Books › A descriptive catalogue of the musical instruments in the South Kensington museum, preceded by an essay on the history of musical instruments, 1874 › scan 349
Scan 349
A descriptive catalogue of the musical instruments in the South Kensington museum, preceded by an essay on the history of musical instruments, 1874
16 lines. Read by computer on 14 September 2026. Printed page 323. See the scan on archive.org.
1a Venetia 1607, in an old Italian lute belonging to Prince Moriz Lobkowitz in Eifenberg, Bohemia.
3(71.)
5LUTE. German. Made by Jacobus Heinrich Goldt in Hamburg, Anno 1712.
7According to an inscription inside, it was altered, in the year 1753. To judge from the holes in the old bridge still retained it had originally twenty-one strings. By the alteration it has assumed more the character of a guitar.
9(21.)
11LUTE. Italian. Early 15th century. This instrument is especially interesting, inasmuch as it has attained the venerable age of four hundred and fifty years. It is the work of Laux (or Lucas) Maler, a German, who lived in Bologna about 1415, and who may be considered as the Amati of the old lute makers.
13At the time when Thomas Mace wrote his book before-mentioned, which, it must be remembered, was two hundred years ago, when the value of money was six times higher than it is at the present day,—the lutes of Laux Maler were in high repute, and "pittifull old, batter'd, crack'd things" as they were, according to Mace, they fetched as much as a hundred pounds a-piece.
15The present specimen is in a sound state of preservation. Nothing has been altered on it except the tuning-peggs,—brass and ivory screws having been substituted for the original pegs. This contrivance, as well as a painting of flowers on the soundboard, is probably not older than about a hundred years. The cracks on its pear-shaped body have been carefully mended,—not recently, but evidently whenever they occurred in the course of centuries. Its tone is remarkably fine, having an exquisite sonorousness and mellowness of sound. It evidently had originally thinner strings, arranged in pairs, as may be seen by the holes in the bridge. But this arrangement could not now well be restored on account of the substitution of the tuning machine above referred to. The places where some of the ancient tuning-peggs were fixed are still discernible. The knob at one side of the body served for placing the
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