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Who today would walk up to a row of brand new student violins labeled Stradivarius and mistake them for originals? Often the famous names reflected the maker used as a model—sometimes quite loosely.
My first violin, handed down from great-grandpa, was labeled Amati, despite its flattish arching characteristic of a much later-style instrument. The practice is still common today. Andreas Eastman, for example, is a line of instruments produced by Eastman Strings. The label says made in China, nothing is hidden, but the name Andreas conjures up visions of Andreas Amati or Andreas Guarneri crafting fine instruments one at a time in long-ago Cremona, while the old English name Eastman meaning man from the east, appropriately hardly evokes images of modern-day China.
The famous 'Emperor' Stradivarius violin, dating from It was Stock Photo: - Alamy
Many trade instruments bore the label of the master maker in charge of the shop. Ernst Heinrich Roth is a famous example. Born in , the original Ernst Heinrich made many fine-quality instruments himself, which are in great demand today, but he did not spend his career working alone, making one at a time. He started his own business in , overseeing production in his workshop.
The business passed to succeeding generations, who, like the old Italians, used the same name as the old master.
But without knowing the history of the Roth shop, the lay-person might not know whether he or she has a valuable original or a serviceable student instrument. While the stakes are not nearly so high as in the case of the Rocca, the price difference is considerable. After paying a fee, Pfretzschner was allowed into the guild to handle sales. Exactly how the information is worded can help determine the approximate date of export.
The McKinley Tariff Act of required all products imported to the United States be marked with their country of origin. So, if there is no such mark, the instrument is pre, or not made for the US market. Remember, the vast majority were. The act was amended further in to state that the place of origin must be in English.
An Insider’s Guide to Violin Labels
Lifestyle , Viral and Trending. AFP Published May 22, , Updated May 22, , An Amati violin dating to and a Gasparo da Salo violin dating to mimicked the basses and baritones of male singers. WWE history maker, mother and role model for Indian women. Be careful as the game allows hackers steal your data. Rather, there are other characteristics of old instruments which can be objectively evaluated. The first way to tell if your instrument is old modern , old actually old or fake old, is to look for a neck graft.
Old violins and violas and cellos have neck grafts because they were crafted in an era when instruments had shorter necks. Around , a few esteemed luthiers experimented with longer necks, and these new necks caught on with players. Violins with shorter necks subsequently had to have their old necks removed and the original scroll put on a longer neck to be playable by the new standards.
Thus, old violins have neck grafts, newer violins do not have neck grafts, and fake old violins have fake neck grafts.
Fake neck grafts are a groove or pencil line where the neck graft should be and can be spotted because there is no change in the grain of wood on either side of the "graft". Similarly to having neck grafts, actually old instruments frequently have bushed pegboxes. Bushed pegboxes are pegboxes where the holes for pegs have been partially filled in with wood. Bushing is necessary when old pegs have been turned and turned so much over hundreds of years that the pegs have worn down and opened too large of holes for a sound pegbox.
By Diane Bruce
Of course, if an instrument was never played much, it will not have a bushed pegbox, even if it is actually old. And very occasionally newer instruments will have bushed pegboxes. So if you have a bushed pegbox, the instrument is probably actually old; if the instrument does not have a bushed pegbox, you can't be sure. If the instrument has a fake bushed pegbox, such as grooves for where the bushing should be, then the instrument is fake old.
If you have a good eye, another way to determine if you have a regular old, actually old or fake old instrument is to look at the varnish.