Books › the history of the violin, 1864 › scan 286
Scan 286
the history of the violin, 1864
9 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. Printed page 264. See the scan on archive.org.
A town on its own line is one of the directory's headings. That is where the town on a maker's page comes from.
1ink lines instead of purfle, although there are exceptions, and but few instruments are known that have this ornamental and useful inlaying. The varnish is generally of a red colour, with a brown tinge; but there are some instruments that have a brownish yellow colour, rather opaque. This maker fell into a great error by endeavouring to anticipate age, and worked the instruments so thin, the violoncellos in particular, that many years since they were liable to compress for want of sufficient thicknesses to withstand the tension of the strings; and in hot rooms they gave way in tone for want of greater stamina. Professors said "they played them out," and were far from satisfying either in quality or endurance. From this defect the tone is mostly hollow in sound, and wolfy, if the musical term may be allowed, which may be expressed by stating that many faulty or hard notes are created by this imperfect mode of gauging the instruments. However, there are a few violoncellos known of this maker in which more wood has been left, and the tone of them is good. The external appliances to remedy the defect alluded to will be a low bridge of rather hard wood, and strings of small size, with a sound-post full long and tight. Peter Wamsley made but few double basses, which are now very scarce. Those which have been seen were very good in tone, and stronger gauging; the varnish was of the red colour similar to that used in his other instruments. The following are copies of printed labels used by this maker:—
3"Made by Peter Wamsley
4at ye Golden Harp in Pickadilly
5London
61727."
8The two last figures added with a pen. The two labels
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.