Books › The violin and the art of its construction. A treatise on the Stradivarius violin, 1895 › scan 19
Scan 19
The violin and the art of its construction. A treatise on the Stradivarius violin, 1895
8 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. No printed page number was found. See the scan on archive.org.
1the bottom block, along the joint of the ribs, but with backs made in one piece it scarcely ever occurs, because then the under ribs, as far as the middle rib, are prepared in one piece. The purfling is not to be regarded as an embellishment, as many suppose it is. It considerably strengthens the back and the belly towards the edges, and at the same time offers a protection, especially for the belly, against cracks, if the instrument, for example, should be opened for repairs by an inexperienced workman. I will even go so far as to assert that if the purfling were not employed, old violins could not exist without numberless cracks, for any violent blow would cause cracks, without the additional strength given by the purfling, and the greater number of old and costly violins would come down to us spoilt, or at least damaged.
3The purfling also has this advantage that if perchance the edges get broken off, they can easily be replaced and the good appearance of the instrument restored without much trouble.
5VIII. WORKING-OUT THE THICKNESSES OF THE BELLY AND BACK.
7The thickness of the breast in the back amounts to 4 m/m. at the spot where the sound-post stands and remains the same to a distance of 50 m/m. towards the bottom block, and 60 m/m. towards the upper block, while it decreases to 3 m/m. towards the middle rib. The cheeks must be 1 to 2 m/m. thick. I have assured myself by numberless measurements that Stradivarius often changed the thickness of the back; and has even gone so far as to make it 6 m/m., while the belly which he made from the soundest and most perfect
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