The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-06-03

sum. After the proprietor OF the local
music store has looked at 1t and come local
~violinist has given his opinion, the instru-
ment Is shipped on to me. l am expected
to buy the instrument for thousands or sell
it to some millionaire; but I have yet to
find one Of these instruments hi comes
up to the owners expectations.
There are, of course, tricks in the trade
Of violin selling, just as there are in every
other business. Perhaps it resembles more
closely the traffic in so-called antique fur
niture than any other business. Instru-
ments are copied and made to look antique,
parts of old Instruments are added to new
ones and all the devices of the dealer /
antiques are tried to add value to the vio-
Inns. Then they are treated to many kinds
of vanishing 70 give them the desired
color.
Experts, it must be said, determine the
value of a violin by the tone and its musical
qualities. However fine it may be in other
particulars a violin without a good tone
has no value to a professional.
Mfr. Gmuender, who has for years been
manufacturing %violins, does not believe
that the good tone is altogether confined
to the antique instruments.
after working for years on antique
models, copying one maker and another
in the attempt to get the secret he said,
we nave got a model Of our own which is
equal to any that the old makers ever de-
vised. / am going to take it abroad next
month to introduce it to Germany. hin
what they will say over there of a holm
made in this country that possesses all
the excellencies that the Cremona makers
nut into their Instruments three centuries
ago. As a matter of fact, though, violins
are better made to-day than they were at
hat time. Stradivarius used to get only 500
for a fiddle. The best American maker
to-day gets $500 or 500 for a violin.
Every old violin, whether it was made
by Amati or S~tradivarius, had some defect.
None was perfect. In the model we have
made from all of these different instru-
ments | think it will be found all of these
defects have been avoided 80 that we have
the merits Of every old model without its
drawbacks"
The man who seeks to buy a genuine old
violin must take the same precautions that
the purchaser of any antique should adopt.
The only safe course for him is to go to
the most reputable dealer and rely on him.
aviolins are supposed to improve with
age" Mr.. Gmuepder said. .and it is true
that under certain conditions age does
improve an instrument; but many vioins
do not increase in value with continued
usage. Various causes operate to produce
this result. Long exposure to an u%nfavor-
able atmosphere, accidental cracks, poorly
done repairs and repeated use by a player
with a false intonation-all these things may
do a great deal toward running a violin oven
when it was good in its first estate.
This decline in the value Of an instru-
ment is shown when an owner see ks to sell
it, A violin, no matter how fine it is, may
be ruined by a poor player in a very short
time, and damages from such a source are
almost irremediable. 1t is next to impos-
sible to restore the original tone. Mere
age Is no recommendation in itself for a
violin. 1t is tone, OF course, that denotes
its value
One OF the most valuable Stradivarius
violins in the world is used now by Hugo
Kupferschmid Of Cincinnati. 1t was used
in all his concerts here by August Wilhelm.
Kupferschmid was his pupil and bought
the violin for $40, 000. It's owner had pre-
viously received larger offers for the fiddle,
which was discovered by Vuillaume in a
collection Of instruments bought by her
in 1855 in Italy.
Its first purchaser was an amateur named
Bockmuehl, and it came from him to the
father Of Wilhelm. This virtuoso used it
in his concerts from the time he was 10
years ole. Another Stradivarius OF I'M
doubted authenticity 80 long as it was in
his possession was the Bott fiddle, which
had such an exciting history. 1t was miss
ing for a year after having been stolen, was
later found and returned to its owner and
was sold by her to a collector,