Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1886-05-06
VIOLIN MAKING.
A Lesson in Construction by a
Master Of the Art.


Starting at the beginning the report
er asked of P. A. Josephs, we'll
known violin-maker of San Francisco,
the first principles of the business
"Well, sir, " replied Mr.. Josephs, 81
can safely say, after forty years of ex-
perience, that the first thing l should
impress upon tyro is that fiddle-mak-
ing is trade, and that violin-making
is an art. You can make a fiddle by
machinery and use a steam-chest to
mold it, but violin must be made by
hand, and guarded from moisture as
carefully as though it were a perisha-
BILE article. 1t is the most sensitive of
all instruments of sound, and the only
perfect one. 1t is superior to a piano
or an organ because they can not be
perfectly tuned. Neither perfect thirds
nor perfect tifths can be attained, and
if such instruments are perfectly tuned
they must consequently be out. Wind
instruments do not Snter into the COM
petition at all, as they can be too east
ly blown sharp or flat by the perform
er."
When his visitor continued his
queries Mr.. Josephs stated that he was
willing to impart rudimentary lesson
on the construction of violins, but the
lesson that could be given in the con-
fines of "a newspaper article would be
very short.
" In the first place you want to pre-
pare for some very nice and exact
mathematical calculations. This will
convince you how exact your proper
tiOns must be.
With this, Mr.. Josephs exhibited a
delicate rule, so finely marked as to
measure to the ten thousandth part of
meter, and even that infinitesimal
distance could be split.
1.-The walls of building control its
acoustic properties, do they not? Yes;
well, it is the same with violin.
Plans for violin are determined by
the rate of the vibration of the wood to
be used, the shape and size of the air.
chamber, and the violins generally are
all dependent on these vibrations. The
wood is put in clamp and tested for
its resonant properties, and if it does
not come up to the mark of course no
labor is wasted in shaping it. When
the pitch of the wood is determined,
then the calculations come in. Even
the holes in the belly depend on this
test In the calculations, also, must
enter the model of the violin, which is
the amount of concavity and convexity
put into the back and belly This is
the reason that a mere copyist never
makes perfect violin. OF course, if
he were sure that he had exactly the
same material as the old master that
he endeavors to initiate, and that the
wood was of the same resonance, his
violin might be as good as the copy;
but these conditions arc impossible.
Consequently, an artist never makes
two violins exactly alike. They might
be the same to all casual, or even
close, observers; the expert will see the
difference at a glance"
"How do you mold the arches in the
backs and belliesp"
"They are not nodded, but cut out
with gouges and tiny planes. The
arches run both ways, from side to side
and end to end, and the work toward
the finish is extremely delicate. Each
back and each belly consists of two
pieces, glued so neatly as to give the
appearance of solid slab"
In support of his assertion Mr.. Jo-
sephs exhibited several pieces joined as
he stated, and so artistically that the
junction was scarcely discernible, and
probably would not be when the var
nish was put on over it. Every thing
about the body of the instrument is
fastened with glue, not tack or q
string entering into the composition
Commenting on the delicate nature OF
the instrument, Mr.. Josephs said that
the pressure produced by the tension
of the strings of modern violins
amounted to ninety pounds, and the
frail shell would not come anywhere
near sustaining such weight but fol
the fact of the arch and the presence
of the bass bar and the sound-post
which are concealed from view in the
Interior of the air-chamber.
The chat on woods that came neN
was very interesting part of the in
terview. The back, neck, sides ant
scroll of good violin are of maple
and the sounding-board, or top, is o
spruce. There is need of a grea
amount of expertness in the selection
of wood, and when maker secures ;
tine stick he guards it as he would |
child or favorite jewel.
Mr.. Josephs was happy yesterday il
the possession of piece of spruce tha
he had positive information hat
been cut over eighty-five years. Th'
stick was found doing service as bean
in barn, way up in the northern par
of Maine The two woods are seleete'
for their mutual resonance, and to de
velop this the most perfect condition
are necessary.
"There are several kinds of spruce,