FENDT, Bernard Simon, London, born in 1800, died in 1852. Son of the above. He was an excellent workman. It is to be regretted that he did not follow the excellent example set by his father, and let time do its work, without interruption, upon his instruments. Had he done so they would, in many instances, have been equal to those of his parent; but, unfortunately, he worked when the mania for obtaining supposed maturity by artificial means was at its height, and shared the general infatuation, and, in consequence, very frequently destroyed all the stamina of his instruments. Subsequently he became a partner of George Purdy, and carried on a joint business at Finch Lane, in the City of London, from whence most of his best instruments date. Purdy and Fendt had also a shop in the West End about 1843. He was a most assiduous worker. The number of Violins, Tenors, Violoncellos, and Double-Basses that he made was very great; indeed, his reputation would have been greater had he been content to have made fewer instruments and to have exercised more general care. His copies of Guarneri are most numerous, numbering some hundreds. They are mostly varnished with a glaring red colour, of a hard nature. He made many good Double-Basses of the Gasparo da Salo form, the varnish on which is superior to that on his Violins. He made also an excellent quartette of instruments--Violin, Viola, Violoncello, and Double-Bass--for the Exhibition of 1851. They were certainly the best contemporary instruments exhibited, but he failed to obtain the prize medal. FENDT, Martin, London, born 1812, died 1845. Brother of the above. Worked for Betts. FENDT, Jacob, London, born 1815, died 1849. Third son of Bernard Fendt. The best maker among the sons of Bernard. His instruments are beautifully finished, and free from the stereotyped character belonging to those of his brother Bernard. As specimens of the imitator's art they are unsurpassed. One cannot but regret that such a consummate workman should have been obliged to waste his energies in making new work resemble that of a hundred years before. The patronage that he obtained was not of much value, but had he brought his work into the market in its natural condition he could not have lived by his trade. He was, therefore, compelled to foster that which he no doubt felt to be degrading. The copies of Stradivari by Jacob Fendt are among his best efforts. The work is well done; the discoloration of the wood cleverly managed, the effects of wear counterfeited with greater skill than had ever been done before, and finally, an amount of style is thrown into the work which transcends the ingenuity of any other copyist. Had he been allowed to copy the form of the old masters, as Lupot did, without imitating the actual wear of the instrument, we should have had a valuable addition to our present stock of instruments of the Panormo class. FENDT, Francis, London. Fourth son of Bernard; also worked in Liverpool about 1856.