Introduction to Violins

The development of violins has taken centuries. The earliest stringed instrument was called the Rebec. Over 7 centuries strings were added and shapes were changed. The Rebec evolved into the Lyre and then into the Viol. The evolution of the Viol then takes 2 distinctive directions. These were the arm played early versions of the guitar and the bow played like the cello. The credit for the first "Violin" is highly disputed. What is for certain is that the Golden Age for violin making started in the 17th Century in the city of Cremona with the Amati (violin) family creations as the historical focal point.

Manufacturing Violins

The golden age of violin making was from approximately 1600 to 1750. This was when the greatest violin makers of all time made their violins. This was when the original Maggini, Amati and Stradivarius violins were made. This was when the bar was set as to what a violin should sound like. It has to do with the design, construction techniques, the wood, the finish and the sound. What really makes the originals valuable is a combination of this, their history as they have survived 250 years. They have been restored so that they still look fantastic and still set the bar as to how a violin should sound even now. Violins were hand made in small luthiery shops until the changes brought on by the industrial revolution changed on how violins were produced. In the late 1800s and early 1900s various forms of violin factories began to appear particularly in Germany. The raw materials, maple and spruce wood was plentiful and of the highest quality. There were little one man operations and mini-factories some what like the silicone valley garage factories of recent history. As time went on the factories eveolved from "cottage factories" into full scale production line factories. Some were very good and very organized like the Wolff Brothers of which there is one of their violins in the collection. There were still small shops all over Europe but Germany was the violin manufacturing power house of the time. At the beginning of the 20th century Japan or Nippon as it was know then started applying their manufacturing process to the violin industry. Through this site I have come across stories of #5 and # 11 of one of the first runs of the Suzuki Company. They are mostly valuable due to family history and are worthy violins. The Japanese grew to the point that they were a dominant manufacturer of violins during the period of 1960 – 1980. They originally used European wood and then started using more local wood as their operation expanded. Now most violins have mediocre wood and most of the parts are plastic. Currently, the Chinese factories are manufacturing violins. They are inexpensive and made mostly with plastic parts. Some say they sound good. It is too soon to say but most experts do not have high expectations for their value as collectibles. Wars and things Throughout all this production, the world has be fraught with wars, plagues, floods, earthquakes, economic depressions and all manor of human and natural calamities. Here is where antique violins are an enigma. I remember it being asked why soccer fans are so passionate. No one they interviewed could put it in a nutshell. It is the same with antique violins. People who love violins are in that same world. They cannot explain it but if you have the violin bug all you can do is feed it. Some people love violins, only violins and any violin. They love the feel, the look and the sound. They love them alone or in a group. It is contagious. Someone who had the bug gives it to you by giving you a violin. Look at us. We knew nothing of violins 3 years ago and now we are doing a web page on 50 antique violins. But the enigma does not stop there. The only way I can describe it is that they make people behave unexplainably irrational. They make people possessive, paranoid that others want to steal their violins. They ocmpel people to collect more violins than they or their children’s children could ever play. Executors of wills find antique violins stored in all kinds of places. During invasions or times of criminal activity violin owners have resorted to all kinds of ways to protect their antique violins. If they knew they had a valuable violin that looters or invaders would tear their house apart to steal, owners would be sneaky and would make sure they removed all signs that the violin had value or history. They would even put in misleading labels. Then the only way to know the value of the antique violin is for a trained eye to examine the violin to recognize the wood and the building techniques. Even then without an authentic label it is hard to certify that ana antique violin is made by a certain luthiery of the past. That way the looter who did not know antique violins would leave it as worthless. Stealing becomes too much like work to be worth it. All this intrigue and mendacity makes it hard to sort out the market value of an antique violin versus its emotional value. Even then it is hard to find a luthiery much less one that is both competent and honest. Then it is hard to find one that every one thinks is both honest and competent. Everyone has a different idea of what should be what in the violin business. This is a far too short history of the violin. To get a clearer and possibly overwhelming visualization of the History of Violins, here are a couple of more comprehensive books to add to you reference collection. More books are available in the violin books section.  

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