Archives Center, National Museum of American History

Albert F. Moglie Violinists and Violin-Making Collection

Summary

Collection ID:
NMAH.AC.0283
Creators:
Moglie, Albert F., 1890-1988
Moglie, Loretta
Harris & Ewing
Mishkin
Scavelli, Ramon
Rembrandt photo studio
Dates:
1916-1987
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
1 Cubic foot
9 boxes
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
The largest number of items in the collection are publicity portrait photoprints, autographed by the subjects and presented to Albert Moglie; obviously they were professional musicians for whom Moglie did repair and restoration work. Most of the musicians are violinists, such as Fritz Kreisler and Rubinoff, although cellists, including Pablo Casals, are included as well. Their complimentary comments on the photographs attest to their confidence in Moglie's work. The photographers and studios represented include Harris & Ewing, Ramon Scavelli, and Mishkin. There are also photographs of Moglie at work in his shop, and a large group photograph of the Washington, D.C., National Symphony Orchestra, 1933 1934 season. The collection includes a total of 57 photoprints. Although a number of well-known musicians' portraits are included, some signatures are illegible, so the subjects have not been identified.
There are also certificates, an advertising postcard, offprints about Moglie from Music Trade (Dec. 27, 1917), a notebook on auctioned instruments (1981 through 1985), calendars, samples of Moglie's stationery, business cards, photographs of violins, price lists, and of other documents. These photographs and documents form Series 1.
Series 2 consists of ledgers for Moglie's business transactions. These items are in poor condition and fairly untidy. They contain miscellaneous loose papers, some of which may be removed from the ledgers, as their locations within the pages of the ledgers seems random.
Series 3, which was not transferred to the Archives Center from the Musical History Collection until 2006, consists of Albert Moglie's business documents of various sorts including correspondence, notes, bills of sale, and certificates of authenticity and valuation for various instruments. Instruments include some by Stradivarius, Guarneri, Gagliano, Eberle, Gabrielli and Amati. Of particular interest are the documents attesting to Mr. Moglie's success, including letters of appreciation from clients, letters from Presidents Carter and Nixon, an autographed photographic portrait of the Belgian violinist Eugène Ysaÿe, a certificate of knighthood from the Republic of Italy, a commemorative certificate from the National Symphony Orchestra on the occasion of Mr. Moglie's ninetieth birthday and documents commemorating a concert given by the Julliard String Quartet also to celebrate his birthday. Also included are promotional literature on some of Mr. Moglie's clients and copies of newspaper articles about Mr. Moglie. There are also some personal photographs of unidentified people.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is divided into three series.
Series 1: Photoprints and documents, 1916-1966
Series 2: Ledgers, 1920-1934
Series 3: Business Papers, 1919-1987

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Albert F. Moglie, master violinmaker and repairman, operated a violin repair and restoration business in Washington, D.C., and other cities for many years. Born in Rome, his mother was a concert pianist and young Albert studied the violin, but he was more interested in making and repairing such instruments than playing them. He soon became an expert craftsman in this specialized field and at age 24, in 1914, he was brought to be the United States to care for the Stradivarius collection of Rudolph Wurlitzer in Cincinnati. Later sent to New York by Wurlitzer, Moglie opened his own shop near Times Square; subsequently he tended the Henry Ford violin collection in Detroit.
Moglie came to Washington in 1922 and opened a shop. In 1926 he married his wife Loretta, whom he had met in Cincinnati years earlier. In addition to operating his own Washington shop for more than fifty years, he was conservator for the Stradivarius violins in the Library of Congress collection. His third shop occupied a perpetually cluttered third floor space in the Franklin Building at 1329 F Street, N.W., since 1941, which finally closed on July 1, 1987, and Moglie retired.
Due to the impending closing of the shop, Mr. and Mrs. Moglie donated a number of artifacts, instruments and tools to this Museum's Division of Musical History, through Gary Sturm, collections manager, in 1987, and the photographs and related documents came to the Archives Center at that time.2 Mr. Moglie died in 1998, shortly after his retirement.
Source
Eugene L. Meyer. "Violins Lose Artist's Touch: Maestro Repairman Retires at 96," The Washington Post, June 12, 1987, pp. E1 E2.

Administration

Author
David E. Haberstich, Mary Jane Appel, and Alissa Black-Dorward
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Collection donated by Loretta and Albert Moglie, June 15, 1987.
Custodial History
Collection accumulated by Mr. Moglie during his long career. Due to the impending closing of his shop in 1987, the Moglies donated artifacts, instruments, and tools to the Division of Musical History (formerly the Division of Culture and the Arts and now Division of Cultural and Community Life), through Gary Sturm, collections manager.
Processing Information
Processed by David Haberstich, archivist, July 5, 1989.
Series 1 and 2 compiled by Mary Jane Appel, June 6, 1990 and revised by David Haberstich November 26, 1990, with additions by David Haberstich, January 9, 1992, October 12, 2001; December 20, 2001 12/20/01.
Series 3 compiled by Alissa Black-Dorward, July 19, 2006.
Separated Materials
Related objects are held in the Division of Culture and the Arts (now Division of Cultural and Community Life) and include viloin shop signs, violins, stools, bending iron, workbench, and violin parts. See Accessions number 1987.0472, 1987.0501, and 1987.0583.

Digital Content

More …

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Preferred Citation
The Albert F. Moglie Violinists and Violin-Making Collection, ca. 1917-1985, Archives Center, National Museum of American History. Gift of Loretta and Albert Moglie.
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Photographs -- 20th century Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Notebooks Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Violinists Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Violins -- 1910-1960 Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Musical instruments Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Repairing -- Musical instruments Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Tear sheets Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Certificates Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Moglie, A. F., & Co. Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mitchell, Howard (violinist) -- Photographs Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Parrouchi, Bernard (cellist) -- Photographs Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Mulwig, J. J. (violinist) -- Photographs Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rogers, Will, 1879-1935 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Sayn-Sevely Trio -- Photographs Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Rubinoff (violinist) -- Photographs Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Schumsky, Oscar (violinist) -- Photographs Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Taylor, Millard (violinist) -- Photographs Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Seidel, Sasha (violinist) -- Photographs Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Culp Quartet Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Brody, Saul (violinist) -- Photographs Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Budapest String Quartet -- Photographs Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Hamer, Sidney (cellist) -- Photographs Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Dumbois, Maurice (cellist) -- Photographs Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Gibbons, Mary Fulton Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kindler, Hans (Director, National Symphony Orchestra) -- Photographs Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Knox, Emily Rose (violinist) -- Photographs Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Jacobson, Sasha (violinist) -- Photographs Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Joachim Quartet -- Photographs Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Lewister, Joseph S. (cellist) -- Photographs Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Casals, Pablo, 1876-1973 -- Photographs Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Koffman, Carl W. -- Photographs Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kreisler, Fritz (violinist) -- Photographs Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives Center, National Museum of American History
P.O. Box 37012
Suite 1100, MRC 601
Washington, D.C. 20013-7012
archivescenter@si.edu