
171 and 173 South Canal Street doled with the old man. A quarrel ensued,
as the professor accused Mollenhauer of
CHICAGO
?
being in complicity with Flechter, whom
he suspected.
Bott subsequently accused the detectives
THE
of being in league with Flechter, with
whom they were working, but William W.
McLaughlin, then Inspector and now a con •
vict in the Tombs, exonerated them. Still,
the detectives were taken off the case, as
the District Attorney's office had taken
hold of it., Detectives in foreign cities
were notified to watch Nicolini if he should
buy a violin.
The professor haunted the District At-
torney's office, almost crying as he related
his loss and the mysterious circumstances
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