Books › Notice of Anthony Stradivari, the celebrated violin-maker, known by the name of Stradivarius:, 1864 › scan 41
Scan 41
Notice of Anthony Stradivari, the celebrated violin-maker, known by the name of Stradivarius:, 1864
10 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. Printed page 19. See the scan on archive.org.
128 centimètres [11.023 in.]*. Of the six strings with which the instrument is mounted, two are situated off the finger-board, and are played pizzicato by the thumb of the left hand. The lower ends of these strings are attached to the tail-piece, which is fastened in the same way as in the ancient viols or quintons. In some instruments—for instance, in that depicted by Daines Barrington—this tail-piece presents a right line parallel to the base of the crouth, at the end where the strings are attached (see fig. 2, p. 22); but in others, according to the drawing given by Jones†, the tail-piece takes the oblique direction which is observed in that of the viola bastarda (bastard viol) with six strings, of which we shall speak farther on. The upper ends of the strings pass through holes bored in the solid top part of the instrument, rest on nuts, and are fastened at the back of the head by pegs, which are turned, says Mr. W. Bingley‡, with a key or lever, after the manner of the guitar.
3Two circular sound-holes are cut in the belly, 3 centimètres [1.181 in.] in diameter. The most singular
5* These measurements, obtained by considering the centimètre as equal to .39370 of an inch, differ from those given by Edw. Jones, which are as follow:—"The length of the Crwth is 20½ inches, its breadth at bottom 9½; towards the top it tapers to 8 inches. Its thickness is 1 8/10, and the finger-board measures 10 inches in length." (Loc. cit. p. 115.) The dimensions of an old Crwth, in the possession of Mr. C. W. G. Wynne, as given in a recent publication, are—Length, 22 inches; width, 9½ inches; greatest depth, 2 inches; length of finger-board, 10½ inches.—Tr.
7† Loc. cit. p. 89.
9‡ North Wales, including its scenery, antiquity, customs, &c. vol. ii, p. 331.
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