Scan 34
A Review Of Ancient And Modern Violin Making, 1899
4 lines. Read by computer on 19 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1of my study and work many hundreds of violins have passed through my hands, some of them having an age of 250 years. I have carefully examined the wood of these violins, and compared them with wood of corresponding age, and have followed this line of comparison down to the present. I admit that the wood does not show as much decay as the violin of the same age. The fact that old wood shows unmistakable signs of decay (in fact the most of the old violins are nearly gone with dry rot) should be reason enough to condemn its use.
3It is generally believed from past teaching, but not from scientific investigation, that a violin will improve through all the years of its life. This cannot be shown to hold good beyond fifty or seventy years, and then it is largely owing to the amount of wood left in the plate. It should be remembered that all nature is governed by certain fixed laws. While decay may be retarded in its effect, it cannot be overcome. All growth has its birth, maturity and decline, and final decay is the inevitable end of all. As some one has said: "All created things contain within themselves the seeds of their own destruction."
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