Can anyone read this label?

[TimRobinson]

I wondered if the brains trust can read any of this label? I can make out some words (but won't tell you as it may prejudice your interpretation). Needless to say I would like to work out the name and/or place. The instrument is Tyrolean, the date on the lable is 1785. I have been told by a reliable source that this is a repairers label and that it may relate to the grafting of the new neck to the scroll.

All suggestions welcomed.

Thanks in advance.

Tim

[Jacob]

(?)ran(?) geigen

macher in (?)(?)srössen (?????), or perhaps

---------------- öffen

[tarisio]

I can only contribute an assumption:

Georg??? Straub Geigen

macher ... Röthenbach ??

Geigenmacher means luthier

I searched in Google and found pages containing Straub and Geigen:

http://www.sim.spk-berlin.de/deutsch/mim/meistergeigen.html

http://www.friedenweiler.de/de/ort/12_chronik.php

They say that Straub was a family working in the Black Forest of Germany. www.friedenweiler.de tells us about

the location "Röthenbach".

They also say that the instruments are no beauties.

Is the violin a rude looking one?

If you like I can translate some text they provide on the pages.

[T_Rocca]

is there any rude looking violin which sounded beautiful?

ingeneral, most beautiful sounding violin does have good craftmenship.. I only know a few violins which look rude but sound beautiful, butthey are rare

[Regis]

FWIW......Baxter shows a George(Jorg) Straub in Fussen 1625

[tarisio]

Maybe you have del Gesu in mind? Extraordinary sound but a little bit hastily built. Maybe rude is the wrong word, sorry, but I've learned English not at home but at school.

The Straub family is not well known so I guess their instruments are only average. Typical German violins :-)

[TimRobinson]

Dear All - particularly Tarisio,

Many thanks for the assistance on this - I knew I could rely on the Pegbox

Tarisio, yes it could well be described as a "rude" instrument. It is no beauty and also bears the scars of battle. It has inked on purfling, no flame in the back, the front is unevenly grained spruce and the sound holes are worse than mine - but someone clearly felt it was worth having it modernised a long time ago. This is understandable as it has a very nice sound.

I'll post some photos in a few days so you can see it.

Regards and thanks again,

Tim

[TimRobinson]

Some photos of the instrument, as promised.

Tim

Again, thanks to those who helped.

[Michael Darnton]

That's interesting. I don't have the later Hamma German books, but I do have the early Fridolin Hamma one, and there's a "Joseph Straub, Neustadt bei Rothenbach, 1807" violin in it that's not the same as yours but very similar in overall style and outline. Jalovec's got a whole boatload of Straub family makers in that area over a long period of time, but no pix, I don't think.