A violin by Antonio Stradivari

The first official sale record of the 1667 ‘ex-Jenkins’ is of its sale in 1899 by Count Cesare Nichesola to W.E. Hill & Sons. It was acquired in 1900 by J. Younger for his daughter Mary Younger, a philanthropist who established a Red Cross hospital during World War I to aid injured soldiers. By 1948, the instrument returned to W.E. Hill & Sons and was sold the following year to Tom Jenkins, from whom it received its name.

Jenkins, a child prodigy who debuted at age 10, became a celebrated violinist. Dubbed “The Amazing Violin Virtuoso” and “the Greatest British Soloist of his Generation”, Jenkins gained fame for his performances, including leading the BBC’s Grand Hotel broadcasts in the 1940s and 1950s. He even went as far as to insure his hands for £10,000 in 1936. In 1951 he is known to have had an offer of 2500 guineas for his violin, which he refused.

In 1957, following Jenkins’ passing, his widow Michelle inherited the violin and sold it at auction nearly 40 years later through Sotheby’s, where it was purchased by Elizabeth Thomas for her daughter Christine. Proceeds from the sale funded the creation of the Tom Jenkins Award, which annually recognises exceptional makers of bowed string instruments, won in 2023 by Benjamin Colt and Seoyoon Jeon. This award is continued today by The Musicians Company.

The ‘ex-Jenkins’ was later acquired by the Canimex Foundation in Canada, known for supporting musicians with access to fine instruments and was most recently sold to an anonymous collector in 2019.