Although this instrument belongs to the very end of Stradivari’s fruitful career, and even though it was made when the Cremonese master was ninety years old, it is nevertheless considered to have been manufactured entirely by him without the assistance of his sons, as remarked by the Hill Brothers in 1928 and later by William Henley. Florian Leonhard remarked that it indeed represents a particularly fine example of workmanship in a violin of the ‘Late Period’. It indicates that Stradivari himself made the violin, as the focus of finish and direction is comparable with that of his past work, and the hands of his sons are not apparent. The workmanship is on a different level from some other instruments of this period.
More information: Antonio Stradivari Set 1, Volume 4, Page 286