Guido

Maybe you can add some pictures?

Well, I better get busy and revisit my inventory, tripling price tags.

That's a remarkable difference to the latest Fuchs Taxe (2017), which lists the small pattern at EUR160k-280k; and the large pattern at EUR400k-800k; or USD436k-873k at today's rates.

Looking at the photo above I can see what you mean. But the blocks are of one piece - there is no joint running down the surface facing the inside of the violin. In the photo above there is also a line continuing in the direction of the lining. I think they might be marking traces for the cut-out.

Don't you think it could be English? I'm starting to like that idea. Btw, I checked and pretty much excluded Australia.

Thanks Andreas. I love that kind of reasoning. I find it fun and I'll end up learning something new and unexpected in some otherwise useless rabbit hole. I too excluded French and German and all that goes with it, which is A LOT! I can't turn up any of Belt's work, but I would doubt that the violin goes back to a self-taught career changer (unless they are a dentist ;-) It really looks rather professional. So with the lack of signing the instrument by name (unless it's the B....) and the tagging of the fingerboard to belong to a certain violin, I'd rather speculate to a larger workshop setting. Along the lines of: the violin had a generic Lewis and Son shop label and was made by one of their workmen. The label was removed by a dealer who wanted to avoid the confusion with the imported trade violins usually bearing such a label. There is, btw, a very clear outline of a former label in the colour of the wood. I'm attaching a picture.

Here is a 1930 from London. Similar downstroke to start the 3. Been flicking though my copy of "The British Violin" a few times, too, but not much is represented in the book from the relevant time.

Yes, I have some hopes here, but couldn't decipher. There are also a couple of dots, which could make this initials; but then again, it seems to continue in lower case after the B.

Indeed it could be anything. Scandinavia or South America, Eastern Europe. In fact, when I initially got the violin I was mostly looking towards Eastern Europe, but mainly the "Strad copy" and "1" and "7" makes me favour the US as an hypothesis. The frustrating thing is that the violin has distinctive features in spades, for instance the central half cut pins or the way the linings are let into the corner blocks (which I have actually not seen quite like that anywhere else). Another thing I forgot to mention is that the internal surfaces have had some sort of sealer applied, which is quite noticeable in the photos as it tends to stay away from gluing surfaces.

LOB is 356

Mostly, but also the "Stad copy" seems of an English speaking origin. Do you think it could be from England?

Bump. If this is American, it's probably neither an import nor folk art. Shouldn't our American colleagues be all over this?

The through-neck would indicate they bought the whole violin (probably in the white) from Schoenbach. The rib joints and corner overhang don't seem to fit well into the picture tough, unless they filed them back substantially.

Nice old violin around 1800 or a little earlier, probably from Mittenwald or a related school. That would include Austria... why are you asking specifically about that?

I'd think it's a French trade bow from Mirecourt.

Think I found the manual override

You are right about my photo skills. The more light I shine at the violin the more the iphone adjusts the expose and produces a dark picture.

A Saxon trade violin around 1900. Nothing to do with Klotz or Mittenwald at all. Curious if it's a little oversized? Many with this label are.

Had this violin for the better part of a decade; on and off looking for comparables w/o success. A quality piece of kit, internal mould, willow blocks and linings, half-cut pins, the works. Inscriptions lead me to be believe it might be American, especially the way the numbers 1 and 7 are written. The inscription under the fingerboard reads: no.112 // 1937 // Strad copy The inscription by the lower block I have not figured out yet. Maybe initials as there are also two dots. Any ideas who may have made this would be much appreciated.

The seller says it’s a fake. If you can’t put your trust in what the seller says you shouldn’t buy.

The saddle cut into the lower rib is also an earlier feature. The seemingly good condition and shiny varnish might be distracting from the actual age at a casual look. I’d agree with 1860-1880.

Who's got the scroll carved to the very bitter end with the deepest throat? Here is my entry.

Yes, seems to be a typical Mittenwald Verleger product second half 19th century. What it's worth depends more on the circumstances of a transaction than on the violin itself in this case. I note this has been set up at close to zero cost and with close to zero effort so it looks playable but isn't. This is what one usually sees when violins are sold on ebay (or comparable) by sellers who do this regularly; not what you would find in a shop. Here is a twin:

A basic German trade violin early 20th century. Labels in these are mostly random, or maybe according to the day of the week it was manufactured.