Books › The violin : how to choose one, 1893 › scan 61
Scan 61
The violin : how to choose one, 1893
10 lines. Read by computer on 3 September 2026. Printed page 57. See the scan on archive.org.
1annoyance. It was placed originally upon bows to prevent the thumb and fingers slipping from their place, and that nothing else was thought of at that time is proved by Louis Panormo's bows having on them a fine wrapping of whalebone. We have grown wiser since then, for we have learned that not only something to prevent slipping is required but something soft and comforting to the thumb is necessary, and so the knowing one, when he gets a fine bow, at once cuts off the pretty silver thread and substitutes a carefully applied wrapping of soft and thick kid leather, reaching close up to the nut, bevelled off at each end, and neatly glued on. With a bow so fitted the hardest work becomes a pleasure rather than a toil, and there is no reason why the bow maker should not so fit up his bows from the first. Hard, smooth, and thin leather is of no use—it must be soft and thick, like that used for the upper part of ladies' boots. An influential firm informed me lately that a bow maker positively refused to so fit up his bows, till they threatened to withhold a large order, when he grudgingly complied with their wishes.
3Mounting.
5The best mounting of a bow, nut and screw and point, is silver. Gold-mounted bows may be had, but the gold has a brassy look, and does not contrast well with polished wood, while silver does. Gold-mounting on a bow, like gold-mounting on the pegs of a violin, is only a vulgar indication of the wealth of the owner, and plainly shows a lack of the finer artistic instincts. A very fine contrast is sometimes introduced by making the nut of tortoiseshell, silver-mounted, which goes well with a dark stick.
7The Violin Case.
9Many ingenious violin cases of leather, partially stiffened, have of late been produced, which are very convenient for ladies, or for players who do not use a valuable instrument; but the moment a player becomes the owner of a really grand violin, his first consideration is how to carry it about in absolute safety. The ordinary black wooden case does very well, but many object to its coffin-like appearance, and soar at some-
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