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Three years ago, we inherited a sizable violin collection of over 60 antique violins and bows. Some were vintage violins and most were antique. They were in various states of disrepair. We had no knowledge of the antique violin business.

So the last 3 years has been a learning curve on how to manage this collection. During this time we found that there is not any one place where you can go to find out all that need to know. With 60 antique violins, we had the motivation to research information and solutions.

The accumulation of knowledge that we have gained and will gain is published on this site. You are invited to study this site. If we have helped you understand the violin that you have just inherited or have had in your house all these years, please make a contribution at one of the buttons throughout the site. I am sure you will save a lot of time and if we have saved you some time, that has some value.

The site is a guide to the antique violin market. There is a brief history of antique violins. We will introduce you to the world of Luthieries. There are antique violins for sale.

MOST IMPORTANT THERE ARE LOTS OF ANTIQUE VIOLIN PICTURES AND LOTS OF ANTIQUE VIOLINS FOR SALE.

We have recently started up the Violin Community Forum to allow the site to now be interactive. You can tell your violin’s story or ask violin related questions. You can comment about your violin or comment on violin issues. With this site you can create a new category if you think it will be of interest. All you have to do is join the community and the forum is your forum.

We just added Violin Videos from YouTube for your entertainment and feel that the quality of their content will improve with time. There are other sites as well that will be providing antique violin content that will be of interest.

Improvements will steadily be added to the site. Use the Forum and the Contact Form to help shape the site and the Violin Community we are building.

Please enjoy and engage.

THE HISTORY OF ANTIQUE VIOLINS

Introduction

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 family creations as the historical focal point.

Manufacture

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.

ABOUT VIOLINS

Luthieries

A luthiery is simply a violin or stringed musical instrument maker. We were lucky to find ours as easily as going to the local music store. When we described our collection they told us there was only one man in town that we should see, Geza Burghardt of Granville Island in Vancouver BC. We still didn’t quite know what to expect.

In 4 years and over 50 antique violins and bows brought back to life, I now know quite well what our luthiery does. He fixes stringed instruments, he makes them, he stocks all the parts or has suppliers that do, has first hand knowledge of collectible instruments, has all the old books that detail the noted luthieries of instrument history and has 50 years of history in the antique violin market. He is a blessing to our lives and to the life of the collection. His knowledge and reputation is unquestioned. His honesty is apparent in the hard questions he asks to make sure you understand what he is saying and his questions search for that same honesty in his customers. When you have been in the any business that long, you learn to be very cautious.

We will ask that members compile a list of luthiers. We can organize them by area so you can find a luthiery in your area that is recommended by one of our community. We cannot know who is the best luthiery closest to you to take questions about your violin. Hopefully you can find one with a resume like Geza’s. The best way is by reputation within a community.

That way you can get your violin appraised. The knowledge you have gained by studying this website should help you understand what your luthiery is telling you about your violin. If you go in to your luthiery without knowing the glossary and all the other basics here, you will not get full value for your luthiery dollar. You just won’t understand most of what he is saying.

Violin Anatomy

Violins are very complex and difficult to play properly. That is because there are more parts than you could imagine and they all need to be set up properly. There are and were thousands if not millions of luthieries over history. Not all of them built their parts right or put them all together properly. With collectible violins, many have been to the luthieries since they were made. Sometimes things were corrected and often more mistakes were made.

There are cheap parts and expensive parts. We will try to explain the difference so you can understand what is being paid for. Like most industries, luthieries will give you what you pay for. To get quality you have to pay for it. To get presentation, you have to pay for it.

The MARIO CESARE VIOLIN COLLECTION

We inherited the violin collection from Mario Cesare. He was born and raised in Casalli Sicily. That’s high in the mountains on the west side of the island across from Mount Etna. Mario had the violin bug. He didn’t want to play any other instrument…just the violin. In his retirement he scoured the antique violin market throughout central Canada and the northeastern USA. He bought, sold and traded antique violins trying to raise the quality of his collection. When he passed away the collection had over 70 items in it.

When they came to us we took them to the Luthiery and all have been reconditioned, repaired or restored. They have all been professionally appraised. The violins are for sale. They are also a medium for comparison if you have a similar violin that you wish to understand a little more. With that and reading through the other pages on the site, you can understand what you have and what you may wish to do with it. There will also be an area where a discussion of the collectible violin market reality is. The market does change. eBay has had a huge impact on expanding the market. The market is still full of looters, cheaters and thieves. Buyer and seller beware. This is also an area where information shared on a blog on this site may be very useful.

Violin Newsletter and Forum

One reason antique violins are so full of passion is that there is always an emotionally loaded story attached to the violin. In the previous discussions of luthieries, violin history, antique violin manufacture and violin anatomy, we have just touched the surface.

The Newsletter will contain an article about antique violins in each issue. Then the discussion Forum will let others expand on the information and raise new topics for the community to address. Over time this will grow into a comprehensive site with information to address a broader spectrum of questions about antique violins.

Buying and selling violins

Now that you have all this information about your violin we will give you a format to buy or sell violins. Watch this site for further developments.