Scan 170
Joseph Guarnerius, his work and his master [Andreas Gisalberti], 1906
8 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 102. See the scan on archive.org.
1work is such that more than a mere glance is necessary to enable us to recognise the author.
3There he is, however, with his master's influence still present, which he has not yet thrown completely aside, some of it never to be evaded. The pattern or outline is quite novel, the modelling flatter, more in system than reality, and the whole work remarkably bold. There is another item of interest, that of its being to my knowledge the first instance of the use for the upper table of the pine with the two lines of shade, one on each side of the fingerboard, and running the whole length of the table. It is sometimes called a cloud, at others a stain; it is a natural discoloration, less distinct in some instances than others.
5A cloud, stain, grey discoloration, or whatever it may be called, of this kind is not rare among the old Italian violins, having been seen in the pine tables of several other makers of note, and therefore the mere presence of a similar mark will be no indication of authenticity or even locality of make; it must be accompanied by the exact peculiarity of grain in Joseph's wood. It is so faint in many instances as to necessitate moving the instrument about in the light in order to see it; in one or two I have found the same tree, but without this mark, which seems not to have extended all round, possibly only on one side, facing a particular point of the compass, and may have been on the side least exposed to the rays of the sun or not. It is certain that Joseph Guarnerius retained a quantity of the wood from this precious pine tree, from which store he took now and then as occasion prompted him. That he thought much of it is evidenced by the fact of some of his finest works showing its presence, and that the stock at the first was large is declared by the fact of his having drawn from this quantity from 1714 till the year 1742, or possibly later.
7Compared with some of the other pine used by Joseph, it is less regular in the gradation of the fibres or threads. To the eyes of connoisseurs on the look-out for regularity
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