Jacobus Hornsteiner

[fidleir]

http://cgi.ebay.ca/JACOBUS-HORNSTEINER-1...1QQcmdZViewItem I'm currently looking at the above violin I believe they were Roth workshop fiddles but could make good fiddles with some regraduation is this too expensive any help from tou experts would be appreciated. Thanks

[bean_fidhleir]

I'm no expert, but it looks cheesy to me. The scroll is definitely not well done.

[BobH]

Some problems here...the pegbox view indicates the neck has been planed down a bit(the flatted portion of the cheeks just above the ivory nut). The nut,by the way, appears to be out of position, having been moved 4-5 mm south, in effect, shortening the scale length.

BobH

[jackc]

You are right, I think, about these being Roth shop violins. Ehrhardt Book 1 shows an advertisement from Wm. Lewis & Sons from 1934 listing these along with Oscar Eugen Meinels, which is a Roth trade name. The Meinels, which are pretty good, retailed for from $40 to $100 at the time. A $100 factory violin from 1936 might be worth maybe $1200 to $1500 retail in today's dollars (just guessing) but Meinels have sold recently for a lot on ebay.

But the Jacobus Hornsteiner in the same ad sold for only $20. It may be fine, but it's a lower grade Roth trade instrument.

But I agree with Bob. This one's been worked over poorly, and the scroll does not look like a Roth shop instrument. So it may be a replacement, and not a good one. The photos aren't very good.