Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1899-09-21
A TREASURE RESTORED.


Among tAe many minor incidents vi |
the Baldwin hotel fire was the wreck |
et the old AmaU violin, which August |
RiurichS used as leader OF the thcat,r |
o'NheStra, Every music lover in the |
city knew The instrument. II was
made by Njcolo Amat, son ot Hcrnui- |
mus, nephew OF Antonio, horn 1895. |
died 1854, Cr@nouas most renowned
maker OF all this celebrated family, |
and was purchased from the great
Hanover music house of Berlin some
years ago,
In the basement Of The baldwin
theater, where the orchestra iustru-
ments were stored, the water used in
QuenchinE the hotel fire, very nearly
at the boiling point when 1t was frs,
poured in. stood higher than man's
head, The underwriters put In
pumps and lowered &C. Then men
cropped their way cautiously amid the
ruins, venturing few PAGES at a
time, Among them was August Him
rtN'ls, Making careful observations,
he determined the exact location Of the
place where the ASNati had hecn left
and he offered workman round
hrthe to 20 IN an SEQ II he could find
1t. The man accepted the offer He
brought out first the viola Of Hinri0hs
the elder, burned to charcoal, Then
he brought ont library book which
August Hturlohs had borrowed the dav
before the fire, hlackcncd but entire
Then he brought out 4 watcr-soakcd
thing which the musical leader recng-
nt2ed ms the ease of his Amati, hut his
cry OF rejoicing was hushed as he
witnessed its singular condition, flat
tened and collapsed, like piece of
pastry.
The body Of the violin proper has
only nine pieces but the top OF this
was in ~ separate fragments, some
OF them the Vcriest chips and splint-
ers, yet 1t was found In such position
MS to Indicate that II had been pro
tected from any crushing pres
sure. This condition was mys-
terry, only solved when all OF the pieces
were examined in a strong light, when
close inspection showed that every
glue Joint in the original construction
had separated and that ancient re-
pairs. whose presence had never before
been suspected had been disscCted by
tho action OF the hot water. which had
also extracted every particle Of var
nish and filling from the wood Under
the sounding post, back OF the bridge,
was whore the chief fracture had oc-
CURED, and the edges where they sep.
arated, telling the secret OF some old
artilicer's work, were dark with age.
Herman Muller, local violin maker
and renairer, who had had care Of the
instruments ever since II camo into Mr..
liInrich's possession, undertook Its
restoration. Twice Muller put the
violin together, and to the eve OF
| layman 1t was again perfectly con
strnctcd instrument, The bouts had
shrunk little, and he found 1t neces-
sary to put the lower In place Of the
upper ones and to shape new lower
ones, but, with the exception Of these
| two narrow bands and slender
thread of new lining around the edge
of the top it was reconstructed en-
tircly Of the original wood, and seem
ed as dainty and exquisite n violin ms
when It came from the hands Of It's
maker over 300 years ago Yet when
Muller strung II and drew bow
across the strings his face was
troubled, and when he carried It to
Hinrlchs and the musical director re-
peatcd the experiment the two men
looked sadly ut each other. Hinrichs
was disposed to take the more hope.
fnl view
''rhe tone will improve with use.
and even now 1t would do" he said,
cheerfully.
No, II does not sing. The tone ia
dead. The arch has hattened and II
does not vibrate." said Muller. Il
shall take It to pieces again"
So the AmatI was again resolved into
It's component parts, and Muller tried
to remedy the fault. but when It was
aRaln put together IL BtIll refused to
sing. Then he resolved upon heroic
measures. 1T was not a question OF
money or reward He has since said
to Hinrichs;
Il was never 80 discouraged over
anything in my life But could
not be reconclled to giving up and re.
turning that beautiful old Amati with
voice like $lJ f1dlo."
He had no one to learn the proper
procedure, for the simple reason that
no one so far known had ever ac-
complished what he was about to I'M
dertake, He knew the proper form OF
the Nlcolo Amati, and he knew every
curve and Dimension OF this old lnstru-
ment, which DE had so often handled,
so that he had from the first realized
just where the defect lay. Before the
fire the arch was just little lattened,
as In most old vIollns, burt the boiling
and soaking and drying had exaggerat-
Ell this fault, spelling the exquisite
symmetry OF contour and playing ha-
voc with tones.
For the third ftmo Mt,lior gaaJaJ