Books › Notice of Anthony Stradivari, the celebrated violin-maker, known by the name of Stradivarius:, 1864 › scan 87
Scan 87
Notice of Anthony Stradivari, the celebrated violin-maker, known by the name of Stradivarius:, 1864
6 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 65. See the scan on archive.org.
1throughout this period of his productive career, to make the blocks and the sides of his violins of sallow, the specific lightness of which surpasses that of every other wood. In short, every thing has been foreseen, calculated and determined with certainty, in these admirable instruments. The bar alone is too weak, in consequence of the gradual rise in the pitch, from the beginning of the eighteenth century; the inevitable result of which has been a considerable increase of tension and a much greater pressure exercised on the belly. Hence the necessity has arisen for re-barring all the old violins and violoncellos.
3At the same period when Stradivarius had acquired the perfection which is here related, and when he worked with certainty as to the results, he has sometimes departed from his established type, in order to satisfy the fancies of artists or amateurs. Thus it happens that he has made violins of a more elongated pattern, whose appearance has less grace, although the same care has presided over their manufacture: indeed, every part of them is proportioned to this modification of their form, in order to maintain the equilibrium in the vibrations. In these, as in the other instruments which left the artist's hands at this period of his life, the tone possesses that noble energy, that brilliance and distinctive character which have every where established the great renown of Stradivarius.
5The instruments produced by Stradivarius from 1725 to 1730 are also very good; though the workmanship no longer displays the same perfection. The swell or arching is somewhat more rounded, which slightly
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.