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Birth : 1870 in Amboise Death : 1934 in Mirecourt (Vosges)

Summary

Known as « Collin-Mézin Fils ».

Biography

Career
Charles-Louis COLLIN MEZIN Fils learned his craft from his father, Charles Jean-Baptiste COLLIN MÉZIN, and first appeared as a violin maker in 1886 at the age of sixteen.
In 1901 he established his own workshop in MIRECOURT,  just after he receiving a prize as his father's collaborator at the 1900 International Paris Exhibition.
He continued this collaboration until 1906, at which point his father retired, and kept the same models until his father’s death in 1923

Jean LARCHER, an engineer by training, married Marie Louise, Charles-Louis' youngest daughter, in 1925. In 1926, he was introduced to the luthier's trade by his father-in-law, and gradually took over management of the workshop. (1). The instruments we were able to examine with the ‘Jean LARCHER’ label correspond to the quality production of the COLLIN-MEZIN workshop. Violin no. 4827 being a good example.

Charles Louis died in 1934 after a car crash. His son Charles JB Leon, known as Charley, succeeded to his father. The workshop ended its production in 1960.

Works
Aside from the instruments bearing the Collin Mézin label, many models were produced under different brands, among them :
- BRETON
- P. CASTELLO
- Paolo GIACOMELLI
- Jean LARCHER
- G. SANTORINO,
- STORINI,
- B. TASSINI.
Instruments labelled Collin Mezin generally bear both a label and a signature on the lower right side of the back, parallel to the rib.
Sometimes, instead of being directly signed on the wood, one can find this signature on an oval label set in the same place.

Collaborators and Successors
Some of Charles Louis COLLIN MEZIN Fils’ main collaborators include:
- BAZIN Gustave
- BOULANGER Charles
- CHIPOT Paul Jean-Baptiste
- DELPRATO Jean
- LARCHER Jean, who married the youngest daughter of Charles Louis and became the head of his workshop.

Bows
Bows stamped COLLIN-MEZIN have been made by different bow makers of his time, among them :
BAZIN Charles Nicolas (Père)
BAZIN Louis (Fils)
COLAS Prosper
CUNIOT Eugène (CUNIOT-HURY)
FÉTIQUE Victor
HUSSON Auguste
LAPIERRE Marcel
MORIZOT Louis (Père)
MORIZOT Louis (Fils)
OUCHARD Emile, François (Père)
PIERNOT Louis
THIBOUVILLE Lamy

Sources
1 - Roland Terrier : https://www.luthiers-mirecourt.com/

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