I have an antique violin. It was given to me 25 years ago by a friend of my Grandfather’s, who had it in his family from “The Old Country” - I’m not sure what that meant precisely but I had a vague impression of an Austria-ish location. The violin is about 100 years old. Maybe 125. I used it in highschool. It’s fragile but it’s playable.
The violin is unique in that it’s got a slightly humped body, as if it were pregnant, making the body about an inch taller than a normal violin body.
Inside the body, is a label which reads:
The top line, which I put in bold, is actually in a Fraktur font. The third word, (Glass,) is using that Germanic letter that looks like a B but means a double “s”.
The middle line is in a mix of Italic and normal serif font. The letter spacing is odd like that. The blank spot in the name is because there’s a drop of something that obscures a letter or two (probably two, I think, given the spacing in that word.) It almost looks like a drop of water obscured the ink.
The bottom line is not in Italic except for the abbreviation for Anno at the end. The superscript “o” is actually underlined directly beneath the “o”, not in line with the bottom of the rest of the text, but I can’t seem to do that in BB code. I don’t honestly think this violin is four hundred years old.
I’ve had it suggested to me that it might be a forgery of a Stradivarius. I have no idea if that’s the case.
So can anyone here shed some light on what this label is all about? Thanks in advance for your thoughts!
I suspect that you have a lot of the Fraktur letters wrong. (It is very hard to read, since a lot of the letters look very similar, especially “f” and “s”. My guess is for the first two lines:
Fried. Aug. Glaß erfunden ad
Jacobus Steiner, in Apsam
Do you have picture of the inscription that you could link to?
I transcribed the top line correctly. I’m familiar with Fraktur and, as Fraktur fonts go, this one is relatively simple. (It was a fair question on your part - fonts are tricky.) No idea what it means, though.
Having taken a second look at the middle line - I think you’re correct that that the Italic letter I took for an “f” in Apfam is probably a medial or longform “s”, making it “Apsam.”
Even though the second line is not in Fraktur font - I was just doing a reading about Fraktur and read that emphasis in Fraktur was denoted by spacing out the letters. So the Italics in the second line are probably not emphasis - the emphasis (if what I just read was correct) was on the spaced out word “Apsam”. I don’t know where Apsam is, though.
So someone was applying different fonts, and used the Fraktur form of implying emphasis on a standard Italic font. I wonder if there was a method to it or if he just thought it looked impressive?
I don’t have a good photo. It’s at a difficult angle and I’d need someone to hold a flashlight. The flash on my camera misses it.
I’ve just worked out what that fourth word is – it’s “verfertigte”, meaning “manufactured”. The Fraktur “r” and “t” can be easily confused, too. And could the next word be “nach”?
It is indeed a manufacturer’s inscription. Friedrich August Glass verfertigte nach (manufactured in the same manner as) Jacobus Steiner, of Absom near Oenipontum (Innsbruck), anno 1676.
According to this post at Maestronet.com, Glass Stradivarius replicas have sold recently for $4,000 to $6,000. Apparently Herr Glass was active between 1830 and 1860.
Thank you all very much for this info! Innsbruck is right about where my Grandfather’s friend’s family was from, so that’s cool.
Yes, on both counts. By squinting I can just make out a slight kick at the bottom of the “r” that isn’t there on the “t”. And what I thought was “nad,” is clearly nach, with the “c” right up against the “h” and the comma actually being the downstroke of the “h”. I thought that was a weird place to stick a comma.
The last guy I showed it to said it was probably worth between $500-$1000 and my best bet was to sell it to a college student but it sounds like it might be worth taking it to someone who specializes for a second opinion.
Even if turns out to be a forgery, that’d be cool. Forgeries have a certain charm of their own.
Check it out with a dealer. A 1920s German fiddle I found in the basement of my apt bldg turned out to be worth ± $2,000 - more than the similar vintage alto and tenor sax I found with it, combined.
Big difference between a forgery and a replica, which this seems more likely to be (NOTE: I know NOTHING about violins, but am basing this on the translation of the phrase “manufactured in the same manner as”)
In the guitar world, replicas are a big deal - there are certain iconic designs and periods of manufacture that are super valuable - e.g., a 1930’s Martin acoustic or a 1950’s Gibson or Fender. Many one-off luthiers make great money replicating guitars using the same materials and manufacturing approaches from back in the day than can’t be done these days at the high volumes of factory-made gutiars (the big makers do this, too, in their smaller in-house Custom Shops).
It is my understanding that this approach is similar to what was going on with violins back in that era. Couldn’t afford a Strad? Buy a local, handmade replica…I am sure the replicas were up and down the spectrum in terms of faithfulness to the original and quality of parts and manufacture…
This is a point. A forgery would be passed off AS a Stradivarius or (in your case) a Steiner. These are clearly labeled as being made in the same way as a Strad or a Steiner. If it tells you itself that it’s not the real thing, it’s not a forgery or a fake.
My wife’s grandfather’s cello is about 125 years old, German, and likewise has a noticeable bulge in the top (which is called the “belly”). We were advised that this pronounced curvature of the top was typical of German instruments of that era.