Antonio Stradivari, his life and work (1644-1737) . certain specimens ofwhich we consider stand out pre-eminently by their 48 STRADIVARIS VIOLINS marked beauty of curve and exquisite finish—are slightlylengthened in order to harmonise with the increased length of body ; and then, so that the box of the head whichcarries the extra length should be in proportion with the scroll, the throatis cut fartherup — moreopened. Strad-ivari more fre-quently usedbacks in onepiece for theseviolins ; and wehaveseen severalspecimens ofwood cut fromthe same tree— maple ofnative growth —marked with asmall
Antonio Stradivari, his life and work (1644-1737) . certain specimens ofwhich we consider stand out pre-eminently by their 48 STRADIVARIS VIOLINS marked beauty of curve and exquisite finish—are slightlylengthened in order to harmonise with the increased length of body ; and then, so that the box of the head whichcarries the extra length should be in proportion with the scroll, the throatis cut fartherup — moreopened. Strad-ivari more fre-quently usedbacks in onepiece for theseviolins ; and wehaveseen severalspecimens ofwood cut fromthe same tree— maple ofnative growth —marked with asmall strono^curlrunning nearlystraight now rarelymeet with backscut the slab wayof the grain,though here andthere he occasionally used one. His pine still continues,with but rare exceptions, of fine grain. The stop { of string from the bridge-foot to top of the belly-edge) of these long Strads is 7J inches-that is, \ morethan that of the great majority of Stradivari violins,and 1 and even % more than that of many instruments. tig. 18.—Edge, Purfling, and Sound-hole of aLong-pattern Example made in 1694. THE LONG STRAD 49 of other makers. In order to make this longer stopagree with the more general length in use, some ex-amples have been cut down at the top—an operationmuch to be deplored, as it must be remembered that theextra length compensates in some measure for the narrowerwidth. Remove that extra length, and you have aninstrument of small dimensions, besides destroying the symmetry of the whole. Fine examples of the longStradivari are those in possession of— Mr. E. C. Hodgkins, dated 1693 5 Mr. Benecke, 1694 ; Mrs. N. M. Bryant, of Boston, , 1694; Mr. J. Cowan, 1694 ; Mr. K. S. Muir Mackenzie, 1694 ; Mr. Goetz, 1695 ; Mr. Muirhead, 1696 ; Mr. J. Mountford, 16—, . The last named is a most charming specimen, though un-fortunately its original date has been altered to Paris Conservatoire Museum also possesses an exampledated 1699.
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