HORACE PETHERICK.
Of the Music Jury, International Inventions Exhibition
South Kensington, 1885; International Exhibition
Edinburgh, 1890; Expert in Law Courts, 1891;
Vice-President of the Cremona Society.
ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR.
London:
THE STRAD OFFICE, 3, GREEN TERRACE, ROSEBERY AVENUE, E.C.
D. R. DUNCAN, 186, FLEET STREET, E.C.
New York:
CHARLES SCRIBNERS' SONS, 153-157, FIFTH AVENUE
1903.
CONTENTS.
—Introductory
—Slight Accidents—Modern Restorers—"Chattering"—The Proper Sort of Glue—Its Preparation and Use
—Minor Repairs—Cramps and Joints—Violin Cases—Rattles and Jars—Loose Fingerboards—Atmospheric Temperature—Old-Fashioned Methods of Repairing—Modern Ways—A Loose Nut
—Injuries to the Head or Scroll—Insertion of Fresh Wood—Colouring of White Wood—Separation of Head from Peg-box and Re-joining—Stopping Material for Small Holes or Fractures—The Peg-box Cracked by Pressure
—Fracture of Peg-box and Shell—Chips from this Part—Filling up of Same—Restoration to Original Form, after Parts have been Lost—Worn Peg-holes, Re-filling or Boring Same
—Loosening of Junction of Graft with Peg-box, and Refixing Same—Grafting, Different Methods of Performing this—Lengthening the Neck—Old and Modern Method—Renewal of Same—Inclination of Neck and Fingerboard with Regard to the Bridge—Height of Latter, and Reason for It
—Finishing the Fingerboard—Fixing the Nut—Size and Position of Grooves for the Strings—Filing Down the Graft—Smoothing, Colouring, and Varnishing Same
—Injuries that can be Repaired from the Outside—Insertion of Fresh Wood in Fracture of the Ribs—The Effects of Climate on the Glue in Violins
—The Glue Used by the Early Italian Makers—Insertion of Pieces of Wood for Repairing Lost Parts—Replacing Lost Rib and Repairing Interior without Opening when Possible—Securing Loose Lower Rib to End Block—Different Methods—Treatment of Worm-holes—Fixing on Graft on Neck
—Ways of Removing the Upper Table and the Neck—Cleansing the Interior—Preservation of the Original Label—Closing of Cracks in Upper Table
—Getting Parts Together that apparently do not Fit—The use of Benzine or Turpentine—Treatment of Warped or Twisted Lower Tables
—Removal of Old Superfluous Glue by Damping—Replacing Old End Blocks by New Ones—Temporary Beams and Joists Inside for Keeping Ribs, etc., in Position while Freshly Glued
—Re-opening the Back to Correct the Badly Repaired Joint—A Few Words on Studs—Filling Up Spaces left by Lost Splinters—Matching Wood for Large Cracks, etc.
—Repairing Lost Portions—Margins of Sound Holes—Matching the Grain—Fixing and Finishing Off—Replacing with Fresh Wood Large Portions of Upper Table—Lost Parts of Purfling—Restoring It with Old Stuff
—Repairs to Purfling (continued)—Filling up an Opening Extending to the Whole Length of the Violin—Fitting the Core—Fixing it in Position and Retaining it There—Finishing the Surface
—Repairing Undertaken by People in Business not connected with that of Bowed Instruments—Removal of a Fixed Sound Post—Fitting a Fresh Part of Worm-Eaten Rib—Bringing Together the Loosened Joint of the Back Without Opening the Violin
—Insertion of Studs along the Joint Inside without Opening the Violin—Lining or Veneering a Thin Back
—The Bar in Olden Times—The Modern One—The Operation of Fitting and Fixing the Bar—Closing and Completion of the Repairs—Varnishing of the Repaired Parts having Fresh Wood
PREFACE.
An ancient writer once asserted that "of making many books there is no end"; had the violin been invented and used as far back as his day he might have added, "and of repairs to violins," inasmuch as the number, nature, and variety of the damages that constantly occur and find their way into the presence of the repairer, are such as could not be counted and seemingly are endless. The readers of the following pages will therefore not expect to find every possible ailment to which the violin is liable, mentioned and its appropriate remedy marked out. If the more minute kinds of injuries are endless, they may yet be generalised under a limited number of headings, or in groups. It is with the hope that a sufficient number has been treated of, and the way of meeting difficulties pointed out plainly enough to enable the intending practitioner to follow on in the same lines, that this work is placed before the public. All the repairings referred to, have, with the accompanying annoyances and pleasures, been gone through by myself, and therefore the present little work may be taken as the result of personal experience and it is hoped may be acceptable to the readers.
H. PETHERICK.
July, 1903
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