Books › Violin tone and violin makers, 1916 › scan 279
Scan 279
Violin tone and violin makers, 1916
4 lines. Read by computer on 27 September 2026. Printed page 257. See the scan on archive.org.
1AND VIOLIN MAKERS
3record ten of these; others are known to have been made, but traces of them, if still existing, have disappeared. The earliest seems to date from 1677, and the latest is the "Rode" violin made in 1722. These examples include a viola dated 1696, and a violoncello. Three of the inlaid violins are dated 1709. The violas at present known number only about a dozen. One of these, a "tenore," dated 1690, measures 18 7/8 inches in length. The smaller examples average about 16 3/16 to 16 5/16 inches. There are about fifty violoncellos, the older specimens being over 31 inches long, and the later type about 29 1/2 inches or a little over. These include many notable instruments, such as those owned by Piatti, Duport, Servais, and other celebrated players, after whom they have been named. Notwithstanding repeated assertions to the contrary, there is no trace of any double basses made by Stradivari; specimens formerly assigned to him have long been rejected as spurious, and no patterns for such instruments are to be found amongst his drawings, moulds and other working apparatus. These last were bought from Stradivari's son by Count Cozio di Salabue, and from him descended to the Marquis dalla Valle, who is, or was recently, still in possession of them. Stradivari's output was enormous, even when due allowance is made for the length of time during which he was at work; and the estimate made by Messrs. Hill, which gives a total of 1116 instruments, is by no means an excessive one. No other maker, who has not degenerated into a "manufacturer," like Vuillaume and "didier" Nicolas in the last century, can compare with him in this respect, and the marvel of it all is that his own hand is plainly visible in all his works, even to the very last. There can be no reasonable doubt that he was assisted by a considerable
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