Guido

Here a good quality silver mounted bow. Branded Tourte with some relevance considering the camber. Main thing I'm curious about is the metal sleeve in the butt to guide the screw (last pic). The tube goes all the way to the mortice. I don't think it's a repair but an attempt to prevent the typical wear from new. Seems clever. Anyone seen anything like it before?

You get bridge blanks at all sorts of width for this purpose (similar to what's more common with cello bridges).

P.S.: I reached for my volume of "400 Year Violinmaking in the Netherlands" but it didn't solve it for me :-( P.P.S.: LOB is 358

I don't think I've seen anything like this before. The face with the relatively short and angled ffs seems to ring a bell, but I can't place it. The upper eyes are only 37mm apart. The arching (which would be difficult to see in the photos) is ever so slightly "pinched" in an Amatise way. Blocks are spruce, linings are willow, but not let in. The blocks are also closer to unilateral and certainly don't look anything like Fuessen diaspora. However, rib joints are mitred as they would be with inside mould construction. There is a half-cut pin outside (!) the purfling, which makes me wonder if the lower one is just fully covered. Plate overhang seems large all around both plates. When I first noticed it I though composite, but its fairly consistent all around and on both plates. And here is a possibly decisive clue: I caught a tiny bit of fluorescence in a corner where purfling is not covered by varnish. Any help appreciated.

The head looks F Peccatte-ish.

I'd be a bit more pessimistic on this: Many ebay sellers with broken attic violins have had it checked out and know exactly that their violin is not feasible to repair. They dispose of it on ebay, "knowing nothing about it". The OP is probably well advised to explain this general situation, so their customer doesn't get taken by a treasure hunting urge and bring more write-offs. In the case of the OP violin, one may ponder how the 3/4 neck got into the package and what the seller's ideas or motivation was...

I have tried it with some shellac to seal the shafts before dressing. Initial results were excellent. Could have added some more colour. Will have to see what happens over time. I may try Danish Oil next time (if I can be bothered to find some without harvesting it myself).

Sometimes I fit and dress boxwood pegs, and find I have to dress them over and over again over the first few months. I dress with soap and chalk. It's almost like the boxwood absorbs the dressing and runs dry before it saturates after several applications. This isn't always the case and I know "boxwood" can be all sorts of wood; but above situation doesn't seem to relate to quality (or price) of the pegs. On my next set I'd like to try and seal the stem with some shellac before I dress them. Maybe even try to get them as smooth as possible with some micromesh. Anyone else having random trouble with boxwood pegs and/ or tried some shellac on the stem?

Op reminds me of JTL Barnabetti

Not anywhere near mid 19th century; more "around 1900". It's mass produced in the most economic way they could get organised to do it. Absolutely nothing special here. No uncertainty and ifs and buts and maybes either. And it's close to the bottom of the production line up. Apart for the damage obvious in the photos I see a pin crack going under the tailpiece and a rather dodgy looking back centre seam. In all likelihood it will not be economically feasible to bring it back into playing condition.

Thanks for all the replies. Interesting to learn the details.

Does or did Thomastik have a line of strings that were only sold to luthiers?

Yes, some of his violins have allegedly lived a part of their live as the original. Being such a good and versatile copyist, however, it can be difficult to be sure a violin is actually by him. Forgeries of this copyist are common. I'd want a bulletproof certificate or two.

Why would you think it is worth anything other then what you paid for it? It's a pretty robust definition of value.

Thanks a million. This should settle it. My head height is even a little shy of 23mm. What seems light are your frogs; and between those and a tinsel or silk lapping, the weight estimate for my bow can easily come down from over 70g to under 65g :-) Only other thing, I was hoping @martin swan might chime in on dimensions/ measurements given he has an iron wood viola example on offer.

Not sure how the measurement of head height is defined. I show a photo of how I measured it to the underside of the stick to come to about 16mm. Also, I attach a photo of comparing the mortice to an average violin bow (right). Still not sure if I should fit a violin or a viola frog to this stick. Or find a viola frog with a relatively narrow hair band.

Great info, thanks. Have had this book on my wish list for far too long...

Did F Peccatte make much of a difference between violin and viola bows when it comes to the frog? I.e. are the viola frogs bigger, wider, longer, higher, or none of that? I'm asking because I have a bare iron wood stick (45g) that'll be about 70g as a complete bow, but the head mortice is fairly narrow and will probably only want to have a violin amount of hair. Seems to call for a violin size frog...?

Isn't it obvious? It holds a liquor bottle (the top held by the little box next to the sound post). It's also called a vibrato modulator. Or a Brahms fuel tank.

That would be awesome!

Not all but some makers of the Kloz family have what seems to be a centre notch in the far side pegbox wall. See first photo. I always thought this had to do with some method of neck alignment during construction... anyone know details? Likewise, Degani's hollow fingerboard (and nut) allowing to peer though (or insert a rod)... anyone know what he actually did there? And finally, the second picture, a notch in a place I have never seen before. Maybe it's just damage, maybe it's intentional. Anyone seen that before?

No2 and No4 designs are often encountered with French trade instruments and I think they can be seen in old JTL catalogues, too. Not sure, maybe they go back to the Hills in design. Or maybe the OP2&4 aren't even Hill and just got a Hill clamp. Here is a fun example of No4 that integrates the idea of a shoulder rest.

I was wondering if there is any possibility that this is the original face as it is.

The violin is being offered as an authentic SB Fendt, at about 80% discount vs greedy dealer retail. Doesn't that sound like an attractive proposition? https://www.ebay.de/itm/387489508909?itmmeta=01JAYG0VT46W4BCSR78BV51GFQ&hash=item5a382cae2d:g:j8EAAOSwXb9nDjhZ

What they said. And: The wide mortise in the handle looks French. The small mortise in the head looks cheap. Fittings are often easier to tell apart than bare sticks. Show them if you have them.