Strad O Various Jr.

that looks like a crack in the back near the soundpost??

there was something called the great depression after your figures.

Sorry but this violin was never worth anywhere near close to $500 in 1931, you could by a Strad for that price.

I wasn't referring to high end American violins by top makers but then neither was the OP, he was talking $5,000 range, commonly at a high priced violin shop, $5,000 for an American violin gets you a Markneukirchen box that some wannabee American "Maker" has tinkered with, if you have $5,000 to spend I think you would be better to look to Europe than America.

Sorry but most of the American violins I see are either garbage, or simply revarnished german imports, there are higher quality American makers but they're in the minority.

find an honest luthier and buy a decent violin, and please not American, the quality level on those is usually really low.

That would seem wise, I don't think its going to effect the playing characteristics of the bow

hear hear, just attacking a bow with alcohol seems criminal to me, just like it would be for a violin finish

My question is is bow rosin and dirt buildup any harder to remove without effecting the varnish on a bow, than thick rosin and dirt buildup on a violin top, or is the bow somehow more difficult? I'm not a bow specialist, that's why I ask.

Its no problem removing rosin buildup from a violin without destroying the varnish, pray tell why that can't be true for violin bows?

There is no standard for Saxon scroll fluting, fluting can go all the way from 5 O'clock to 8 O'clock, all we know from these pictures is that it extends to 7

Once again the pictures provide no proof of the fluting going to the bitter end, will people please learn to take pictures from the right angle, below the volute and to the side of the pegbox

That's just wear IMHO, spruce wears much faster than maple

People really need to be educated how to photograph scroll fluting, this is not good enough.

I would like to see some photographic evidence the scroll fluting goes all the way to the bitter end, the picture you provided looks like it ends around 7 O'clock, there's no way a picture from this angle will show it, you have to get under the volute from the side to show fluting.