Scan 81
Antonio Stradivari, his life and work (1644-1737), 1909
4 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1inevitable. Do not let this remark lead you to suppose that his productions now betray the hand of an old man. Such is not the case; what we wish to imply is that his age is here and there betrayed by a certain breadth and solidity of style traceable throughout every detail. Edge and purfling have a broader aspect than hitherto, due principally to the former being less rounded and the latter generally of full thickness, and set a degree farther in. The edge, as a rule, is also stouter in substance, and at times of slightly irregular thickness; the corners are decidedly broader, which causes them to appear shorter than is really the case, and their curves—especially those extending from the C's—are at times a trifle squarer-looking. The arching of the model continues on the lines of the 1704–10 instruments; here, a shade flatter or higher; there, a little more or less full at the flanks and around the edges. The sound-holes are well open, the sharp curves, as in the "Betts," being absent, and they are more heavily cut. The contour of the exterior curves of the heads is perhaps less bold than in 1709, though marked by a still increasing heaviness of bevel, broad centre-line to the fluting, throat well open, and a blunter termination of the volute.
3The foregoing are the main characteristics of Stradivari's work until 1720–25. From year to year, nay, from month to month, we note continual deviation, but it is impossible for us to enter into these subtle distinctions. We think we have now made it clear that when Stradivari in 1708–9 originated the 14 1/8-inch outline, he did not give up the 14-inch form he had been using in the previous years: on the contrary, he continued working from both, and the violins made up to the year 1713 are generally of one or other of these forms. In this latter year, however, we find him reverting to dimensions similar to those of certain violins of the 1680–90 period, measuring 14 1/8 inches in
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