A cello by
Bernard Simon Fendt Jr.

Bernard Simon Fendt was born in London in 1800 and grew up surrounded by instrument making. His father worked for his uncle in Paris until he settled in London in 1798 to work for Thomas Dodd. The younger Bernard Fendt was the eldest of four violin making sons who, with the Lott family, were trained by their father. Fendt Jr. worked alongside his father in the shop of John Betts until he set up on his own in 1823.

This magnificent cello is a beautiful copy of a Stradivari and suggests that John Lott may have still had some connection with Fendt. The cello was one of the last instruments sold from the collection of the Hill shop and has been cherished by its current owner for almost 40 years.