1773–1798
[6] Anglesea Street, 1773–80 [as apprentice to Thomas Perry]
Apprentice to Thomas Perry from c. 1773 to 1780 (Rice).
Rice states that Tobin 'disposed of many of his instruments to dealers who frequently re-labelled them, attributing them to Cremonese masters'. He also maintained that Tobin 'went on to become the greatest scroll cutter in the history of British violin making'.
Henley states that he went to London in 1798 working for John Betts and others until 1841.
[Dates differ according to sources: Henley gives a date of birth of 1777 but Rice proposes a likely birthdate of 1760. Boydell (Card Index) states that he died in 1847, aged 81, giving a birthdate of 1766.]
Produced
Teahan, John, 'A List of Irish Instrument Makers', The Galpin Society Journal, 16 (May 1963), 28–32 (p. 32)
Henley, William, Universal Dictionary of Violins and Bow Makers (Brighton: Amati, 1973), p. 1157
Rice, John Kenneth, 'The Life and Work of Thomas Perry' (unpublished doctoral thesis, St Patrick's College Maynooth, 1993), pp. 57, 129–30
Last Update: 26-09-2013