Scan 137
The violin: its famous makers and their imitators, 1884
4 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. Printed page 83. See the scan on archive.org.
1The sides are a shade deeper than those of the brothers Amati. The scroll is exquisitely cut. Its outline is perhaps a trifle contracted, and thus is robbed of the vigour which it would otherwise possess. From this circumstance it differs from the general tenour of the body, which is certainly of broad conception. The maker would seem to have been aware of this defect, if we may judge from the difference of form given to his earlier scrolls, as compared with those of a later date, in which he seems to have attempted to secure increased boldness, as more in keeping with the character of the body of the instrument. It must be acknowledged, however, that these efforts did not carry him far enough. The wood used by Niccolò Amati for his grand instruments is of splendid quality, both as regards acoustical requirements, and beauty of appearance. The grain of some of his backs have a wave-like form of much beauty, others have markings of great regularity, giving to the instrument a highly finished appearance. The bellies are of a soft, silken nature, and usually of even grain. A few of them are of singular beauty, their grain being of a mottled character, which, within its transparent coat of varnish, flashes light here and there with strange force.
3These, then, are the instruments which are so highly esteemed, and which form one of the chief links in the Violin family. The highest praise must be conceded to the originator of a design which
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