New Insights into the Life and Instruments of Gérard Joseph Deleplanque, Maker in Eighteenth-Century Lille
Résumé
Gérard Joseph Deleplanque was arguably the most prominent stringed instrument maker in Lille (northern France) in the second half of the eighteenth century. Indeed, more than 60 of his instruments – including guitars, guittars, violins and viols – survive in public museums and private collections. Biographical information concerning this maker is scarce, however, and until now based solely on the examination of instrument labels. The main focus of this article is the presentation of newly-gathered biographical data this maker. Extensive research in the Archives municipales de Lille and Archives départementales du Nord led to the discovery of primary sources concerning his dates of birth and death, genealogy and family events, and more importantly, to his professional activity: his apprenticeship and installation as an instrument maker. This documentation enables us to (i) identify the years at which he remained at each workshop address, , thus explaining the diversity of the labels in surviving instruments, and (ii) re-attribute the instruments dated after his death (in 1783) to his successors, who continued to use labels bearing his name until the late 1790s. An appendix of surviving instruments, as well as an analysis of the workshop production, is also presented.