iography

This violin-maker ranks among the greatest ot the 17th century Dutch makers, like Jan Boumeester, Pieter Rombouts and Willem van der Sijde. In this maker's work, we can distinguish between three periods.
The first peroid, until 1670, during which he made instruments which might be discribed as his "perfect Amati type". By comparison, the only points in his disfavour would be the arching towards the center of the top which dips a little too steeply at the edges, and the fact that his sound-holes are a little too wide compared with the delicateness of the rest of his conceptoin.
The second peroid, from about 1670 - 1685, shows a somewhat bolder style and execution. The third and last period, from 1685 until his death, could be discribed as his "Rombouts period". He was at thas time about 60 years old, and it is evident that having Pieter Rombouts who became his stepson in 1676 and who was 18 years old in 1685, so near, he left a considerable part of the work to be done by this young and talented violin-maker. His instruments of this peroid show distinct Rombouts features; a rather wide purfling, inserted further than usual from the instruments' contours; the back of the heads widening considerably towards the lower ends.
Whithout exception, Jacobs' violins, regardless of their period, deserve the highest praise and the varnish is always of most excellent quality.

From: The Violin-makers of the Low Countries, by Max Möller, Amsterdam (1955)