Peresson Violin: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This violin was made by Sergio Peresson of Haddonfield, New Jersey in 1980. There is an original printed label inside the instrument:

Sergio Peresson di Udine Fece Anno 1980 Haddonfield Sergio Peresson

[the number"80," the word "Haddonfield"and the signature are hand-written]

Sergio Peresson (1913–1991) was an Italian-American violin maker. Born in Udine, Peresson began making violins in Italy in 1943. Four years later, Peresson moved to Caracas, Venezuela, where he made new instruments and was repairer to the Venezuelan Symphony Orchestra. In the early 1960s he moved to Philadelphia and worked for the firm of William Moennig & Son from 1963-1971. In 1971 Peresson moved to the suburb of Haddenfield, New Jersey and continued to make instruments until his death in 1991.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1980
• maker: Peresson, Sergio
• Object Name: violin
• Measurements: overall: 23 3/4 in x 8 1/16 in x 3 3/4 in; 60.325 cm x 20.47875 cm x 9.525 cm
• Place Made: United States: New Jersey, Haddonfield
• ID Number: 2002.3026.01
• nonaccession number: 2002.3026
• catalog number: 2002.3026.01
• Credit Line: Gift of Evelyn and Herbert R. Axelrod
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.