Lutherie d’Atelier Aubert, France
Paul Hilaire
In the appraisal, this cello is described as a “demi-modern French master cello”, built by Paul Hilaire from Mirecourt (Vosges) in 1942. The instrument is provided with his oeuvre number 252.
It is a beautifully made and finished cello, still in very good condition. The back is made of one piece of maple and well flamed. The ribs are also beautifully flamed and made of maple. The front is made of fine-year-old spruce.
The finish is in an amber-brown color with ochre undertone. The cello has recently been serviced by Bas Maas Vioolbouw and has a good setup.
The dimensions of this (4/4) cello:
- upper width 34.5 cm
- narrowest width 23 cm
- bottom width 43 cm
- body height (to the heel) 75 cm
- the scale is 68,5 cm (keel to bridge)
- the cello fits in an ordinary cello case.
The current setup consists of:
- The fingerboard is made of good quality ebony.
- French bridge with stamp ‘Josef Vedral’.
- Akustikus tailpiece with finetuners
- Fine tuning pegs (old model) in the headstock
- The string set consists of Larsen Soloist Medium on the A and D and Thomastik Spirocore Tungsten on the G and C string.
Paul Hilaire was born in 1906 and died in 1967 in Mirecourt, France. He began his career as chief assistant to Georges Apparut in Mirecourt. At the age of 36, he was still working for Apparut.
After Apparut’s death in the late 1940s, Hilaire and Apparut’s widow set up a new workshop called ‘Etablissements Apparut & Hilaire’. This workshop specialised in the production of cellos, violins and violas.
Jean Eulry, who had previously worked for the esteemed luthier Amédée Dieudonné, later joined Hilaire’s workshop as his first assistant after Dieudonné closed his own. Hilaire’s instruments became particularly popular in the United States and Japan. After Hilaire’s death in 1967, Eulry continued the business in partnership with Hilaire’s widow, Miss Apparut, until his retirement in 1977.
price available upon request