On Saturday, 20 September, one of our customers had a violin stolen from the boot of her car in South Yarra, Melbourne. The violin was on approval from Alex W Grant Violins and naturally both we and the customer are anxious to recover it.
This matter has been reported to the Stonnington Crime Investigation Unit, Prahran Police station. The contact for this matter is Leading Senior Constable Anthon Bennett. His phone number is 03 9520 5216 and the incident number to quote is 080259845.
Should you be offered the instrument, please contact either ourselves or the police without delay and retain the violin if possible.
The violin is by Colin-Mezin, 1926 and bears the words “Le Victorieux” and the serial no. 334 on the label. It may also have a tag attached to one of the pegs with the stock number CVN496. The violin has our set up and the bridge has our stamp on it.
Any assistance will be greatly appreciated.
28 NOVEMBER 2008
We were delighted today to hear from the Police that this instrument has now been recovered, thanks entirely to the vigilance of the Melbourne playing public. Many thanks to everyone who showed their concern and support over this stolen violin.
I would like to express my thanks to the AVMA for offering the facility to publicise the theft of a valuable instrument and for playing a MAJOR part in its recovery.
It is thanks to the vigilance of a local player and the AVMA Missing Instrument Register, that this instrument was located and returned to me.
The local police were very impressed with the Missing Instrument Register and asked that I pass on their thanks in the hope that you will continue and expand this valuable service.
Kim Ho