Scan 177
The violin: its famous makers and their imitators, 1909
6 lines. Read by computer on 27 September 2026. Printed page 129. See the scan on archive.org.
1changed the character of the sound-hole.1 At the same time the form of the instrument became flatter, and the scroll showed signs of originality. The varnish is much varied, but is generally of a light orange colour of beautiful hue; it sometimes has considerable body, but when so, lacks the transparency of light-coloured varnishes. The Violoncellos are of two sizes. The wood in the Violoncellos is often very plain, but possesses singular tone-producing qualities. The Violins of this maker are among his finest efforts; the workmanship is excellent, but has not the fine finish of Amati.
3GUARNERI, Giuseppe Giovan Battista, second son of Andrea, born November 25, 1666. This maker possessed a greater amount of originality than Andrea. His earliest works evidence that power of thinking for himself which, later, led him to construct instruments entirely distinct from those produced by his father. The outline is particularly striking. The waist of the instrument is narrowed, rapidly widening, however, from the centre. The result is a curve of much elegance, one of the points which Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesù appears to have admired, as he adopted and perfected it. It is here, more particularly, that a resemblance between this maker and his famous kinsman is
51 Lancetti, in his MS., mentions 1670 as about the period of his change of style.
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