ANTIQUE LOUIS LOWENDALL BERLIN PROFESSIONALLY RESTORED UPDATED 4/4 VIOLIN

Description: Payment | Shipping ANTIQUE LOUIS LOWENDALL BERLIN PROFESSIONALLY RESTORED UPDATED 4/4 VIOLIN - 1905 ANTIQUE LOUIS LOWENDALL BERLIN PROFESSIONALLY RESTORED & UPDATED 4/4 VIOLIN - 1905 You are invited to submit bids for a very fine antique handcrafted 4/4 (full size) violin made by Louis Lowendall in Berlin, Germany in the year 1905. It has been expertly restored, repaired, reconditioned and updated with several new parts including Wittner geared pegs and modern Dominant strings (details below). It is now ready to be played again and enjoyed by an appreciative buyer. It will be shipped in a vintage hard case as described below along with an antique German-made bow. NOTE: For more information on the history of Louis Lowendall and his firm, Lowendall Star Works of Berlin, Germany, please see below. KEY FEATURES: * A warm and even walnut-brown spirit varnish throughout except on the neck. * Two piece flamed Maple back with ribs, pegbox and neck of flamed Maple to match the back. * Two piece Spruce top plate with very attractive nicely spaced grain pattern. (See image) * Printed label inside the left f-hole marked with model name of "IMPERIAL" with maker's name: LOUIS LOWENDALL/Fecit Berlin. 1905. Printed signature at 45 degree angle on left side of the label and large hand written Lowendall signature across the top of the label. Lowendall trademark double back-to-back cursive "L" within a floral wreath on right side of the printed label. (See composite image of label) * Button stamped with the Lowendall trade mark of cursive double back-to-back "L" within a floral wreath. Impression is faded, but partly evident upon close inspection. (See image) * Engraved "BERLIN" found on upper bout of body below the button. Impression is faded but readable. (See image) * Very neatly set fine purfling on edges of top and bottom plates. * All four corners are blocked inside - an excellent indication of a quality built violin. * Seam of bottom plate is cleated inside - another excellent indication of a quality built violin. * Properly placed and shaped bassbar. * Fitted with original soundpost and original Aubert A' Mirecourt bridge. MEASUREMENTS: * Length Overall (LoA): 23 1/8" * Length of the body (LoB): 14" * Rib Height: 1 1/8" * Maximum Width of Upper Bout: 6 3/4" * Average middle width at Waist or C-Bout: 4 3/4" * Maximum Width of Lower Bout: 8 1/4" NATURE OF RESTORATION, REPAIRS & MODERN REFIT: This antique violin was received in relatively good, but dirty cosmetic condition with a detached finderboard and with several missing parts. Our immediate observation was that it was evidently played quite a lot in the past based in part to some fading of the spirit varnish on the lower back and on the upper right rib next the finderboard (See BEFORE & AFTER RESTORATION composite image). Following is a summary of the actions taken to restore the violin to playability: 1. There was a pegbox crack around the "A" peg hole. We sistered this area of the pegbox with new Maple wood and stained the new wood with Walnut-Brown stain and Walnut-Brown touchup spirit varnish to match the original pegbox exterior finish. (See composite image of the repair) 2. We replaced the old detached fingerboard, which was in poor condition, with a new Ebony fingerboard and attached it to the violin with Hide Glue. 3. All exterior surfaces of the violin were thoroughly cleaned of residual rosin and dirt using JOHA Varnish Cleaner. This was followed by a coating of French Polish. 4. The original nut, saddle, endpin, soundpost and Ebony tailpiece were retained and used on the restored violin. A new Guarneri-style Ebony Chinrest was installed on the violin. 5. The pegbox was fitted with new Wittner Finetune geared Pegs (Made in Germany). These geared pegs negate the need for fine tuners on the tailpiece as they are permanently set within the pegbox and have an 8:1 gear ratio, making for very precise tuning. Only the central knurled spool segment of the peg rotates. So once the Wittner pegs are set, they are not designed to be removed from the pegbox. (Please see the Wittner website for more details). NOTE: Conventional wood peg slippage is a big problem with most violins. Changes in humidity or temperature can cause even very properly fit pegs to slip, something that a player definitely does not want to happen in the middle of a concert solo in front of a large audience. Wittner geared pegs totally eliminate peg slippage so one can play the violin even with emotional vigor without worry of the potential for peg slippage. 6. Finally, the violin was fitted with a new Thomastik-Einfeld 135B Medium Dominant Synthetic core string set to complete the setup of the instrument (See images). 7. Included with the violin itself is a nice vintage German-made bow marked "GERMANY." (See close-up image of the engraving on the bow). All of the aforementioned repairs have resulted in a fully restored and functional antique Louis Lowendall German-made violin from 1905, but with some modern enhancements so the violin performs at its best with modern synthetic strings. Thus, an antique instrument that could have easily been lost to time has been improved and reborn to live a second life in the present. It is now ready for the next fine player, who could be you, to put it to use. SOUND AND PLAYABILITY: The sound of this restored violin can be best described as warm and inviting, full of nuance and strength. The response is instant, quick and clean. The instrument has a lot of power and will carry in a large concert hall setting. The trebble side is very sweet and the D&G side is mature and deep somewhat reminiscent of a cello. Lowendall violins are known for their excellent tonal quality and this particular example is no exception. HARD CASE & BOW: This violin will be shipped in an antique/ vintage hard case. It has some exterior damage, which we have since repaired to a limited degree. However, it lacks a handle and some interior parts. Nevertheless, it will be protective of the refurbished violin for shipping purposes. The violin will be very carefully packed so as to prevent any movement while in transit to its new owner. After receipt of the violin, its new owner will most likely elect to invest in a brand new padded hard case as this restored antique instrument certainly deserves that level of care and attention. The vintage German-made bow that accompanies the violin is in good playable condition, but shows some signs of age wear and some loss of hair. HISTORY OF LOUIS LOWENDALL, VIOLIN MAKER. MUSIC INSTRUMENT SELLER & ENTREPRENEUR: Louis Lowendall was born in 1840 (some references say 1836) in the small provincial port town of Konigsberg in Northern Prussia located on the Baltic Sea. His father, Ludwig, was a draper, a dealer in cloth and sometimes also in clothing and dry goods. His father was also an amateur violin maker. When only about seven years of age, Louis displayed considerable talent for music and even at that early age he constructed a rudimentary violin according to his own idea. He formed the body from an un-planed wooden board making the neck, pegs, etc., from similar material. He made the strings from strong cotton thread. He also constructed a rudimentary bow, as best he could, securing a supply of hair extracted from the tails of horses out in the streets of his home town. His father, discovering his son's love for the violin and wishing to further develop his son's talent, bought him a real violin, which his son immediately cherished and played constantly. However, his father soon had second thoughts about this. Fearing that violin playing would absorb too much of his son's attention, his father relieved the youthful aspirant of his now much beloved instrument after just a few weeks. Thus, Louis's love of the violin would lie dormant for several years until, at age 13, he entered Konigsberg High School, where he was able to commence musical studies in earnest. By the time that he had reached the age of 19, he had become an efficient performer on the cello. After completing his academic training and early music studies, Louis moved to Leipzig, Germany. There he became acquainted with the renowned instrument and bow maker, Ludwig Bausch. Later on, Louis moved again, this time to Berlin, where he connected with the well-known violin bow maker, Heinrich Knopf. Thus, under the tutorship of both Bausch and Knopf, respectively, Louis took the opportunity of studying both violin and bow making. Now firmly settled in Berlin, Louis opened a small retail music shop in 1855, and from that time forward he both manufactured and sold a large number of the musical instruments and the business grew and prospered. By the year 1866, his business had expanded to a point where he founded the Lowendall Star Works in Berlin. The primary purpose of this new business venture was to export violins and other instruments to other parts of Europe, to England and ultimately to the United States. He employed many assistants and expert craftsmen who made master violins under his supervision. The new instruments from his workshop in Berlin were fashioned after Stradivari and Guarneri models. Initially, he also acquired instruments for sale from off-site workers based in Saxony. However, he considered most of these off-site acquisitions in the main to be "a pile of rubbish." So, he was determined that his workshop would produce violins of a quality higher than the common trade violins of the day. In 1867, Louis decided that America would afford him a wider field of business activity. So he left Germany with his wife and possessions and travelled to the United States by ship. After arriving in the USA, he set up a US based import business in order to capitalize on the expanding American market for violins and other instruments of European origin. He brought with him his very valuable stock of aged violin wood and musical instruments, especially a fine collection of about 60 genuine old violins. As a result, he soon became known among musical circles in the US and created a sensation as many of the instruments were very costly. One of his friends and customers was George Gemunder, a German-American violin maker, who bought some of his most beautiful wood and many valuable instruments. Note: Georg (George) Gemunder was a German-born American violin maker who worked in Boston, Massachusetts, and later, Astoria, New York. With his brother August and others, he pioneered the construction of quality violins in the United States. After six years in the US, Mr. Lowendall returned with his family to Europe and devoted himself to collecting on a large scale, old Italian violins that he sold very profitably in America, which he visited at regular intervals. During is many visits to the USA, he visited New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Cincinnati, and Chicago and secured much business. In 1873, Louis lived and worked in Dresden, Germany for a short time (Note: Some of his 1870s violins bear the Dresden location on their internal labels) and in the following year visited England for the first time, and stayed for about six weeks doing very good business in that nation. For the next five years he went annually to America. In 1878, Louis made the acquaintance of Ole Bornemann Bull in St. Louis who permitted him to take a copy of his famous grand concert violin which he was playing there at the time. Lowendall's copy of this instrument became known as "Lowendall's Ole Bull." He thereafter divided his time between America and England, having enormous success in both countries. During this time, he was awarded a silver medal at the London Inventions Exhibition and a similar one at Bologna, Italy, for a fine display of his excellent violins. In 1893, Louis had an exhibit of his musical instruments including violins, violas, cellos, bows, etc. at the World's Columbian Exhibition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair. Here he won an award for his violins which were deemed by the judges to have a powerful tone quality and excellence of manufacture. In 1889, as his business continued to expand, he bought a spacious four-story building at 121 Reichenbergerstrasse, Berlin, and employed many skilled workmen to further expand his business. As he entered the 20th Century, his master violins were made in several models including the "Glory," the "Imperial," the "Ole Bull," etc. and each instrument became more standardized with a signed printed label with the model name and trade mark of a cursive double back-to-back capital "L" enclosed within a floral wreath. This latter trade mark was also stamped on the button and the word "BERLIN" in a slight arch was engraved on the back plate below the button. The printed label read "Louis Lowendall / fecit Berlin. Anno 19__" with the latter two digits penned in for the exact year of manufacture of the instrument. A Lowendall Star Works Catalogue dated 1910/11 showed, for his resellers only, an impressive range of some 200 master violins including a Guarneri del Gesu' from 1703 and a Guiseppe DeSiato from 1900. In keeping with the trend, Lowendall also offered an array of antique musical instruments including lutes, pochettes ( a very small violin-like wood instrument designed to fit in a pocket), guitars, etc., all artfully crafted and richly inlaid with Ivory, Mother of Pearl and Tortoise Shell. After some 45 years in business, it is reported that Lowendall sold almost 11,000 violins - a far cry from when as a young lad of 7 years he made his own violin from rudimentary materials. Quite a legacy! After Louis Lowendall died sometime in the early 1900s (the exact date is unknown), his son, Louis, Jr. took over operation of the business. How long the business lasted after that transition is unclear. BIDDING: The Montana Logger is very pleased to offer this professionally restored Louis Lowendall violin for a very reasonable opening bid and with no reserve. Happy Bidding! PAYMENT: Payment is due within 3 days of the close of the auction. Prompt payment is always very much appreciated. Payment Back to Top I accept the following forms of payment: PayPal Shipping & Handling Back to Top US Shipping $45.00 FedEx Ground® $45.00 FedEx Home Delivery® International Shipping $125.00 USPS Priority Mail International (Worldwide) $89.00 USPS Priority Mail International (Canada) FREE scheduling, supersized images and templates. Get Vendio Sales Manager.Make your listings stand out with FREE Vendio custom templates! FREE scheduling, supersized images and templates. Get Vendio Sales Manager. Over 100,000,000 served. Get FREE counters from Vendio today!

Price: 597 USD

Location: Hamilton, Montana

End Time: 2024-12-13T01:31:01.000Z

Shipping Cost: 45 USD