Guido

Ok, the rest and some more pics of the saddle. And the veneered spruce core fingerboard in unusually good condition (if original, but I'd think so).

I can just about read almost everything.... except the long word in the third line, second half "Geigenbau...." The usual suspect for the second half of that word (i.e. ...meister) dosn't seem to fit. Could it read Geigenbaulehrer, given the chaps bio? This leads to more questions. I've got Lothar Meisel's book on his family history. The German text has Oswald teach at the trade school from 1891, the other languages make that 10 years later. The dates seem all over the place and inconsistent between what should just be translations. Ups. Born in 1878 a realistic age seems questionable, but "teaching at the trade school" could have started with a rather minor support role. In 1895 (as I read the inscription) he would have been 17 years old. Or maybe even his date of birth is out. Zoebisch doen't list him at all. So, "Geigenbaulehrer" or something else?

Here is mine. Very similar to the OP. The saddle less elaborate though. Also very original with it's through-neck and what appears to be even the original spruce core fingerboard.

Hallo, ich bin Geigenbauer in Australien und eine junge Kundin von mir zieht mit Ihren Eltern nach Hamburg. Wer kann einen Geigenbauer des Vertrauens empfehlen? Und sie ist natuerlich auch auf der Suche nach dem bestmoeglichen Lehrer. Sie ist sehr begabt und Geige ist die klare Berufsabsicht. Bitte schickt mir doch eine PM wenn Ihr eine Empfehlung oder Hinweise habt.

Just an idea, but you might ask your daughter if it’s not too bad, given that she has the benefit of playing it; and her subjective assessment would be more relevant than anyone else‘s, no?

Have you bought it from a reputable shop sold as „by“ Fetique and/ or does it have a first rate certificate? If so, it is probably an original. If not, then it is probably not.

Looks quite nice, Mittenwald or not. Much depends on the circumstances of the transaction and your location. A few hundred as pictured here at a flea market with various risks to the buyer. Or a few thousand in a retail setting where you can compare and chose and have service and back up as needed.

P.S. the low placement of the f-holes (lower eye relative to lower corner) was recently discussed. Maybe you can find the thread or someone involved can link it.

I saw that violin on T2, and saw it sell for about 3x the estimate! Whoever bought it might have known what he or she was doing; and might see your post and chime in. For me it was in the „odd“ rather than in the „attractive“ category.

I didn't mean to say the cost of a new set-up would be much of an issue, but rather that it makes me wonder about the seller. Pretty dodgy "retail" approach. As for the OP violin it does look like other FMB violins I have seen. The one in Korea, however, does look quite different. Does it have a certificate, too? Seems to be quite the upmarket dealer. Also, I wouldn't call the OP violin huge at 362 (or even 363), in particular if the string length isn't out of range.

Violins with plenty of character and Italian flair, can sound excellent, ... The one you have pictured looks authentic/ typical; BUT it is being offered with a horrible set-up that casts significant doubt on the seller. This will need to be done all over again by someone competent. Also, I would worry less about the wood used, than about the neck not being straight ;-) If you look for a violin to play, that's what you need to do. Rather pay more than buy something online that will just give you many headaches down the road and may not meet your expectations after all.

Maybe they thought the back was oppio :-) Also, this type of back seam failure is not often encountered with mass production (where they have quality standards and know what they are doing); but rather where the artisan works with urgency and spontaneity. And after all, every violin is Italian, since Amati is generally credited with bringing it about in its current form. There you go, three good reasons why it surely is Italian.

You think they'll let me get away with it?

somewhere on ebay currently

Thanks Blank face. Got the book on the Scheinleins :-), doesn't compare. The outline looks a lot like my Havelka and my Frank, but of course it is usually not possible to name a maker with these Fuessen diaspora instruments.

A recent acquisition, so far only seen from ca 14,300 km away, with limited photos available. Main reason for posting: Does anyone recognise the "S" brand under the button? I feel like I recognise it (i.e. have seen it before), but have not retained any relevant info around it. Done some flicking in various books w/o success. Just can't remember where I've seen it.

I'm afraid neither Edgar nor Luiz have made it onto the Google Top10 list of violin brands to buy in 2023.

It's a bit of a reflex on this forum to not believe it when people say a "fine" violin by a "reputable maker" of the "first half of the 18th century" with "paperwork and certification"; and then default to their own universe of ebay and facebook marketplace. In fairness to them, this usually turns out to be appropriate. If you are looking to optimise the money you receive, a sale on commission is the best option; and if one shop doesn't sell it for 5 years, you can try finding a better one, e.g. see spongebob post above. You may also resign to a lower asking price with the current or another shop to help things along. If you want to sell sooner rather than later, you can commission the violin with one of the auction houses, for instance Tarisio. This may also provide a bit of a reality check, sorry, reflex. If you get into a sale with Tarisio proper (rather than T2) the violin may sell close to retail anyways these days. But the auction house will in all likelihood take a larger cut considering seller fees and buyer premiums.

I hope you have the dust bin in mind and not trying to sell it to anyone in this condition.

New shop, time to hang up some strad posters… Stupid question for people in the metric world… is there a standard frame size that works? I see A1 is too small in one dimension and B1 has rather large margins in one dimension. Am I missing something? What do people do (short of custom frames)?

Sorry for not putting a name out there, customer instrument. Yes, full size. No, not copy style. Straight forward Mirecourt work bordering on being consider a better trade quality. Fuchs Taxe has the maker/shop at 8-15k for orientation. It would not have occurred to me in a million years that this might be anything but outside mould construction like all Mirecourt work of the time, right? Just a bit of a head scratcher and paradigm questioner for me I thought worth sharing.

That's why I posted it. Definitely Mirecourt with a slam dunk ID as labelled, but unexpected for me (and probably many others) to see this construction. Yes, all the rib joints are mitred as they would with internal mould construction; and the linings are let into the corner blocks. Of course it can still be outside mould construction pretending to be something it is not. If I was to do something like this and would want to keep it as easy as possible, I'd just build it on an inside mould, then soak it all apart and reassemble again against an outside mould. Voila. But on a more serious note, I understand the block asymmetries are always observed with the Mittenwald/ Vienna/ Prague/ etc schools, but I think you can well build on an inside mould with symmetrical blocks if you just position your cut-outs on the mould slightly more towards the c-bouts. As an example, some Hungarian violins in Benedek's book look like that.

Just thought I share this as it was a bit unexpected for me to see on a 1920s Mirecourt violin.

Thanks everyone. Perfect. I really need to do something about humidity control, i.e. at least get a humidifier. My relative humidity can drop into the twenties and go up into the eighties. Bow hair length is the other pita with that. And I always hope it isn’t too dry on a day when someone is coming to look at instruments, as they generally sound much worse in very dry conditions.

To get the obvious out of the way; despite well adjusted pegs... Sometimes I open a case that has been stored away for a while and the pegs may have all popped lose, or the opposite, they are seized to a point where I can barely break them free (and I suppose this is one way you get peg box cracks). Many of you may never have experienced this as I suspect it takes quite a swing from one extreme to another; but unfortunately where I live I get huge differences weather and building standards are tent-like, so it isn't always easy to control conditions. The question is within the permutations of climate conditions (warm, cool, humid, dry), going from which combination to which combination may result in either lose or seized pegs?