Cremona SV-1800 Maestro Special Edition Hellier Style full size Violin

At the top of CremonaÆs Maestro Series is a re-creation of the legendary ôHellierö Strad. The ôHellierö is the most famous of Antonio StradivariÆs inlaid violins. Originally purchased by Sir Samuel Hellier in the early 18th century directly from the Master, the instrument eventually passed to Mr. H.E. Morriss, a Shanghai newspaper publisher. Fortunately, Mr. Morriss took the Hellier with him to England before World War II; after World War II, Morriss saw all of his Shanghai possessions confiscated by the revolutionary functionaries of Mao Zedong and put on display as ôplunderö. The original ôHellierö is presently in the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.