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Posted

I was fortunate to find this beauty for a reasonable price. 1952, it's the latest one I have owned. Fine workmanship,

and it actually sounds quite good!

I have a question for those of you who know these, I have owned many and read everything I can find on him, but

second serial number perplexes me. I wonder if the #2977 is the number he personally made and the #7275 is the entire output of his "Violin Factory". 

I can't imagine there were that many, or I would have seen many more than I hae. 

Thoughts?

w7.jpg

w6.jpg

w1.jpg

w2.jpg

w4.jpg

w5.jpg

w.jpg

Posted
2 hours ago, SingingTree Tonewood said:

...I wonder if the #2977 is the number he personally made and the #7275 is the entire output of his "Violin Factory". 

I can't imagine there were that many, or I would have seen many more than I ha[v]e. 

Thoughts?

The Wilkinowskis that I have had have also had high serial numbers.  Regarding how many he made, Wenberg says: "Made first instrument in 1895.  Was making violins on a regular basis by 1903....Made a very large number of violins, violas and guitars.  Worked alone. however, he did have several mechanical assistants."

Posted
11 minutes ago, Violadamore said:

The number of violins by him in the Wiki article by 1952, does not jibe with the serial number of my fiddle. Also mine is a 1952, the year his with died, and he supposedly stopped making, but there is a 1954 for sale right now.

 

"Some of the higher quality violins were marked with an inlayed logo of the stylized letter W; these instruments are thought to be entirely of his own making, while many of the others were made in the shops with assistants."

Posted
11 hours ago, Shelbow said:

...how easy his work is to recognise...

The W on the back is the most obvious feature, but not all his violins have them.  The other detail that I find the most distinctive is the awkward way the plate arching doesn't blend into the corners.  I have seen this on instruments that he made for Oliver Ditson in the 1920s and on later instruments made in the 1950s.  I have seen violins without a W or a label that were obviously his, confirmed by his signature on the inside of the top.

 

11 hours ago, SingingTree Tonewood said:

...mine is a 1952, the year his with died, and he supposedly stopped making, but there is a 1954 for sale right now...

I have seen instruments of his dated in the mid-1950s.

Posted
5 hours ago, Brad Dorsey said:

The W on the back is the most obvious feature, but not all his violins have them.  The other detail that I find the most distinctive is the awkward way the plate arching doesn't blend into the corners.  I have seen this on instruments that he made for Oliver Ditson in the 1920s and on later instruments made in the 1950s.  I have seen violins without a W or a label that were obviously his, confirmed by his signature on the inside of the top.

 

I have seen instruments of his dated in the mid-1950s.

For a long time, I thought the W purfling signified his personal hand, rather than his crew, and I still do, but I have seen many he made with no W. They tend to have a different varnish, more like the modern Italians of the time. 

In think later in the 20's he developed his characteristic varnish, which is always reddish or a dark golden color and they are not antiqued at all.

Here is a 1932 with the early varnish,

wilk.jpg

Posted
On 11/6/2021 at 8:42 AM, Brad Dorsey said:

The W on the back is the most obvious feature, but not all his violins have them.  The other detail that I find the most distinctive is the awkward way the plate arching doesn't blend into the corners.  I have seen this on instruments that he made for Oliver Ditson in the 1920s and on later instruments made in the 1950s.  I have seen violins without a W or a label that were obviously his, confirmed by his signature on the inside of the top.

 

I have seen instruments of his dated in the mid-1950s.

I read the "W" on the back means the violin was actually made by him.  Don't know where the reference is from, but I do recall that was the case.

  • 2 years later...
Posted (edited)

Hello,

I wonder if anyone knows how the signature of William Wilkanowski looks like?

I recently bought an old violin (I think early 20th century), on a french antique market.

It has no label, but a signature inside.  It looks like "Wi" or just a "W". I added a photo and tried to copy the signature myself and added it too.

Thanks for any comment!

20240805_200250.jpg

Screenshot_20240807_101503_Carbon Super Fast Browser.jpg

Edited by Rogerst
Posted
15 hours ago, Rogerst said:

…I wonder if anyone knows [what] the signature of William Wilkanowski looks like?…

I have seen unlabeled Wilkanowskis that were signed on the inside of the top, but I don’t remember what the signatures looked like.  I have a better idea of what his plate corners look like.  Could you put up a close-up picture something like this:

IMG_0608.thumb.jpeg.095d3bbfdfa5e3898e6b756513cc0112.jpeg

(This is not a Wilkanowski.)

Posted

It is my theory that some of the serial numbers on Wilkanowski violins indicate which ones were sold through Gretsch.  They were a major distributor of his instruments. He also sold instruments directly from his shop in Brooklyn which may or may not have had serial numbers.  During the 2nd WW he also manufactured violins for Meisel under the Carlo Micelli name and for Metropolitan Music with the Juzek label and well as for other wholesale distributors.  He was a major supplier of high end violins at a time when European violins were not available here in the US.

Posted

Thank you very much for your reply!

I attached some additional photos, also from the plate corner as you asked Brad.

Curious on another reply.

Best regards, Roger

20240808_175437.jpg

20240808_175429.jpg

20240808_175456.jpg

20240808_175505.jpg

20240808_175520.jpg

20240808_175527.jpg

20240808_175537.jpg

20240808_175621.jpg

20240808_175651.jpg

20240808_183648.jpg

20240808_175904.jpg

Posted
53 minutes ago, Rogerst said:

Thank you very much for your reply!

I attached some additional photos, also from the plate corner as you asked Brad.

Curious on another reply.

Best regards, Roger

20240808_175437.jpg

20240808_175429.jpg

20240808_175456.jpg

20240808_175505.jpg

20240808_175520.jpg

20240808_175527.jpg

20240808_175537.jpg

20240808_175621.jpg

20240808_175651.jpg

20240808_183648.jpg

20240808_175904.jpg

Looks like a straightforward Schönbach box

Posted
1 hour ago, Rogerst said:

Thank you very much for your reply!

I attached some additional photos, also from the plate corner as you asked Brad.

Curious on another reply.

Best regards, Roger

20240808_175437.jpg

20240808_175429.jpg

20240808_175456.jpg

20240808_175505.jpg

20240808_175520.jpg

20240808_175527.jpg

20240808_175537.jpg

20240808_175621.jpg

20240808_175651.jpg

20240808_183648.jpg

20240808_175904.jpg

Judging from the pattern and wood selection, this is not a Wilkanowski

Posted

The top corner does not scream “Wilkanowski” at me, and I think that Wilkanowskis tend to have one-piece backs.  Maybe always?  But I’m just looking at details, which is often not very helpful.  If Jacob says it’s Schonbach, I have no doubt that it is.

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