Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-10-22
THE "STRAD" HOAX.
How Thousands of Genuine Gre
monas" Are Made in Germany.

From the london Morning Post.
That the "Strad" violin hoax should
have cropped up again only to he once
more laughed at is not surprising in an
age in which skepticism is posted on
guard and masterpieces" provoke criu-
cal inquiry. This time il is I'm Sunder-
land mining village, where the love Of
fiddle music is keen. and. perhaps. does
not march with much Instrumental
knowledge. or at least. knowledge or
instruments. The paragraph telling how
several hundreds OF such violins had
been disposed OF for gold was shown to
an expert dealer. and he Ventured on
hearty and reminiscent chuckle. Il won
der. he said. how long this particular
form of swindle will be successful? For
geries OF well known makes of violins.
tenors, cellos and double basses have
gone on ever since my forty years OF
trade. 1t used to be said OF kindred.
but inferior trade-the making OF antique
furniture-that special worm eaters
were employed who knew the precise
angle, the exact charge and size of shot
and the correct distance at which to pep
rer oak and mahogany in order TO imi-
tate the holes SO dear to the collector OF
furniture. Again In recent years there
have come into the courts cases concern
ing the removal of genuine gold and
silver marks, or the forgery Of them. for
the enhancement by a few thousand per
cent of the cost of cheap modern work.
In pictures, also. enough has happened
recently to make all connoisseurs. expert
or amateur, remember that caveat emp
tor is a good legal aphorism. The case
of the forged fiddle is more amusing and
less harmful, though | gathered that sew
eral of the Golfers paid good soverei Ems
in this instance for instruments sold in
bulk to the dealer for less than a shill-
ing. One would have thought that in a
mining village, where strikes and fnan-
cial crises must occur, the local pawn
broker would have diSSinafad the hnaY
long ago. The man who can assess tho
value of anything from a fiatiron to
Sunday suit is not to be deceived by
paste diamond or the forged label of a
'Strad' or a Guarnerius. / know sew.
eral violin factories. two or three in
Germany, and one near Brussels They
are very ingenious, these fellows, and
could turn out some decent instruments
If they cared TO work for posterity and
not for themselves. Planks Of the requi
site thickness are steamed for hours, cut
up and stamped into shape.
There is no time for the loving use OF
tool that marked the old artists OF Gre
mona. Inside, where II can he seen
through an f. hole, is pasted the imita-
ton parchment label Of the alleged
maker, and then all the parts are clamped
and pinned and glued together. / must
say that they use the very best glue: It
pays them. There follows a necessary
period Of drying, but the sun, being a
slow and uncertain old fellow, gives way
to the modern oven. very clever is "a
vanishing stage. We have lost the
secret of the varnish of the old Italian
makers, have We? These people have
undiscovered and improved upon il. In
stead of having to wait for years OF
resonance with the bow to shake down
the oil into the cells, leaving that soft
surface color which sends connoisseurs
into raptures, the modern makers turn
out masterpieces by the hundred per day,
and the places where the chin and the
hands have the surface bare
J plain proofs of authentic old age. And
there you have the new version Of
stringed art. You don't need to have
your wood carefully selected from the
sunny side of the trees. stacked to mel
low in the makers yards. fashioned with
Infinite care, and lovingly vanished.
pegged, strung and tested before passing
to the music gallery of an Italian MOLE.
The ancients and the moderns had the
one thing in common, that they We're
poorly paid"