Not a Stainer, I'm sure, but what is it?

[AlexC]

This violin came do us as part of cleaning out a ranch house in eastern Oregon- the label inspired a brief moment of thinking we had an amazing find, but a little time on the web convinced me its probably a German knockoff- I'll imagine it in the bag of an immigrant turned cowboy, pulled out for the local dances that are sadly a thing of memory now. Curious if anyone can go further than that in identifying/dating/valuing it, and how it is likely to play were we to put the effort in to get it in playing condition (missing sound post and some loose tuners)- my wife is a musician who dreams of adding the fiddle to her quiver but most of our previous attic finds have not proven worth the effort...

Thanks for your thoughts- and the great site where one who knows nothing on this topic can instantly see the depth of knowledge of this virtual community- web 1.0 still rocks!

Alex

[jacobsaunders]

a product of the Markneukirchen/Schönbach cottage industry, end of 19thC.

[Blank face]

I was wondering if it isn't a Mittenwald sort of Neuner and Hornsteiner, with a rare (or later) divided lower rib.

 

[tetler]

53 minutes ago, jacobsaunders said:

a product of the Markneukirchen/Schönbach cottage industry, end of 19thC.

Those corners with the plate overhang and the back of the scroll don't look like Markneukirchen to me. I was also thinking Mittenwald 

[Brad Dorsey]

59 minutes ago, Blank face said:

I was wondering if it isn't a Mittenwald sort of Neuner and Hornsteiner...

That's what I thought, too.  Look at the back of the peg box.  Also, the typeface on the label.

[jacobsaunders]

1 hour ago, Blank face said:

I was wondering if it isn't a Mittenwald sort of Neuner and Hornsteiner, with a rare (or later) divided lower rib.

 

point taken, thanks

[nathan slobodkin]

1 hour ago, Brad Dorsey said:

That's what I thought, too.  Look at the back of the peg box.  Also, the typeface on the label.

Type face on the label?

[Spelman]

13 hours ago, nathan slobodkin said:

Type face on the label?

Typeface is the proper term for what most people call a font

[nathan slobodkin]

14 minutes ago, Spelman said:

Typeface is the proper term for what most people call a font

Sure. What about this type face indicates mittenwald over markneukirchen?

[Brad Dorsey]

It's hard to describe because it's a bit subtle, but, to me, this typeface has delicate lines when compared with Markneukirchen labels of the same period.  And the edges of the letters are quite crisp and well-defined.  They don't bleed off raggedly into the un-printed paper.  Perhaps this is related to the paper and ink used, rather than the typeface.  Labels with these characteristics are easily recognizable to me, and I have never seen them in anything except Mittenwald instruments made around 1880 to 1910.  Neuner and Hornsteiner (N&H) instruments from this period have labels like this, so perhaps all instruments with these labels are N&Hs, regardless of what the labels say.  Or perhaps there was a local printer supplying labels to several Mittenwald workshops.

I have also occasionally seen Mittenwald labels from this period printed with the same typeface in a bigger font.

The other big Mittenwald shop of this era was Baader.  I can't remember if Baader labels were printed in this typeface, and I don't have one on hand for comparison.  Can anyone else put up a picture of a Baader label?

[Blank face]

7 hours ago, Brad Dorsey said:

Can anyone else put up a picture of a Baader label?

Two types of Baader and two Neuner & Hornsteiner style labels. Compare f.e. the "S" of Stradiuarius at the last one.

[Blank face]

On 2/26/2025 at 4:19 AM, AlexC said:

my wife is a musician who dreams of adding the fiddle to her quiver but most of our previous attic finds have not proven worth the effort...

Nobody can foresee if your wife will like this fiddle, because that's a question of personal preferences. But valuewise it would be worthwhile to invest something into it, new setup, strings etc., looks well preserved otherwise.

[Brad Dorsey]

5 hours ago, Blank face said:

Two types of Baader and two Neuner & Hornsteiner style labels.

Thanks for putting up these pictures.  The first Baader label and both N&H labels have the typeface that I mean.

[nathan slobodkin]

15 hours ago, Brad Dorsey said:

Thanks for putting up these pictures.  The first Baader label and both N&H labels have the typeface that I mean.

Thanks for pointing this out Brad.  I had never noticed this.