Scan 239
Antonio Stradivari, his life and work (1644-1737), 1909
6 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 213. See the scan on archive.org.
1It was only when players recognised the greater scope afforded them for more varied methods of execution by extending the compass of the instrument, that the makers realised the necessity of adapting the neck and finger-board to the altered circumstances, thus facilitating the shifting into higher positions. Lancetti* mentions that the brothers Mantegazza (living at the beginning of the last century) were often entrusted with instruments for the purpose of having the necks lengthened, according to the fashion prevailing in Paris.
3Stradivari's violin finger-boards were of several different lengths. The shortest appears to have measured 7 1/2 inches, width at top 1 1/6, at bottom 1 1/2; in another we find the length increased to 7 7/8 inches (this pattern is dated 1685), and a third, dated 1715, on which the maker wrote "longer" and "broader," is 8 1/2 inches long by 1 3/6 and 1 11/6 wide. The modern finger-board measures approximately 10 1/2 inches by 7/8 and 1 5/8. Stradivari's were generally made from odd pieces of maple, cuttings from the slabs used for the backs; in some cases the top was veneered in ebony or an Italian wood. At times Stradivari inlaid a line of purfling or stringing composed of ivory and ebony along the edge, or inlaid the whole surface with a design in purfling. In the case of special instruments, such as the Tuscan set, in addition to the ivory and ebony lines,
5* "Biographical Notices," Milan, 1823.
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.