Scan 139
The violin: its famous makers and their imitators, 1875
4 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. Printed page 89. See the scan on archive.org.
1his researches is surprising, and there is no ground for the assertion frequently made that he worked without plan or reason. The idea that such an artist as Guarnerius groped in the dark savours of the ridiculous; moreover, there is direct evidence on the contrary, of his marvellous fertility of design. At one period his instruments are extremely flat, without any perceptible rise; at another, the form is raised in a marked manner, and the purfling sunk into a groove; a parallel of this type of instrument is to be found in the works of Peter Guarnerius and Montagnana. At one time his sound-holes were cut nearly perpendicular (a freak which, by the way, has some show of reason, for though it sacrifices beauty, it also prevents the breaking up of the fibres), at another, shortened and slanting, and again are sometimes seen immoderately long. These hastily-marshalled instances are quite sufficient to show the extent of his experiments and the many resources which he adopted in order to produce exceptional qualities of tone.
3In order that the reader may better understand the subject, before going further in noting the peculiar features belonging to the instruments of Guarnerius, we will classify his work. M. Fétis, doubtless under the guidance of M. Vuillaume, has divided the career of Guarnerius into three periods—an excellent arrangement, and one that cannot be improved upon. It only remains to point out certain peculiarities omitted in the description of these three
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