Scan 94
The violin: its famous makers and their imitators, 1884
4 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. Printed page 44. See the scan on archive.org.
1are made when the north, and the worst when the south wind blows," a truism well understood by experienced string manufacturers. Thomas Mace, in his curious book on the Lute, enters at some length into the question of strings, and speaks in glowing terms of his Venetian Catlins. The above references to strings met with in the writers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries indicate a full knowledge of the most important facts concerning them on the part of the musicians and makers of those days; and notwithstanding our superior mechanical contrivances in the manufacture, it is doubtful whether modern strings are generally equal to those made in times when leisure waited on quality in lieu of speed on quantity.
3Musical strings are manufactured in Italy, Germany, France, and England. The Italians rank first, as in past times, in this manufacture, their proficiency being evident in the three chief requisites for strings, viz., high finish, great durability, and purity of sound. There are manufactories at Rome, Naples, Padua, and Verona, the separate characteristics of which are definitely marked in their produce. Those strings which are manufactured at Rome are exceedingly hard and brilliant, and exhibit a slight roughness of finish. The Neapolitan samples are smoother and softer than the Roman, and also whiter in appearance. Those of Padua are highly polished and durable, but frequently false. The Veronese strings are softer than the
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