PART I.

The instrument.

page Origin of the violin 1 The oldest violins 1 Development and perfecting of the violin 2 Prominent makers of the present day 3 Attempts at improving the violin 4 Search for the discovery of the old Italian makers’ secrets 6 Distinguishing features of the old Italian violins 7 Imitations of the old Italian violins 10 Constituent parts of the violin 10 Function of the soundpost and bass bar 12 Position of the bridge 12 Amount of pressure on the upper table 13 Dimensions of the violin 13 The wood 13 The varnish 14 The strings 14 Strings pure in fifths 15 The string gauge 15 Preservation of the strings 16 The bow 16 Different parts of the bow 17 Resin 18 Violin cases 18 Price of violins 19 Price of violin cases 19 Price of bows 19 Preservation of the instrument 19 Cleaning the hair of the bow 20 Names of the strings, and tuning 20 Compass of the violin 21