We believe this to be a French copy of an Andreas Borelli violin. The label inside reads:
Copie deAndreas Borelli fecit Parmaeanno 1720
Andreas Borelli worked in Parma, Italy between 1720-1747. His violins were smallish in model and similar in traits to Lorenzo Guadagnini, according to findings on Google.
This is NOT an Andreas Borelli violin. It is fine violin in great playing condition. There has been a repair to the upper right rib.....the finish job after the repair is not a close match. See pictures.
Copie de indicates French
I'm guessing it is a JTL (Jérôme Thibouville-Lamy) trade instrument, based upon the following information found at
This website goes into great detail about "trade instruments" and the names put on those instruments..... "Andreas Borelli" being one of them and is attributed to the J.T.L. workshop or Paul Mangenot. Further research of Paul Mangenot indicates that he placed no other name but his own in his instruments from 1920 onward.
A repair has been attempted on the upper right rib. An elongated hole ~ 15mm in length and ~3 mm in width. It appears to have been replaced with the original missing piece of wood, however the original finish in the area was noticeably altered in a ~40mm x ~24mm area surrounding the repair.
Along the upper left rib, the top is missing about 40 mm of its edge..... undoubtedly lost to history.
There are various nicks, dents and scuffs in just about any area of the instrument. I would say that 90-95% of the finish is nonetheless intact. It does not appear that the top has ever been removed. Through the f holes, there are visible cleats along the seam joining the 2 piece back, it is my opinion they were placed during making as a preventive measure.
It weighs 422 g.

EDR
*** In January of 2021, our small workshop in Wichita celebrated sixty-eight years of service to professional, amateur and student musicians.
COME VISIT US! Shopping for a good professional-quality violin? We always have a selection of better instruments from the best European workshops. We're particularly fond of "old French" from the early 20th. century. Strong voices, brilliant tonal qualities perfectly suited to orchestral and solo playing.
A few better violins, now in our shop...
Charles Quenoil, Paris, 1937
Louis Hequin, Paris, 1930
Eugene Langonet, Nantes, 1937
Caressa and Francais, Paris, 1952
Georges Cherpitel, Paris, 1935Georges Apparut, Mirecourt, 1948
Marcellus Robin, Bordeaux, 1923
Charles Jean-Baptiste Colin-Mezin, Paris, 1944
Auguste Delivet, Paris, 1910