The Dr. Herbert Axelrod Stradivarius Quartet. Inscribed & with Russian Letter

Description: The Dr. Herbert Axelrod Stradivarius Quartet. Inscribed & with Russian Letter The Dr. Herbert Axelrod Stradivari Quartet by Jacques Francais Photos by Isabelle Francais Neptune City, New Jersey: Paganiniana Publications. 1985. First Edition. Hardcover, illustrated boards, quarto, 48 pages. Inscribed and signed by Herbert (Axelrod) on the front endpaper: To Tovarich Mark Zilberkant For the betterment of World Communism! Love Herbert 1985 Also included with the book are two copies of a typed letter in Russian on Axelrod Fine Violins Inc. letterheads. Both copies are dated in 1998 and are initialled in ink by Axelrod above his typed name. The letters are addressed to the director of a musical instrument collection in Russia. Presumably, Axelrod was trying to drum up their interest in acquiring his instruments. The book was commissioned and published by Dr Herbert Axelrod, the noted violin collector and publisher who later gained notoriety because of income tax problems and inflated valuations of donated musical instruments. The book is a beautifully illustrated volume on Axelrod's famous "quartet" of original Stradivarius-made string instruments, consisting of 2 Stradivarius violins, a Stradivarius viola and a Stadivarius cello. Herbert Richard Axelrod (June 7, 1927 – May 15, 2017) was a tropical fish expert, a publisher of pet books, and an entrepreneur. In 2005 he was sentenced in U.S. court to 18 months in prison for tax fraud. Aquatics and publishing While serving in an Army MASH unit in Korea, he wrote his book The Handbook of Tropical Aquarium Fishes, which eventually sold more than one million copies. After returning from Korea, Axelrod earned a Ph.D. in biostatistics at New York University and started the magazine Tropical Fish Hobbyist. He wrote many other books on tropical fish and founded a publishing firm, TFH Publications (named for the magazine) that became the largest publisher of pet books in the world. TFH Publications was headquartered first in Jersey City, New Jersey, and then in Neptune, New Jersey. The New York Times has written that "his importance was undeniable. In an era before web forums and Google, collectors turned to Tropical Fish Hobbyist and Axelrod's dozens of books". In 1989, Axelrod donated his collection of fossil fish to the University of Guelph, which the university says is one of the largest donations by an individual to a Canadian university. The Axelrod Institute of Ichthyology at that university was named for him. The University of Guelph also named a lecture hall after him, the Axelrod Building, but in 2010 renamed it the Alexander Building, after Lincoln Alexander. Musical instruments collection Axelrod, a violinist himself, assembled a large collection of old and rare stringed instruments, including the Hellier Stradivarius. In 1975 he bought his first Stradivarius violin. In 1998 he donated four Stradivari instruments — two violins, a viola and a cello — to the Smithsonian Institution. Known as the Axelrod quartet, their value was estimated at $50 million. In February 2003 he sold about 30 other instruments to the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO) for $18 million. This collection was estimated to be worth $49 million. (Axelrod was a long-time supporter of the NJSO.) Further legal difficulties Questions surfaced about the value of the instruments he had donated to the Smithsonian and the NJSO. Although the instruments were all old and valuable, several unnamed experts determined them not to be the instruments he represented them as, and not to be as valuable as he claimed. He was said to have invented histories for the instruments to explain away doubts or to increase their worth. In an unrelated case, Axelrod was indicted in federal court in New Jersey on April 13, 2004, accused of funneling millions of dollars into Swiss bank accounts over 20 years without paying taxes. The following April 21, he failed to appear for his arraignment, having fled to Cuba. He was arrested in Berlin on June 15, 2004 as he got off a plane from Switzerland, and then extradited to the United States. On March 21, 2005 he was sentenced in U.S. court to 18 months in prison for tax fraud. Legacy The cardinal tetra, Paracheirodon axelrodi, was named for Axelrod. For his philanthropy, the Smithsonian Institution named Axelrod their 1999 Donor of the Year. Axelrodia, a genus of characin from South America, is named for him. A number of fish species are also named for him, including Paracheirodon axelrodi, Hyphessobrycon axelrodi, Hyphessobrycon herbertaxelrodi, Corydoras axelrodi, Neolebias axelrodi, Schultzites axelrodi, Brittanichthys axelrodi, Sundadanio axelrodi, Cynotilapia axelrodi, Chilatherina axelrodi, Ecsenius axelrodi, Pseudogramma axelrodi, Melanotaenia herbertaxelrodi, Parananochromis axelrodi, Labeobarbus axelrodi, and Sternarchorhynchus axelrodi. CONDITION: The book is Fine with inscription on front endpaper. The blank lower margin of the letters has a light dampstain and is slightly chipped. Check our other auctions and store listings for additional unusual items Check our other auctions and store listings for additional unusual items Listing and template services provided by inkFrog

Price: 130 USD

Location: NJ

End Time: 2024-02-24T03:24:09.000Z

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