German Violin with Berliner Patent Tailpiece
date: label: patent date
content: 1881-06-07
name: label: patentee
content: Berliner, Emile
notes: label: Description
content: This violin tailpiece was patented by Emile Berliner. Washington, DC., U.S. Patent #242,585, June 7, 1881. The violin was made in Markneukirchen, Germany, around 1880. It has an unusual spruce back and was made presumably under the direction of Mr. Berliner. Emil Berliner was an inventor working in many disciplines including the development of the modern phonograph. His invention on this violin is a mechanical device extending from the underneath the end of the fingerboard. The strings are attached to the mechanism rather than to a traditional violin tailpiece. This arrangement allows the player to adjust the downward tension of the strings on the bridge. The violin is made of a two-piece table of spruce, one-piece back of spruce, ribs of maple with even medium figure, similar maple neck, pegbox and scroll, and a transparent reddish-brown varnish.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: Place Made
content: United States: District of Columbia, Washington
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Musical Instruments
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content: Music & Musical Instruments
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content: Violins
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Mrs. John W. Brackett
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: MI.324622
label: accession number
content: 68614
label: catalog number
content: 324622
label: patent number
content: 242,585
objectType: label: Object Name
content: violin tailpiece
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: spruce (table material)
label: Physical Description
content: maple (part material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 24 1/4 in x 8 3/8 in x 3 7/8 in; 61.595 cm x 21.2725 cm x 9.8425 cm