Jacobus Stainer Violin Genuine or Copy?

[Michael Richwine]

On 9/11/2023 at 8:22 AM, Stringworkshop said:

I have a violin with all the same earmarks, minus the stamp under the back button. I’ve always known that is was not a Stainer, but I wonder, are there several different companies that did this? Not just one? 

They were legion.

[Californialady]

So what are the tell-tale signs to identify a fake from a real one?  Specifically Jacob Stainer (I have one, too).

Edited July 15 by Californialady

[matesic]

Stainer "fakes" outnumber genuine ones by maybe 1000:1. Most aren't even copies but just trade violins arbitrarily misbranded or mislabelled, as were tens of thousands of "Strads". I wouldn't know specifically what to look for in a genuine one; my reaction when I see the name is "don't even think about it".

[Brad Dorsey]

I seem to recall reading that Stainer always used hand-written labels.  If this is true, any "Stainer" with a type-set label can pretty safely be assumed to be not genuine.  And if the back is stamped "Stainer" below the button, it is definitely not genuine.

[LCF]

4 hours ago, matesic said:

Stainer "fakes" outnumber genuine ones by maybe 1000:1. Most aren't even copies but just trade violins arbitrarily misbranded or mislabelled, as were tens of thousands of "Strads". I wouldn't know specifically what to look for in a genuine one; my reaction when I see the name is "don't even think about it".

I think you could adjust both of your estimates upwards by a factor of 10 and even that might not be enough.