The Strads, Amatis, Guans survive because they are used and maintained. Lutes that were fancy survived as decorations, working lutes fell into disrepair through lack of use. The only reason Mozart's piano forte is in Salzburg is because one of his children saved it. Otherwise it would have been firewood on a cold Vienna night.
Louis Aull -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
