Scan 22
Georg Gemünder's Progress In Violin Making 1881, 1881
10 lines. Read by computer on 19 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1Martin Hoffmann, of Leipzig, who is chiefly known as a skilful lute-maker, has also constructed violins of an excellent quality of tone, unless that has been affected by so-called repairs; but their size, and the form of the f-holes, as well as their sharp corners and very weak edges, give his instruments such an ungraceful appearance that but few of them are esteemed by connoisseurs.
3Hunger, of Leipzig, has made much more beautiful violins than Hoffmann. His tenors and violoncellos are constructed more in the Italian style, and may justly be ranked among the good German-made instruments, if their interior proportions have not been destroyed by bunglers.
5Ulric Eberle, of Prague, was one of the most eminent German makers. His violins have even been mistaken by experienced connoisseurs for genuine Italian instruments, and are only inferior to the Cremonese from having a sharper or somewhat less full and round tone.
7Charles Helmer, a pupil of Eberle, of Prague, has also produced very finely-made instruments. They have, however, the fault, that the three upper strings improve greatly by being played on, but the G-string, in most of them, remains so far inferior, that while the tone of the former is such as may be expected from a full-sized violin, that of the latter only resembles a child's toy-instrument. Yet an experienced maker would find no difficulty in correcting this fault.
9Hassert, of Rudolstadt, has constructed his instruments with much care. They have all a very high model, and the belly is formed of excellent wood; notwithstanding this, they produce either a shrill tone, or else, when weakly made, a hollow one. His brother, at Eisenach, who far surpassed him, imitated the flat model of the Italians with great assiduity, and used very beautiful wood for the bellies
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