Two Interesting Violins

[GoldenPlate]

http://www.ebay.de/itm/Alte-Geige-ca-80-Jahre-feine-Meisterarbeit-TOP-Zustand-/200725873398?pt=Streich_und_Zupfinstrumente&hash=item2ebc31c2f6#ht_500wt_1287

http://www.ebay.de/itm/alte-Schone-4-4-Geige-Violine-Kasten-Bogen-Geigenzettel-/140720399402?pt=Antike_Musikinstrumente&hash=item20c396e42a#ht_944wt_1270

Any thoughts?

[Addie]

1st one looks Chinese to me, 2nd looks closer to 1915 than1815, and the seller doesn't seem to want us to see the scroll.

Addie's inexpert opinions are always free of charge.

[jacobsaunders]

Addie's inexpert opinions are always free of charge

That`s nice to know!

[match]

To me the 1st one looks like a pre war markie, can´t see what´s "italian maple" in that example.

The 2nd Schoenbach as usual. I hope better opinions will also be free of charge

[Addie]

1331675575[/url]' post='537354']

That`s nice to know!

I charge for bratwürst reviews.

[bean_fidhleir]

The label in the second one might possibly be in Hungarian -- I can't really make out any words, but there's something about the sequences of not-quite-legible characters that looks Magyar to me rather than any other language. The seller says he can't read it, but doesn't say why not. I'm sure the fact that it seems to be written in pre-war "Deutsches Schrift" doesn't help.

Both those fiddles are well-supplied with nice, shiny varnish, aren't they.

[jacobsaunders]

The label in the second one might possibly be in Hungarian

I can make out German, the handwriting being 19th. C., which obviously pre-dates the fiddle by miles, so it`s not really worth the bother to work it out.

[bean_fidhleir]

I can make out German, the handwriting being 19th. C., which obviously pre-dates the fiddle by miles, so it`s not really worth the bother to work it out.

Out of curiosity, what words are you seeing, Jacob? That style was taught in school all during the Hitlerzeit and was still in common use in the '60s when I lived "up de waterkant", so it's not a problem for me to read. But I'll be hedgehogged if I could spot anything that looked a German word to me in those images.

[jacobsaunders]

But I'll be hedgehogged if I could spot anything that looked a German word to me in those images.

Instrumentenmacher for instance (2nd bottom line). Out of curiosity, what does beeing "Hedgehogged" mean?

Please forgive my stubornness, but I will stick to my assertion that the handwriting is 19th. C., if not the violin.

[bean_fidhleir]

Instrumentenmacher for instance (2nd bottom line). Out of curiosity, what does beeing "Hedgehogged" mean?

Okay, I can see how you got that, though in truth it feels as though I'm reading as much into as out of. But Fairy Nuff, since as mentioned I couldn't get a cursëd thing out of it.

As to the hedgehog ref, you mustn't be a fan of Sir Terry Pratchett's Discworld. "I'll be hedgehogged if..." is an indirect way of saying "I'll be buggered if..." since "The Hedgehog Can Never Be Buggered At All" is possibly the favorite song of Nanny Ogg, matriarch of the Ogg clan and member of the tiny Lancre coven that's central to several of the books.

Sir T. is truly inspired in his ability to not only insinuate genuine cultural references into his books but also create what appear to be genuine cultural references but aren't...except then someone--or more often many someones (http://www.lspace.org/fandom/songs/hedgehog-song.html)--goes and back-creates the referent! (I was completely certain that "Mrs Widgery's Lodger", a Morris tune, was legitimate until I couldn't find it, wrote him, and was told that it didn't exist yet!)

Please forgive my stubornness, but I will stick to my assertion that the handwriting is 19th. C., if not the violin.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to suggest that it wasn't also the style in the 19th c. It was. My only point was that people were still being taught it in school through the '30s and using it, to my certain knowledge, well into the '60s.