Luigi Tarisio (1790-1854) from Milan is considered one of the first great dealers in vintage violins. George Hart, an English dealer in vintage violins, passed on the following anecdote about Tarisio in c. 1875:
When Luigi Tarisio entered the violin making studio of Jean Francois Aldric in Paris in 1827, he must have seemed exhausted and run down. After all, he had travelled most of the long way from Milan on foot. No fewer than six Italian violins were slung over his shoulder. He then presented Aldric with violins from Amati, Maggini, Ruggeri, Storioni and two from Grancino for sale. Aldric capitalised on the opportunity and paid a ridiculously low price for the six valuable instruments.
Two months later, however, Tarisio visited the city again, but this time he had learned his lesson. On this occasion, he travelled by carriage and made a point of appearing well-groomed. He visited the leading Parisian violin makers, such as Jean Baptiste Vuillaume, to whom he presented his wares. From then on, business went much more smoothly.
Henceforth, he travelled to Paris regularly.
Legend has it that he announced several times that he would bring a Stradivari with him on his next visit, saying that it was unique and unlike any other. The repeated announcement eventually led the French violinist Jean-Delphine Alard to sneer: ‘The violin was like the Messiah, it’s arrival was announced again and again, but no one had yet laid eyes on it ...’
But Tarisio proved true to his word. One day, he indeed appeared with an exceptionally well-preserved instrument by Antonio Stradivari. The violin, which is now on display at the Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology in Oxford, UK, still bears the name ‘Messiah’.