Featured Another antique Violin,

I was thinking the other day that maybe the thrift store might have taken the bow out of my case and it was sitting somewhere in the store. It wasn't but in the exact same spot i found the other one was this. Might be older or a fake? Two tags on the inside.
One for a repair in November 189?
The case is in great condition, and this has all it's parts it looks like.
No srtings and the bow needs to be restrung also.
Bow is only marked Germany as far as i can see so far.
The closeups are blurry but you can read them. trying to hold a flashlight and camera at the same time lol.
Mikey

 

Another one, wow! You know, they might have a whole orchestra in the back room there, you should ask. Those labels look promising!

 

We had something similar another time, with the Amati, Cremona label, & I showed it to a friend who plays viola. She said it was a decent student model.

 

I have an appointment tomorrow at a Violin store and now I'll just bring both of them.
Maybe repair at least one of them for resale. I'm only into these for a total $55.00 so maybe worth more if it actually works.
Mikey

 

Not sure luthiers come cheap. Good luck.

 

And there's only one in the area. Hopefully I can make a deal and trade one for repairs on the other. Wishful thinking.

 

Most of the time the labels, although original to the violin, are not authentic. Often, they are German made violins from the 1800's, in the style of older Italian violins. Don't ignore the bows. Sometimes they are worth more than the violin.

 

If you get one or both in playing condition you may get the "Bug" and not sell. I had my Fathers violin refurbished and have been having a blast trying to play it - so far I suck but it sure is fun. But knowing mine was in my father's hands probably makes a big difference.

 

Nicer condition than the other one!

 

Hi mikey

This one looks alot better than the last one, I'd say late 19c

nice one piece maple back

This is a great site for violin I'd's they will let you know what you have

Charlie

https://maestronet.com/forum/index.php?/forum/4-the-pegbox/

 

Those labels look really good - they would have me running to register to pay for it! Good luck; I hope you found a treasure!

 

Update
As @smallaxe said, These were mass produced in the 1800s in Germany. I'm finding sold prices with a large range.
Low end $50. Higher was $1000. I'm sure depending on condition.
I was actually betting on the other unmarked one to be the diamond in the rough lol.
I'll know more later today.
Mikey

 

Thanks! Just can't pass on these prices I pay at this store. Just hope one is a diamond lol

 

Thanks Charlie, Lots of information on this maker there.
Mikey

 

@journeymagazine Did you sell the one you found?

 

This is one of the things to look for when deciding if a violin was actually made in the 1600's. Violins that old were made in the baroque style and had shorter necks then modern violins. When the modern style of violin became popular around 1800 most good old violins were modified to the modern style. One of the changes involved cutting off the peg box, putting a longer neck on the violin, and then grafting the old peg box onto the new neck. If there is no graft, a violin was almost surely made after 1800. The craftsmen who made these modifications could be quite good, making the graft nearly invisible. But on close inspection, you should see it, and there should be some difference in the wood grain on each side of the graft. While the absence of a graft on a non-baroque violin means it's a modern violin, the opposite is not true. Signs of a graft does not guarantee it is a pre-1800 violin. Graft lines (but not actual grafts) were put on violins to make them look old. And a modern violin could have an actual graft as a repair, or a higher effort attempt to make a violin appear older than it is. This site goes into more detail, and has some photos.
http://www.masterhandviolin.com/Blog17.html
Here is a photo of a graft on a violin I have, which I would need to have looked at in hand by an expert to have it evaluated (and not all luthiers are experts), but there are none anywhere close to me (I live in the sticks).



Here is another violin I have where the neck graft is much more subtle.

 

@Bronwen @Darkwing Manor @charlie cheswick @smallaxe @Rayo56
This guy was awesome. Yuriy is his name. Very knowledgeable.
As he put it, the first one I had is junk. Maybe a student work not very well done. But still worth more than I paid.
He liked this one. He said mid 19th century.
The repair sticker is most likely real as he showed me several really old repairs. It is German and still considered a copy of Fecit.
The bow is the same age and probably original to the set.
The cost to repair would be about 200.
Maybe worth 400 + after.
I'm thinking it would be easier to sell repaired but I might not make much profit.
Thoughts?
Mikey

 

Minor point...it would be a copy of Amatus. "fecit" is latin for made or made it.

 

Would depend on the size on this one I think mikey, don't know if you've mentioned

Most adult players would only choose to play a full size, so wouldn't buy a smaller one even if it was set up properly

If you've got the bridge(loose), I'd just buy some affordable strings to put on and sell as is

 

This is a full size. Forgot to mention.
Mikey