My guess is that it may be a pre-war German violin. I purchased from Ed Schroepfer in 1986.

It was in such bad shape, I had to remove the finish and fix the cracks.

Here it is with a base coat of shellac and will be getting varnish soon.

This is after the second coat of red oil violin varnish.

From years of over tightening the chinrest, the rib was crushed beyond repair. The top and back where warped, the rib bulged out with a hole half the size of a dime through the side. The finish on the back was scratched and worn through to the wood. The front had a crack from the "f" hole to the purfling. The top of the crack was about 1mm wide, eaten away from years of rosin and no care.

Before

After

This is after my repairs and violin oil varnish, seven coats of red, one coat of clear, May 2006.

It has a beautiful two-piece flamed maple back and well flamed sides.

It has good volume with a mellow tone even across all stings.

Unknown label.

Please email me if you have any information who might have made this violin.