jacobsaunders

In my experience, one should be particularly careful labelling these 19thC “Maggini Copies” Saxon or French, since one may get muddled up quicker than one thinks. The “Delta” at the back of the peg box is indeed a “Saxon” feature, although it can be observed elsewhere (England for instance) which goes to show that it is foolhardy to base an “appraisal” on one ticked box alone. This fiddle ticks several, but by no means all, “Saxon boxes”. In particular the wood of the linings, which looks like some old cigar box, would argue against Saxon. I would keep my council until I see pictures of the opened violin body.

actually Peter charges more than 50 quid (I was just teasing)

No, up till now, no one has helped me with the identification. I suppose people get so used to me telling them what their fiddles are, that they don't dare return the compliment. I posted the pictures to demonstrate French “cornerblockology”(originally a joke phrase) and assume it was made like that.

A very good question of course. The standard disclaimer would be that I wasn't there! I do not know of the use of the outside form until the late 19th C., where one may see it on Ungaro/Austrian makers like for instance Zach. Some of these “half outside forms” (one made one half of the rib cage, then the other) were in the Jaura estate. I think I would speculate that they were using the “on the back, around the blocks” method, Other clues, 2 pc. Bottom rib and no positioning pins.

Next time I see you, I will get you to demonstrate how to mange that, since I found that there was no other way to apply a cramp. Mind you I was being show how to do it when making a copy where the back and belly outlines were not uniform.

Since this was originally intended as a thread for future reference, I would just like to post pictures of a French instrument's corner blocks/linings from some 50 years earlier than the specimen pictured above.

Full agreement! We all know what it is already, except the OP, who is not yet convinced. Paying you fifty quid for a Dendro might help him climb down off his high horse.

Or without your " tri-focal bottle cap glasses" on Bottom line; one may diagnose the OP fiddle as French, 19th. C. as said on a previous page

Except that Schweiter's middle bout linings are let into the corner blocks. The pictured (Mast) blocks/linings, glued onto the blocks at a sort of mitre, certainly is definitive French if you ask me.

You are also welcome to enlarge my pictures witha "right mouse click"

I am, to be quite honest, not quite sure if I understand your question. At the risk of compounding a misunderstanding; the middle bout linings are mitred ONTO (not into) the blocks, as you can see on the birds-eye perspective, which gives a phoney impression of being let into the blocks when viewed from the opposite side.

For those students of “cornerblockology”,I should perhaps extend my “French cornerblockoogy” thread https://maestronet.com/forum/index.php?/topic/339872-french-cornerblockology/ with pictures of a fairly typical, but ca. 50 years older French one, which I think will help better with the OP one

yes

Oh, a Strad, never thought of that

People generally are