Violin Identity Crisis

[Honeysuckle]

I have a violin that my grandfather bought in Germany during WWII. He told me a few years ago that he bought it in Leghorn, Germany from a factory for $50. Does anyone know if there is a town in Germany named Leghorn? He had a hard time remembering the name of the town and he has passed away now so I can't ask him about it again.

The label is still in the violin, I'm not sure what language it's in, but I can determine that it's a copy of a Stradivarius. There is some other info, but I don't have it with me, will look tonight and edit post.

Any info is appreciated on how to go about finding the origins of this instrument.

Thanks,

Sharon B.

[stephen redrobe]

Leghorn is in Italy.

It is the old English for Livorno.

[Honeysuckle]

Okay, I copied this directly from the label on the violin:

Copy of Antonius Stradiuarius Cremonensis

Faciebat Anna 1721

Made in Germany

Also on the label was a drawing of a globe with a violin in the middle of it with the word "Frumus" or "Framus" scripted across the globe.

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Sharon

[Oldbear]

I have heard of Framus guitars. A little research turned this up: "Framus" was derived from Franconian Musical Instruments. The factory was founded in 1946 in Germany and apparently made use of a large number of violin makers struggling for employment after the ravages of the war. They seem to have made a lot of different kinds of instruments at first, including some violins. Here is a little bit of their history:

http://cda.mrs.umn.edu/~nielsenc/framus/bob.html

and here is their current website:

http://www.framus.com

[simon]

Congratulations, Oldbear, on being the first person ever in the history of violin-related internet forums (fora?) to provide a useful and interesting lead to the mystery of Grandpappy's Strad.

[simon]

Apologies Mr Redrobe, I missed your Leghorn response.

[Honeysuckle]

Thanks Oldbear! I'm so impressed!