Walter Henry Mayson

Walter Henry Mayson (born November 8, 1835) was a famous violin maker. Walter Henry Mayson was born in Cheetwood, Britain, a small town about a mile and a half north of Manchester. He was the fourth child out of eleven with five Brothers and four sisters. [http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&id=qOE5AAAAIAAJ&dq=Walter+H.+Mayson&printsec=frontcover&source=web&ots=I8ojaBddD2&sig=wE_fEYGv6TZIsyNdemGyS_bIOMk&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result#PPA15,M1] .

Early life

After a few years living in Cheetwood, the Mayson family moved to Cheetham Hill, another two miles away from Manchester. Mrs. Mayson opened a school in Cheetham Hill with two of her sisters. Mayson was sent to the school and was taught by Thomas Whalley. Learning from Whalley, Mayson made rapid progress. He excelled at English, and his essays were selected by the master for public reading before the school.

When he finished his education, Mayson employed his time by writing verse, and experienced with tonal qualities of different kinds of wood. He discovered that the usual volume of sound of a Aeolian Harp could be quadrupled.

At seventeen years of age, Mayson was apprenticed at J. & A. Phillips & Co., a firm of merchants. His sister, Mary Ann, was married to a composer and organist, Joseph Thorne Harris. Harris was the organist for Cathedral, Manchester. Mayson spent all of his leisure time at his sister's house, where his love for classical and chamber music was encouraged. [http://books.google.com/books?output=html&id=qOE5AAAAIAAJ&dq=Walter+H.+Mayson&jtp=20]

Mayson was told that his dead grandfather's fiddle was for sale. He struck a bargain with the owner, and started taking lessons.

Fiddle making

At age 39, Mayson started to make fiddles. [http://books.google.com/books?id=qOE5AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA24&dq=Walter+H.+Mayson&output=html] He created hist first violin on October 16th 1873. [http://books.google.com/books?id=qOE5AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA28&dq=Walter+H.+Mayson&output=html] . Mayson took a room in Barton Arcade, Deansgate, Manchester where he produced 10 fiddles. His first customer, James Fildes, bought a fiddle from Mayson for £10. During this time, Mayson wrote a lot. Some of his songs and essays were published in Machester's newspapers.

In 1899, Mayson wrote a book called "Violin Making". [http://books.google.com/books?id=qOE5AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA73&dq=Walter+H.+Mayson&output=html]

Death

On November 18th, 1904 Walter Mayson had a paralytic seizure. Then on December 26th, he had another stroke and did not regain consciousness until his death on December 31st.

ee Also

*Violin
*Luthier

References