Scan 107
How to make a violin : The violin, its construction practically treated, 1892
6 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 93. See the scan on archive.org.
1colour. The vehicle or menstruum, moreover, is alcohol. In France, the colouring was sometimes good, but in general too pronounced. The varnish of the old English makers lacked transparency. In both these countries the vehicle was oil, but the varnish in quantity and texture differed essentially from the Italian.
3"Three questions occur:—first, was this manufacture a secret? second, how was this secret lost? third, are there any clues for perusal and examination? Answers to these questions should clear up the mystery of this so-called lost art.
5"To begin, then, with the first question, was the manufacture of this varnish a secret? There is no reasonable doubt that it was, but only in a certain way. For a period of about 200 years, from the time of Gaspar da Salo to that of the Bergonzi, the varnish was common to every Italian violin-maker. Cremona had no monopoly, for the knowledge and use of it extended to Padua, Venice, Rome, and Naples. It is impossible, therefore, during this long time to say that
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