Scan 24
A Review Of Ancient And Modern Violin Making, 1899
4 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1light on the subject. No doubt they settled on the wood that gave the best results. But in all this and from other sources I find no proof that they attached nearly so much importance to the kind or quality of wood that modern writers would have us believe. We have no evidence that they had any preference for old wood, or that they resorted to chemical or other treatment to prepare it other than the natural process of seasoning. The old wood craze is essentially of modern origin, and is not justified by common sense or practical investigation.
3It is generally believed that at about the close of the Cremona period there was a great falling off in violin making, which continued for an indefinite number of years, and when it was again resumed, there seemed to be a lack in the quality of work. When I wrote on this subject before, I took this general view, though at the time I had grave doubts as to its correctness. Since then I have given the matter considerable attention, and my former doubts have become certainties. I find that the art was more or less abandoned at Cremona, Bergonza being the last who attained to any distinction, but there were many who had ac-
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