Identification of violin stamped “JL”

[Carolinafiddler]

Hello. First post. I hope this is the appropriate location as I didn’t really see a proper location for asking identification questions. I posted this contemporary violin on a Facebook identification group and no one had any insight, but someone recommended I post here. 

I bought this 4/4 violin on either eBay or Craigslist probably close to 20 years ago. I had my luthier set it up and cut a bridge. The instrument sounds amazing and is well made. Just looking for insight into its maker. 

I’m located in the US (North Carolina).

Any tips or thoughts are greatly appreciated. 

 

 

 

Edited August 8 by Carolinafiddler
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[Blank face]

This is obviously a violin from the Saxony/West Bohemian region, probably made in the early 1900s. Not exactly contemporary, as far as it is possible to tell by the photos. Such instruments were made from prefabricated parts in hundreds of small workshops, and there were many family names starting with L (Lang, Langhammer, Lidl, Leonhar(d)t, Leicht etc pp) and also first names like Josef, Johann(es), Jakob and so on were very common. It was also common to brand instruments with two or three letter monograms, inside or outside, f.e. under the back button.

So you can narrow down it a bit, but to find out who exactly used that stamp, or if it was used by several people with a same monogram, will be difficult without having a clearly documented reference.

[Brad Dorsey]

The dark streaks in the maple, which are a characteristic of American maple, the absence of color in the varnish, and the somewhat unconventional form of the corners make me wonder if it might be the work of an American maker.  The Wenberg book of American makers lists a few with the initials "JL."

Carolinafiddler:  Where were you living when you acquired the violin?  If you bought it locally on Craigslist, that could be a clue that might suggest or eliminate some of the JLs in the book, because American violins have often remained in the regions where they were made.

[Blank face]

Funny, I thought that such dark streaks are more a characteristic of Chinese violins, where I found many alike. In fact these are, as I heard, usually mineral deposits and depending from the growth circumstances, and are seen very occasionally also in Saxon and Bohemian instruments. I'm more wondering if it's not really a postwar instrument made elsewhere by some exilant from that region, but the building method and that kind of f hole shape are in my eyes a give away.

[Brad Dorsey]

6 hours ago, Blank face said:

….I thought that such dark streaks are more a characteristic of Chinese violins…

They are also pretty common on American violins.  Here’s an example I happen to have:

[Violadamore]

11 hours ago, Blank face said:

Funny, I thought that such dark streaks are more a characteristic of Chinese violins, where I found many alike. In fact these are, as I heard, usually mineral deposits and depending from the growth circumstances, and are seen very occasionally also in Saxon and Bohemian instruments. I'm more wondering if it's not really a postwar instrument made elsewhere by some exilant from that region, but the building method and that kind of f hole shape are in my eyes a give away.

Blankie, aspects of the Saxon methodology were dispersed to parts of the eastern US by German immigrants starting in the 1700's, and got absorbed (along with a mix of other traditions) into the practices used all through the Appalachian region from Pennsylvania south to Georgia and Alabama.  This doesn't look like the usual rubbish to me, some of the details are wrong, but it would fit like a glove for someplace like North Carolina, maybe even as late as the 1960's (check out the "fiddle making" section in Foxfire 4).  Just sayin'.   

[Blank face]

1 hour ago, Violadamore said:

Blankie, aspects of the Saxon methodology were dispersed to parts of the eastern US by German immigrants starting in the 1700's, and got absorbed (along with a mix of other traditions) into the practices used all through the Appalachian region from Pennsylvania south to Georgia and Alabama.  This doesn't look like the usual rubbish to me, some of the details are wrong, but it would fit like a glove for someplace like North Carolina, maybe even as late as the 1960's (check out the "fiddle making" section in Foxfire 4).  Just sayin'.   

This would sound logical if the violin was made in the style of 1700s or 1800s (like in your linked pics), but it looks exactly like what they started to built around 1910/20, when there were only a few makers left being able to make a violin from scratch without parts and white boxes supplied by the cottage industry, mostly from Schönbach/Luby.

So the odds are more likely that it was made by a shop (not a single person on it's own) connected to that time and places.

[Blank face]

6 hours ago, Brad Dorsey said:

They are also pretty common on American violins.  Here’s an example I happen to have:

Yes, it proves that it's not possible to conclude from a wood figure to a particular local origin of a violin, especially not in times of worldwide trade.

[Carolinafiddler]

It seems to be contemporary to me because the way the varnish doesn’t penetrate very deep into the wood, as seen in these photos at the f-holes (you can see raw, unvarnished light wood below the varnish layer on the f-holes). The inside of the instrument is incredibly clean and free of dust, and the raw wood color inside is light and nearly new in appearance. No discoloration or staining like old instruments have. 

[Carolinafiddler]

On 8/8/2025 at 8:58 AM, Brad Dorsey said:

The dark streaks in the maple, which are a characteristic of American maple, the absence of color in the varnish, and the somewhat unconventional form of the corners make me wonder if it might be the work of an American maker.  The Wenberg book of American makers lists a few with the initials "JL."

Carolinafiddler:  Where were you living when you acquired the violin?  If you bought it locally on Craigslist, that could be a clue that might suggest or eliminate some of the JLs in the book, because American violins have often remained in the regions where they were made.

I was living in NC. It’s been so long ago I don’t remember if this was a CL find or eBay, but likely CL as I can’t find purchase history any longer in my eBay account. Is there an online version of the book you mention? 

[Richf]

For further information:  www.ebay.com/itm/136296706967

[Jerry Lynn]

In my misspent youth, circa early 2000s,  I set up many (waaaay more than I care to think about) Shen model 1000 violins that looked just like this. 

[Blank face]

2 hours ago, Jerry Lynn said:

In my misspent youth, circa early 2000s,  I set up many (waaaay more than I care to think about) Shen model 1000 violins that looked just like this. 

So Chinese with Saxony rib corners, that’s curious  But it’s within the wood.

 

[Jerry Lynn]

Jeff, Delete this post please. 

1 hour ago, Blank face said:

[Blank face]

To make it clear, I think it can make a lot of sense that the violin is Chinese, maybe made from a kit, varnished and branded by someone, what would explain both the maple with "streaks" and the pale, slightly irregular varnish. I wouldn't have thought that the Chinese made violins with pinched rib corners being nearly flush with the plate ends, but at a closer look even the scroll looks typical for Chinese production. The plate corners look so stubby as if they were shortened by the person putting it together.