Please help ID the bridge and the fine tuner

[fiddleharry]

Hi, First time posting here. The bridge and the fine tuner came with an old violin. Without showing the violin, could someone comment on the style, date, location of the bridge and the fine tuner? The fine tuner hooks onto the E string, the center piece presses down on the string as it turns. Thank you.

 

http://imgur.com/FN7YWZS

 

Edited December 18, 2014 by fiddleharry

[duane88]

This is a joke, right?

[Michael Appleman]

Just on the outside chance this isn't a joke...or even if it is...I've found that sort of tuner on violins I've bought at "attic clearing" auctions where i'm sure the violin came from England (not the maker of the violin, but the wholesaler who put it up at the auction). The creative 2 piece bridge looks like fun. I like the chamfer at the ankles. I might try that when I want a stiff bridge that's not too heavy.

[fiddleharry]

Hi, the post was not intended to be a joke, but the craftsmanship of the bridge might be, to expert luthiers.  The bridge is one piece and is still in functional playable condition to the violin, which sounded baroque-ish. With a newly fitted bridge and soundpost, the violin sounds vastly different, but that's beside the point of this post. I will post some pictures of the violin later. I am trying to see if anyone has seen this type of bridge before, and if the bridge can be related to a certain date, region, etc. Thank you.

 

This is a joke, right?

[Blank face]

This kind of finetuner is one of  the first types used, I'm guessing ca.1900 or earlier, before the "modern" type was invented, and not specific for a country or origin.. It's not so rare to find inside old violin boxes etc. Sometimes I used them with high arched instruments, when the bridge is so low that the usual finetuner's screw would touch the wood and a neck reset isn't necessary.

 

This particular type of bridge I haven't seen before, but I would guess that it is dating also around 1900-1920, when many "fancy" or "experimental" bridge types were offered, mostly by german wholesalers.

It has absolutely nothing to do with baroque, I would call it rather "art deco" .

 

Just because it's obviously thinner and the ankles are much more narrow than what is set up today, the tone might be different.

[Will L]

The bridge blanks that most of us have used as long as I can remember would not allow that connection in the middle of the heart-shaped area (unless there is wood added there).  It could be the bridge is homemade from scratch.