Books › Cremona violins. Four letters descriptive of those exhibited in 1873 at the South Kensington museum. Also giving the data for producing the true varnishes used by the great Cremona makers. [Reprinted from the Pall Mall Gazette.], 1873 › scan 28
Scan 28
Cremona violins. Four letters descriptive of those exhibited in 1873 at the South Kensington museum. Also giving the data for producing the true varnishes used by the great Cremona makers. [Reprinted from the Pall Mall Gazette.], 1873
4 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 22. See the scan on archive.org.
1Joseph, son of Andrew, who was then an old fiddle-maker; but the model all his own; even, regular, and perfect. Sound-hole long and characteristic, head rather mean for him; he made but few of these essays, and then went to a different and admirable style; a most graceful and elegant violin, which has been too loosely described as a copy of Stradiuarius; it is not that, but a fine violin in which a downright good workman profits by a great contemporary artist's excellences, yet without servility. These violins are not longer nor stiffer in the inner bought than Stradiuarius; they are rather narrow than broad in the central part, the sound-holes exquisitely cut, neither too stiff nor too flowing, the wood between the actual hole and the curve of the sound-hole remarkably broad. The scroll grandiose, yet well cut, and the nozzle of the scroll and the little platform below cut after the plan of Stradiuarius, though not so well. They are generally purfled through both pegs, like Stradiuarius; the wood very handsome, varnish a rich golden brown. I brought three of this epoch into the country; one was sold the other day at Christie's for £260, (bought, I believe, by Lord Dunmore,) and is worth £350 as prices go. This epoch, unfortunately, is not yet represented in the collection.
3The next epoch is, nobly represented by 93, 94, 95. All these violins have the broad centre, the grand long inner bought, stiffish yet not ungraceful, the long and rather upright sound-hole, but well cut; the grand scroll, cut all in a hurry, but noble. 93 is a little the grander in make I think; the purfling being set a hair's breadth farther in, the scroll magnificent; but observe the haste—the deep gauge-marks on the side of the scroll; here is already an indication of the slovenliness to come: varnish a lovely orange, wood beautiful; two cracks in the belly, one from the chin-mark to the sound-hole. 94 is a violin of the same make, and without a single crack; the scroll is not quite so grandiose as 93, but the rest incomparable; the belly pure and beautiful, the back a picture. There is nothing in the room that equals in picturesqueness the colours of this magnificent piece; time and fair-play have worn it thus; first, there is a narrow irregular line of wear caused by the hand in shifting, next, then comes a sheet of ruby varnish, with no wear to speak of; then an irregular piece is worn out the size of a sixpence; then more varnish; then, from the centre downwards, a grand wear, the size and shape of a large curving pear; this
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