Guido

I'm aware of the antiquing reason, the current FR Ender thread... ...has some catalogue scans from the 20s/30s. Some violin description include grafted necks and even bushed peg holes on these new violins. I have got one - a 1930 Markie - with grafted neck and bushed peg holes apparently from new. Then there is the category of corrections & repairs. And then there is the category of wood choice (for reasons of weight, aesthetics, practical block size). This is particualry interesting and I wouldn't have thought of it. Thank you very much Don and Conor.

Thank you, Martin. BTW, it measures 74.5cm and is 56g. Feels very light when playing. I'm warming up to it. What is the wood? Are the mountings silver or nickel? Is there a good way to clean the lapping (just to get the green off)? I found that Otto Dolling was working in Mkn and the bow might be from the 1930s according to the previous owner's grandpa story. Would it possibly be worth something or is there the same taint on Mkn for bows as there is for violins?

Ok, that would mean that either there was something "wrong" initially which was corrected or a customer wanted an alteration to something that's not quite "normal"? Now it is a 16" viola with overall 67cm length. Does that sound about right?

Ok, pictures for wood. I found the old camera and put some batteries in. Probably less pixels than the iPhone today but thankfully a macro-setting.

I believe I'm looking at a 70 yrs old viola from Italy. The finish is clean w/o any antiquing. Could there be any reasons for a neck graft other than a necessary repair, e.g. a broken neck?

I never cared much about bows because from young age I was spoiled to have a bow that would out-class any violin I'd ever own. So there was MY bow and everything else. I have just recently started to look at 'everything else', mainly to learn more about bows beyond just playing them. I have this Otto Dolling bow which I'm starting to find interesting. It plays ok and I might even treat it to some new hair. Are Otto Dolling bows just the stuff that 'comes with' trade instruments, or is it a notch better?

I thought this sounds ok-ish.

Thanks so much for the comptent assessment. I love the learning. I might want to add that the bow is 74.7cm and 56g. It's not my favourite bow to play and feels a little top-heavy. I'll play it a little more to see if I get used to it and will probably invest in some fresh hair. I couldn't find any cracks or repairs - must be a scratch or something in the photo. The back plate has a pin, see photo. The adjuster, well, 80%. I have looked, rubbed my eyes, looked again, rubbed the adjuster, looked again - and it looks like there is a pin, maybe even two. But I'll really need some magnification to be sure and can't take a good pic of it either. No and no. The octagonal facets are facing as they should. It looks odd in photo 3 above but not in real life. There is no trace of the faintest of stamps at all, I don't think. Is this a bit stange for a bow like this? Can it still be a reasonable bow? Is it clearly brasil wood? Is there a way of knowing? Is it a question of degree with the white stripes or are the faintest white stripes a safe indication of brazil wood. I have attached another photo of the stick with some more flame visible. Not sure it helps.

I'm scratching the surface in starting to understand violins - but the subject of bows has always been and continues to be obscure to me. I've started to read bow-related and bow-ID posts and want to learn more. Here I have a bow with some features visible to my blind eye that are clearly different from all of my other bows (not that I would have a huge sample). What I find most striking about it is the look of the wood - which I couldn't capture on a picture. I has a depth to it and behaves very much like a flamed maple violin back when you move it in your hand. Any observations and explanations would be highly appreciated.

Thanks for posting these catalogues. I found it interesting to read that new violins came with grafted necks and bushed peg holes for the sake of appearance.

Winning bid 3,565 Euro. Ups.

I understand that the obvious classification as a Mkt/Schonbach trade violin puts an end to further curiosity for most. However, I was wondering if the back of the peg box with interrupted fluting and engraving is linked to a limited range of either produces or distributors or a time period? If seen the same many times, the "Conservatory Violin" looks like the most common, but in similar style I have seen a 7/8 "Ladies Violin" and also a "Conzert Violin", the latter also engraved "Straduari". See pictures.

Came across this on ebay today. http://www.ebay.de/itm/112360123141?_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT Looks crazy but also old and has a grafted scroll. Anyone familiar with the planet of origin? Could this be interesting?

Just wondering about ff hole nicks. There is the type that wides quite a bit to the stem of the f. See picture. I'm sure there is a word for it? How are those called? Also, I've seen them here and there on "random" violins. Can they give an indication of region or time?

Then one looks at the label last, right? The violin has two labels. The obviously fake Italian that I disregarded altogether; and then there is a label on the bass side c-bout which can't be seen fully without a mirror. I never bothered about it too much because I took it as a repair label - I could make out a 1930 and thought the violin was much older. Upon closer inspection, and with some help from Jacob in reading the old German writing, the 1930 label claims to be the original maker, picture attached. So, it looks like Mr Scherzer (translate Jester, how appropriate) did all this in 1930 when he built this violin: grafted a funky scroll; fluted and crowned a button; ebony lined the treble c-bout; put some elaborate brand marks near the top and the bottom of the back; ... Looking into the violin from the endpin hole I suddenly realise the striking absence of any repairs and while the back and ribs are very dark (something was applied to them) - the top is very white in contrast - you can see the bass bar and a piece of the top in the pic of the label. Now, who was Mr Scherzer? I can only find a couple of candidates born in or near Markneukirchen but no info if any of them may have moved to Munich at some point (which could explain the straightforward "Markneukirchner Ware").

This is part of a label in German. Who can read the word above 1930? I was thinking it would be a repairer's label and the German word would be "repariert". However, looking at it again this morning I think it might read "gebaut", German for built. Many thanks.

I would have my serious doubts about the smurfs having a hand in this. In fact, looking at the open throat of this scroll I'd think it would have smurfs for breakfast. But then again, maybe that's how the smurf town of Czika came to an end: eaten by the scrolls they created. That's just how it looks in the photo. There was some clear on it which is mostly rubbed off, creating the impression. The fingerboard is fine at 42mm. It does have another "feature" though - it's tapered towards the bridge. I also attach another photo of the scroll relative to an average size peg head.

I can't claim to have seen a great number of neck grafts in the flesh but this one appears to be superbly done.

The latest addition to the family comes with a few distinctive features and I was hoping it would make for an easy ID to the trained eye. In case it doesn't quite come across in the pictues: the scroll is extremely small. The age in combination with flat-formed arches gives me some hope that I might have been lucky on this one. All clues appreciated and many thanks in advance.

Thanks, I appreciate the assessment that this is a cheap and nasty junk violin. I'll be happy with that. But I don't hink it has ever been to the US. I got in Germany and it now lives in Australia.

I'd think the broken off piece is key in your deceision. If it is a small piece or even still exists, it might make sense to repair the top in a reasonable manner. If the top is a write-off, as above, the 'old violin' doesn't exist, nothing to buy here but some wood.

I guess the OP will be very happy with the answers so far and may not object me adding another possible Aschauer instrument to his thread. Mine is labelled to be from the Workshop of (Leo) Aschauer 1951, no school tree, no other marks. I have doubts that the label is authetic. It is glued in a bit rough and there seem to be glue marks indicating the outline of a previous label mostly covered by this one. It would also be possible, that the glue marks are from a previous position of this label - it may have come lose and was re-glued. In any case it looks a bit dodgy. On the other hand it is a not-so-exciting workshop label and I thought they would not make typical targets for fakes. The violin has four corner blocks and the linings run right over them. Any observations are welcome and might save me a trip to my luthier - I live in the middle of nowhere.

Thanks for Jacob's Polish! I'll definitely make a bottle of that! So far, for me, one step up from the damp cloth were baby wipes, frangnance fee for sensitive skin, followed by Kleenex Aloe Vera facial tissues, which have a hint of an oily substance giving a subtle sheen.

Sorry for my ignorance, but isn't this the shape of triangle of the blocks with longer sides to the upper and lower rips that would typically result from inside mold construction? That's what I imagined when reading Mr Saunders blockology; without having seen examples.

Thanks a lot for the info. And thanks George for referring to your post. I, too, can see lots of similarities, even tough my ffs aren't as long. Interestingly, my next question would have been: What about those f-holes? The upper eye is the smallest I have ever seen. Anything of relevance in that? George, you had the exact same question but didn't get an answer. So maybe we try again...? On "reading" ffs; has anyone got a link to a post that "teaches" f-hole interpretation?