Violin Maker & Dendrochronologist John Topham has Died

Topham was known for his skillful dating of Cremonese violins, particularly those by Stradivarius

The British dendrochronologist and violin maker John Topham, who made significant contributions to efforts towards dating high-profile violins, has passed away.

Topham originally trained as a luthier, graduating from the Fachschule für Geigenbau in Mittenwald, Germany in 1971. He returned home to the UK to begin his career in the London workshop of Edward Withers Ltd, and built and restored violins in that capacity until 1979 when he began to develop his freelance career.

In 1995, Topham began to approach his work with instruments through dendrochronology — the branch of science that deals with dating certain woods through the analysis of tree rings. In particular, he worked on dating the "Messiah" Stradivarius, through an analysis of 33 comparable Cremonese violins.

Topham and his colleague, Derek McCormick, published two papers on these topics in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

Throughout his career, Topham did dating analysis for a number of high-profile auction houses, including Sotheby’s and Bonhams in London, Christie’s in New York, and Skinners in Boston.

In addition, he worked for museums such as the Musée de la Musique (Paris) and the Ashmolean Museum (Oxford), and for instrument companies including J. & A. Beare Ltd (London), Bein & Fushi (Chicago), and Schmitt (Lyon).

Our condolences to Topham's family, friends, and colleagues.