Three13

I’ve seen entire scientists hidden under lab coats...

The wide, rounded chamfer on the one in the thread you posted is quite memorable - I don’t think I’ve seen one from that angle before...

The Tarisio images are the glamour shots - these are just iPhone photos with the background cropped out.

He describes this viola in the write up that's reproduced on the Amati website. The back on that viola is pretty stunning (American?) wood...

In Philip's Carlisle thread, the subject of the Betts Shop came up, and it inspired me to spend some time looking at the better instruments from the builders who were working for John Betts in the first quarter of the 19th Century: Vicenzo and Joseph Panormo, Bernard Simon Fendt, Joseph and Henry Lockey Hill, and Richard Tobin, among others. The output from these makers is remarkable, and provides an interesting counterpoint to what was going on in France at the time. Looking at a lot of it, it's pretty clear that these builders were a very close knit group - particularly the Panormos, He

I'll take that Gofriller over Philip (sorry!)...

I prefer sleeping with a violinist, but that's just me...

The marks on the top are remnants of a handle.

I recently saw a 20th century großstadtgeige with the top off - the lower ribs were mitred like an inside mold, while the upper ribs were feathered. I took this to be an outer mold construction. Have you seen yours with the top off?

I think the problem is that it's a story that's been told a lot, by a lot of people, some of whom (like Vuillaume) were unreliable narrators.

That’s an interesting question - Cozio made note of the sound post crack in his notes about it. We know Tario raved about it, but wouldn’t show it to anyone, and that once Vuillaume got it, he didn’t show it off much prior to the 1872 Kensington Museum exhibit. Vuillaume called it a “wonder of wonders” and “incomparable” - I’m not sure whether he said it was perfectly preserved...

It's funny how the chipping on the back became so subtle while the Hills had it.

Every time I see this fiddle, I expect it to wink at me, then feel like someone has dosed me with LSD.

It looks to me like a 19th century Mariani copy, although I doubt that's a particularly helpful observation.

It seemed del Gesu-ish, although unlike the Messeas (and tidy)...