Scan 33
A Treatise On The Structure And Preservation Of The Violin, 1875
6 lines. Read by computer on 18 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1father's,* except that he was not so particular as Jerome in selecting beautifully-figured maple; but in quality of tone they are nothing inferior, if they have not been spoiled in repairing, like some which have come into my hands, the wood of which had been shamefully scraped away. As an instance of this, I may mention one which the Duke Ernest Augustus purchased for 200 ducats, the back and belly of which I was obliged to patch and strengthen on the inside with old wood, in order to restore the instrument to its true proportions; for it had been so damaged, that, considering its tone, it was not worth more than 5 dollars. As already stated, I have seen but few genuine instruments of Anthony Amati; and this has led me to infer that only few of them have been brought into Germany. There are, however, the more of Nicholas Amati, of Cremona, who flourished during the same period as Anthony Straduarius.
3The violins of Nicholas Amati are particularly remarkable, as being of a rather smaller size, and having a peculiar model. They run rather flat from the purfling inwards, and then rise, more suddenly than those of either Jerome or Anthony, to an inch above the level of the side pieces, and form, in the highest part, a sharp ridge. This constitutes their chief characteristic. For the rest, his violins are not made with the extreme care as those of Jerome; the purfling is not let in so neatly, and the corners turn farther outwards: but the edges are very beautifully rounded, and the f-holes are well-shaped and stand rather near each other, as in all the Italian instruments. The interior of those which have escaped injury proves that he constructed on strict mathematical principles. An unspoiled violin of his make is
5* His brother's.—Tr.
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