Books › The violin : how to choose one, 1893 › scan 27
Scan 27
The violin : how to choose one, 1893
6 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. Printed page 23. See the scan on archive.org.
1detect the smallest difference. I have given my reasons for supposing that the old masters used this self-same amber varnish, and no colouring matter. If you look over a lot of pieces of amber at a wholesale pipe shop, you will find many bits of exactly the same colour as Strad's varnish. No doubt Stradivarius would notice this, and strive to get the same result which had been worked out by nature. To say that the secret of melting amber was not known till after the death of Stradivarius, is no argument, as the method is so simple that in all probability the ancient Egyptians knew how to do it. Evolving the colour is another matter, but even that is simple, though exceedingly tedious." Dr. Dickson, though very reticent, has hinted the same to me; and Mr. Whitelaw declares that there are no colouring ingredients put into his varnish. Such a consensus of testimony and opinion is surely good enough for all practical purposes, but since the publication of the above, Mr. John Thomson, 72 New Bridge Street, Newcastle-on-Tyne, has given the following method of
3HOW TO COLOUR AMBER VARNISH.
5"The varnish I have made from the recipe of Mr. Bradley, and I think I have been very successful, having got two or three different colours, from pale and transparent to ruby red. I have just put on the first coat of the pale varnish on my violin, as it dries more quickly than the other. As you have revealed the secret of amber melting, I shall state how the different colours are to be got. The method is extremely simple. When you want the red, just as soon as complete fusion takes place in the amber, put in about half the quantity of oil, and keep it there until by tilting your tube to one side you can see the colour you want; then put in the remainder of the oil, and work as described in your article. That is for the dark colour; now for the transparent. When your amber is melted, keep it on the heat for about five minutes more, then add the whole of the oil gradually, then the rest of the ingredients, as laid down in your article. Please to warn readers that making amber varnish in a house is very dangerous, even with the smallest quantity, as I have had two accidents with my little experiments, which might have ended very seriously." Dr. Dickson's varnish, which I have already described, is not for
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