Wolff Bros 1888 Violin - For Sale
Inside of the violin is the original label. It reads:
WOLFF BROs..
VIOLIN MANUFACURERS.
No. 540 1888
In the bottom of the border of the label is inserted:
"made abroad".
Wolff Bros were a prolific violin manufacturer at the end of the 19th century. To produce a violin No. 540 was rather extraordinary at the time. Full factory manufacturing for violins was still a very young industry. The most extraordinary thing was that they produced such high quality violins in the process. They were manufactured in Germany and the market for them was England.
You can see the beautiful maple grain in the wood on the back and sides. Note the symmetry in the grain as it goes around the sides and back of the violin. Note the full and beautiful tiger grain in the neck and scroll of the violin.
There are several other things to note in the finish of this violin. There is the black outline of the scroll and on the edges on the side of the violin at the F hole area. The perfluing is straight with nice and consistent bee stings in the corners.
Not only is there value in the presentation of this violin, there is value in its construction. The wood is not only beautiful, the spruce on the top adds to the resonance and fullness of the sound. Inside there are strips of bracing wood around the inside edge of the violin the come flush to the top and bottom. The blocks are of better quality wood and set in more firmly. It shows quality workmanship.
There was a great deal of work done to this violin. It seems that over 120 years other luthieries had made some mistakes when they had affected some repairs on the violin. Now the violin is put together correctly and all repairs have been done. As you can see it has been well taken care of and is in virtually new condition. All new hardware has been installed with Obligato strings. The hardware such as the chin rest, tail hanger and pegs are of very good quality like the strings. The one way to increase the value of this violin is to upgrade the hardware and that means spending some money. The result would be magnificent to view. This is something a purchaser can choose to have done by their own luthiery or it can be done here before final delivery.
During one of our presentations of one of the other violins in the collection, the young student brought a friend who is a very good young violinist to try out the violins so that she could make her choice. After he did his work for his friend, I asked him if he would like to play this violin. He said he would be honored and we were blessed to listen to him play this violin for half an hour. He was in that happy place that musicians go when they have beautiful music and a superior instrument to play on. For us it was most enjoyable to listen to him play and watch him enjoy playing. The only thing that stood between me and a second sale that day was the money.
I prefer to use Paypal for the transaction. Paypal is capable of accepting all major credit cards. As this transaction would be over $10,000.00 special payment arrangements would have to be made for it to clear through Paypal. If you are interested in purchasing this violin you can send me a message using the contact us form.
PRICE: $10,500.00
ALL PRICES ARE BASED ON APPRAISALS BY OUR LUTHIERY
