In 1931 he moved to New York to work for the dealer Emil Herrmann. He continued to make new instruments – and occasionally bows – but his time there was mainly taken up with repairs and restoration work. In this field he had no equal, an example of his work being a Stradivari of the best period, virtually destroyed in an accident in 1948, which now shows no sign of having suffered. In the imitation of old Italian varnish he excelled all rivals.
