Walter H. (Walter Henry) Mayson

Born near Manchester in 1835, Walter H. Mayson became known chiefly as a violin maker rather than as a conventional literary author. Reliable sources describe him as self-taught, and his reputation grew through both the instruments he built and the books he wrote about the craft.

Mayson is best remembered in book collections for Violin Making, published in the early 1900s, a practical work drawn from hands-on experience. Library records and archival listings also show that he wrote fiction, including The Stolen Fiddle, which gives his bibliography an appealing mix of technical writing and storytelling.

He died in 1904. For readers today, his books are interesting not only for their subject matter but also for the strong, personal voice of someone who learned by doing and then set that knowledge down for others.