Guido

Ok, a possibility. Or maybe there was benefit seen in pinning the lower corners in the blocks (should there be solid blocks) for strengthening and the upper corners where just done for optical reasons. As an aside, isn't the whole strengthening for the Tropics a bad idea? Wouldn't you want the glue to give rather than have the plates crack? Also, out of interest re the above violin: Is this Dutzendware or could it pre-date the typical trade violin period?

And this is the original style of the classical Cremonese makers? Here Del Gesu Kreisler. Edit: I just notice the upper pin is rather central and not off-set into the treble side as one might expect?

And is this the 20c Italian style (or a fake of this style)?

Many thanks for the wealth of knowledge on pins. Sorry for my ignorance re maple vs ebony. I only have one violin with pins and they seem to be of the decorative ebony type. And what catches the eye on casually looking at pictures are usually the black pins - I probably never consciously noticed maple pins on photos. So this one here... ... has eight pins in the back. It is built on the back and doesn't even have upper corner blocks. So, strengthening the corners for tropical climate doesn't apply either. It has the four pins in the top corners, too. Is there anything that can be learned from this example?

I'm planning for a Del Gesu Kreisler (inspired) violin. The BIG 3 sources (Roger Hargrave, the Library of Congress, and Addie) have provided most of what I think I'll need. All I'm missing are the archings. I don't have access to the Biddulph book or the Strad poster. Can someone help me to the archings?

I would love to learn more about the use of ebony pins in general, i.e. where when and why did makers use pins? How can the presence or absence of pins contribute to understanding the origin of a violin? Are there different characteristic ways of where exactly pins are placed? And what about pins in corners?

The little I see of the corner overhang doesn't look like it was built on the back. But it is hard to see in the photos.

I've got a bow that came with a saxon trade fiddle. The bow has a rounded off frog like a viola bow. I don't have a viola bow at hand but I thought viola bows take more hair, are about 10g heavier and possibly a little bit shorter. On the bow in question the ferrule is 13mm wide and the face is 9mm wide - seems to be just like most of my violin bows. Shoud viola bows actually be wider at the ferrule and the face plate? With 73.5cm it is a little on the short side, although I got violin bows which are shorter still. Without hair and without lapping is weighs 52g - not sure how much hair and lapping would add but it might be a heavy violin bow or a light viola bow? Would you think it is a viola bow or a violin bow?

Tant de bruit pour une omelette? I hope not. I'll tentatively name the bow 'Martin'. That's a first name, should you wonder. I have spent many hours reading across many threads since I joined this forum. I hold Martin Swan, fiddlecollector and Jeffrey Holmes in the highest regards and I am stoked that they line up to receive an egg face for this bow. I'm a lucky and a happy man. Now, how can I eliminate any lingering egg risk for the brave and helpful souls? Take it to my local luthier, send photos to the auction houses, get a certificate when next in Paris? The doubts that cross my unqualified mind are: Is the absence of any marking a counter-indication? Could it be a JTL bow under Martin's influence? Are nickel mountings below a Martin?

Credit to GeorgeH in the FR Ender tread, you can read #2027, #2381, #2383 for a mention of bushed peg holes and grafted necks. I have a Markie from about 1930 with those features, photo attached, too.

Sorry, I'm not sure what this means. Can you explain?

I hope you get answers from someone who is knowledgabe... if not you might try to move the sound post backwards and leave the whole bridge thicker. Just guessing.

Thanks for the link to the file. That's really quite interesting. Looks like any violin out of that cataloque might do just fine for me :-)

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.