Vincenzo Postiglione

Vincenzo Postiglione (1831/35—1916) was an Italian luthier and violin-maker from Naples. He apprenticed with his father, Vincenzo Postiglione lorio (fl. c.1790—1840/49), and opened an independent workshop in 1855. In his formation years, Postiglione excelled in perfecting the "Gagliano style." Around the 1870s, however, Vincenzo focused more on Cremonese masters—Antonio Stradivari and Guarneri family, above all. In 1892, Alfredo Contino (1890—c. 1963) began apprenticing at Postiglione's workshop. Vincenzo retired in 1910 and left his workshop to his sons, but as neither were luthiers, A. Contino continued working in their family's atelier. Postiglione made around 400 instruments throughout his career, primarily violins plus cellos and several tenor viols. His makes gained even more fame posthumously, with the most expensive violin standing at $126,000 and one of the cellos scoring over $130,000 at Brompton's Auction in Oct 2011.