James,

They don't even look superficially the same. The Tyrolean makers Stainer and many of the Klotz family made fiddles that look quite
different from Cremonese, especially iff you see them from the side. Those instruments were highly valued until the big rebuilding. They
didn't respond tomodernization the same way the Cremonese instruments did, and lost favor (ie market value) accordingly.

Herron-Allen, in 'Violin Making as it was and is" a Victorian account well worth reading, recalls an old violinist who retired, selling his
beloved Klotz for 40 pounds. H-A adds "Of course, nobody would pay 40 pounds for a Klotz nowadays."


On Mon, 16 Apr 2001 15:54:06 -0600, James wrote:

>
>So when did it finally coalesce into the modern "standard" violin - or did
>it?  Is that also a misconception?  Are a there really a variety of designs
>out there that just look the same superficially?


Rodney Myrvaagnes                   J36 Gjo/a
Senior Editor           Electronic Products
Geezerhood achieved, April 7