The three brothers Alfred, Charles, and William Voller had an interesting and varied artistic background: the first was a cellist, the second a violinist, and the third a painter — the eldest, William, who was also the most active in the field of violin making. Born in 1854, he began working with Frederick William Chanot, for whom Carlo Giuseppe Oddone would also work, and later with the London-based Hart company. Together with Charles, William began producing copies of classical Italian instruments, which were sold by the Wurtlitzer firm in the United States and by Hamma in Germany, among others. Although of variable quality, their replicas were often very convincing, causing quite a scandal when they were sold on the market as originals.
In addition to copies of Stradivari, Guarneri, Amati, and Guadagnini, the Voller Brothers produced instruments inspired by other Italian schools, such as the Testore and Gagliano families, demonstrating a very thorough knowledge of the technical characteristics and style of the originals and a surprising talent for imitating them.
