Scan 65
Antonio Stradivari, his life and work (1644-1737), 1909
6 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1the first time we see Stradivari making a more decided bevel and carrying out his very original idea of picking out the curves of the outline of the head in black.* He also treated the centre-line running down the middle of the fluting in a similar manner. Few specimens are now to be found with heads in that sharpness of preservation which enables the observer to note this latter feature; besides, we think he did it in but few instances, and never, as far as we have observed, after 1700. The blackening of the bevel he continued—with a few exceptions, dating between 1698 and 1703, and several of his inlaid instruments—to the end of his life. The year 1690 is perhaps one of the most interesting epochs in Stradivari's career; it certainly marks the most complete innovation as regards the form, construction, and proportions of the violin which took place in his work; it can only be equalled by the change in the form of his 'cellos which he adopted years later. We refer to the creation of the "long Strad."
3Before proceeding, we will again pause and more fully review the progress of the last few years. Stradivari had now reached the plenitude of his powers as a craftsman, for it cannot be gainsaid that in point of sharpness, accuracy, and beauty of finish some of the examples of the years 1686, 1687, 1688, 1689, and 1690 stand unsurpassable. This is but natural, when we consider that he was now in the prime of life. The perfect skill with which he handled his knife is seen in the cutting of the "f" holes, the insertion of the purfling, and the carving of the heads. The finish throughout marks him as having been one of the most dexterous craftsmen the world has ever known, and we emphatically assert that no violin-maker has ever
5* Some of Stradivari's copyists have blacked the mitre-joints of the sides of their instruments. This feature was originated by Joseph Guarnerius: Stradivari never did it.
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