Scan 197
Antonio Stradivari, his life and work (1644-1737), 1909
6 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 173. See the scan on archive.org.
1taly at the period when those makers flourished, but has since gradually become extinct. We are still on the heights of absurdity when another German writes to assure us that the wood and varnish used by Stradivari have at length been discovered by him, after making about ten thousand experiments, and having recourse to the aid of the microscope.
3We unhesitatingly assert that modern violin-makers have a choice of material equal in every respect to that which existed at the time of Stradivari, and of infinitely greater variety. The same forests whence came his timber are possibly still in existence, for what are two or three hundred years in the life of a not unduly disturbed forest? And we enjoy to-day all the advantages of a commercial age, when traders are willing to deliver at our doors wood from every part of the world, even sawn to given dimensions, and ready for use! We may here add a word as to the delusion that material taken from buildings, such as for instance Swiss châlets—in some cases centuries old—is preferable to that cut and seasoned during a lesser, but still a sufficient, number of years. We have tried both kinds—Vuillaume did so repeatedly—and we fail to find that the former possesses any real advantage over the latter; in fact, our opinion is rather in favour of the more youthful wood.
5Our conclusions are, then, that Stradivari's choice of material depended upon two circumstances: 1st, the remuneration he was to receive for a given instrument; 2nd, the choice of wood he had at the time in stock. Some years offered an abundant selection, others only an indifferent one.
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