Bow & Bridge Violin and bow makers, as the old books printed them

Books › The varnishes of the Italian violin-makers of the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and their influence on tone;, 1904 › scan 55

Scan 55

The varnishes of the Italian violin-makers of the sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and their influence on tone;, 1904

8 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.

1board), which has been made for some years, will generally be found to be between 4,400 and 4,900 grains (say 285 to 317 grammes) at 60° F. This weight will increase or decrease to the extent of at least 60 grains (4 grammes) when the violin is exposed to the air of different apartments in the same house. If the weight of the unvarnished instrument, when in an ordinary sitting-room, be taken as 4,500 grains (300 grammes), it may be safely assumed that of this weight about 500 grains (33 grammes) are water. This considerable proportion of water present in wood (even when well dried and seasoned) makes it very difficult to determine with exactitude how much weight the virgin instrument gains by the varnishing of its exterior surfaces.
3It has been found that the increase of weight in a violin by the varnishing process ranges from about 200 to 400 grains (13 to 26 grammes). The actual weight of the varnish will slightly exceed this, because it must be taken into account that the varnish which has permeated the wood has in all probability displaced an equal volume of water.
5If the wood of violins were varnished on all sides there might be more reason for the conclusion at which M. Savart arrived in endeavouring to explain the reason for the greater deterioration of the sounding-boards of guitars and pianofortes than of those of violins. He appears to have overlooked the fact that the inside of a violin is unvarnished; therefore, from this direction the wood will be always freely affected by the humidity of the atmosphere.
7It is easy to ascertain whether a varnished violin is so affected. A completely varnished, unmounted

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