Scan 18
Antonio Stradivari, his life and work (1644-1737), 1909
18 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1carly makers—Where obtained—The making up of faulty pieces—Stradivari's preference for the wood of certain trees in given years—Scarcity at times of foreign maple—The pine of the bellies—The virtues of old wood . . . . 167
3CHAPTER VII.
4STRADIVARI'S VARNISH.
5The varnish used by other Italian makers—Amateur workers on the subject—Was the recipe a trade secret?—The present existence of Stradivari's written formula—Whence sprang the use of fine varnishes and pure colours?—The Amati colour—The basis of Stradivari's varnish—Reade's remarks—The importance of the colour—The effect of light—The picturesque appearance of the backs—The gradual disuse of oil varnishes—The reason for this, its revival, and final disappearance—The effect of the varnish upon tone . . . 174
7CHAPTER VIII.
8STRADIVARI'S CONSTRUCTION.
9Based upon the work of the past—The master, above all, a practical workman—Examination of the interior construction—The thicknesses of Gasparo, Maggini, the Amati, and those of Stradivari—The blocks and linings—The bass-bar, its function and origin—The bars of early makers compared with those used by Stradivari—The outline—The marked originality of the Italians—The use of moulds for bending the sides—Those employed by the master—The purfling—The sound-holes—The modelling—The head—Stradivari's method of work—His bridges, finger-boards, and fittings—The Dalla Valle Collection of patterns, etc. . . . . . . . . 189
11CHAPTER IX.
12STRADIVARI'S LABELS.
13Statement on the subject of labels in general—The early origin of the practice of inserting false labels in instruments—Its true significance—Stradivari's earliest label—The second type of label—The reason why they are falsified—The master's method of printing the labels—The figures and monogram—Changes in 1670, in 1680, and in 1690—The third type of label—Groups of figures—Fourth and last type of label . 219
15CHAPTER X.
16THE NUMBER OF INSTRUMENTS MADE BY STRADIVARI.
17The master's industry—Count Cozio's statement—Computation of the time spent by Stradivari in making a violin—The master a quick workman—The rarity of his early productions and the reason—Increase in the decade 1680-90—The years of greatest production—Estimate of the total number made—The various types of instruments made by the master—
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