Aranmore
are pleased to welcome 
Thomas Smith Violins
with their exciting range of
stringed instruments and accessories.
1881 Centenary 1981
The History of Thomas Smith's
There can be no string players in Birmingham and the Midlands region who have not heard of our dealt with Thomas Smith, violin makers, restorers, dealers and bow makers. By the same token, elsewhere in the British Isles, in Europe, on both sides of the iron curtain, in America, Australia and Japan the firm has established a reputation for the quality of its work and the absolute integrity of all its work and dealings.
The firm of Thomas Smith (Violins) Ltd
celebrated its 100th birthday in 1981. Its founder, the original Thomas Smith, maker and repairer of wind and string instruments began trading in a small premises at Lower Essex Street, Birmingham in 1881. The beginnings were humble enough, for although Tommy Smith was a dab hand at repairing a banjo and could play the violin a little, which he did as a member of a group called the City Waites, he was to a great extent self taught.
The business really took off when the Smith business moved to a much better address in Sherlock Street, right in the heart of what was then Birmingham's thriving theatre land. Standards of repair and restoration generally were at the start rough and ready, but Thomas Smith, by native intelligence and a wealth of practical experience was establishing a reputation as an expert and honest valuer of fine stringed instruments. His personality was such that he attracted craftsmen, musical experts and the corporate body of local string players to his shop. Thomas Smith's of Sherlock Street became a musical centre, a kind of club for professional gossip and job fixing and a social climate for boasting of success or cursing over failure. The shop became the hub of a large musical wheel whose spokes covered all the categories of professional music from classical to turn of the century pop.
Tommy Smith always had time for his customers and his ever-growing circle of musical friends, and he felt special pride in the development of his three sons. Thomas, the eldest showed great talent as a violinist and teacher. He became the Professor of Violin Studies at the then Birmingham School of Music whose Principal was Granville Bantock. Jimmy, the second in line became a theatre musician with a passionate love for fast motor-cycles. Joseph, the youngest became a brilliant pianist whose professional career was hampered by his failing eyesight. Joseph, more or less forced to change his professional direction became the mainstay of the firm, and ultimately, he became recognised worldwide as a valuer of the greatest expertise.
Between the wars, a quiet time for expansion, with the "Sherlock Street Club" attracting players, not least from the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and its leader Paul Beard, established Smith's prestige. It is 
believed that Arthur (later Sir Arthur) Conan Doyle who also indulged his musical talents, purchased a violin from a shop in Sherlock Street.
Joseph taking increasing responsibility married Ivy, a shop assistant who joined the firm and was a tower of strength. Then a German bomb in 1940 destroyed the Sherlock Street premises, the many valuable instruments in stock and the comfortable feeling of good fellowship so important a part of the firm's image.
The destruction could have been a valid excuse for giving up, but as I have already said, they are indestructible. Within three days of the bombing, a new shop opened in Birmingham's Easy Row, a pleasant crescent of Georgian properties well suited to the nature of the business. All the fittings and the parts of instruments capable of being salvaged were taken to the new premises. The instruments were piled into a heap in an attic, and business began as usual.
Joseph and his wife built the confidence in Thomas Smith all over again. The difference this time was the disappearance of the social club atmosphere. There was still the time and the interest in every musician who used the facilities, and the international business began to thrive. During the War, for example, American servicemen patronised Thomas Smith's, and during the post-war years the interest in music and instruments for professional use or for investment grew.
In 1963 the City of Birmingham's redevelopment scheme forced the shop to move again to a site in King Alfred's Place, just opposite the new Repertory Theatre. A 15-year-old violin student at the Birmingham School of Music made a first visit and found the shop an Aladdin's Cave. Michael Burnham, for that was his name, finished his training with Nicholas Roth at Trinity College and received a thorough training in the art and appraisal of violin construction from a craftsman named John Alexander who had been principal violin maker, repairer for Thomas Smith during the post-war years.
Michael became a full time member of staff in 1970; he inherited the business in 1971 and once more directed the business to the making of new instruments.
During the years that followed The Thomas Smith Workshop in collaboration with Jan Kudanowski and William Piper have produced many fine instruments for the home and overseas market.
Sadly owing to Birmingham's re-development the shop is no longer in existence however, Michael Burnham continues to keep the Thomas Smith tradition alive by producing handcrafted instruments and fine repairs with the tradition of more than a century.
