Scan 240
Antonio Stradivari, his life and work (1644-1737), 1909
6 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 214. See the scan on archive.org.
1he inlaid the Medici arms, delicately executed in mother-of-pearl. The tail-pieces were made of similar material to that of the finger-boards, and invariably matched these as regards inlaying, etc.
3Stradivari's bridges were of various designs, but the same spirit pervades them all. They also appear to have been made from the odd cuttings of the backs, and were a little thinner and lower than those of to-day, as well as more open in design. Our modern tendency to leave more substance in the bridge has been rendered necessary by the increased strain put upon it since the time of Stradivari; otherwise it remains practically unaltered (figs. 52-55).
5Before concluding this chapter we will devote a few words to the unique collection of relics from Stradivari's workshop which have, thanks to the intelligent enthusiasm of Count Cozio di Salabue, fortunately been preserved to us. Of mechanical tools, with the exception of the callipers shown in our illustration, nothing of interest exists. Chisels, gouges, planes, knives, scrapers, cramps, and the other necessary appliances of a violin-maker's workshop, are all absent. In the correspondence that took place between the descendants of Stradivari and the Count, the word "tools" is repeatedly used; we must therefore assume that the Count had them. Possibly one or other of the violin-makers with whom he was intimate, such as Joannes Baptista Guadagnini, or the Brothers Mantegazza, may have begged or borrowed them. Vuillaume obtained several of Stradivari's moulds, which he presented to the Museum of the Paris Conservatoire; and M. Chanot-Chardon possesses a set of small planes said to have belonged to Stradivari. We believe these
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