Scan 56
A Treatise On The Structure And Preservation Of The Violin, 1875
10 lines. Read by computer on 18 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1putting the instrument away in the case; and when again wanted for use, the oil should be wiped off with a fine linen cloth, particularly at the place where the bow is applied. The advantages resulting from this plan are—first, that the strings, thereby receiving nourishment, will not become dry, but always retain their smoothness of tone; and, secondly, they will not imbibe the moisture which exudes from the fingers and renders the strings dirty and false, so that they produce a grating or whistling kind of sound when the rosin is freely used; all which will be obviated by the method here proposed.
3This treatment of the violin was adopted by the concert-director, Ernst, under whom I studied music; and on my recommending it to the professors and amateurs with whom I have done business, it has met with their unanimous approval. It is especially beneficial to the G-string, the gut of which dries up during the heat of summer, whatever stretching it may have received before being covered, and the wire then becomes loose. However, by the means here named, this is prevented; for the string absorbs a little of the oil, between the coils of the wire, so that it does not get quite dry.
5The best method of preserving the spare strings is to moisten them with almond-oil, and then wrap them up in a piece of calf's or pig's bladder, and enclose them in a tin box.
7The best strings which I have ever seen are those from Milan, which are sold under the name of Roman strings, and may now be had at almost every music shop.* I will here
9* The Neapolitan strings are now in high repute; and those made by Savaresse, of Paris, are also greatly commended. See Gretschel's edition of Wettengel's Lehrbuch der Geigen und Bogenmacherkunst (Weimar, 1869), p. 211.—Tr.
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