Pierre Joseph Hel – Violin Maker (1842 – 1902)
In 1856, at the age of fourteen, Pierre Joseph Hel (known as Joseph Hel) began his 5-year apprenticeship as a violin maker in Mirecourt under the direction of Francois Salzard and then proceeded to work in Paris for Sébastien Vuillaume in Paris and Nicolas Darche. Between 1861-1865, he worked in numerous workshops in Mirecourt. In 1865, with the encouragement of Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume, Hel relocated to Lille to establish his own workshop, which he managed until his passing in 1902. It was in Lille that he also became the luthier for the Conservatory of Music.
Hel is reported to have produced over 750 instruments and his output included all the instruments in the string family. He eventually earned a reputation for his copies of the Italian Masters: Stradivari, Amati, Guarneri and Maggini, which were coated with a reddish-orange or reddish-brown, rich varnish.
Hel’s reputation for his finely made instruments extended beyond France as evidenced by his customer base expanding into Belgium, Switzerland, Great Britain and the U.S., where he traveled twice.
Joseph Hel’s son Pierre Hel took over his workshop after his death, and became quite successful in his own right.
