Maker Name

Attributed to the Hornstainer family

Maker Biography

The Hornstainer family were a large family of luthiers in Southern Germany. Several members of the family made musical instruments mainly in Mittenwald and Passau in Bavaria. They were active from the end of the eighteenth century through to the early twentieth century. Some of the members of the family emigrated to America and settled in Chicago and Cleveland.

Other Information

Specific usage history: Formerly owned and played by William Marshall (1749-1833), Scottish fiddler-composer of Keithmore, County of Banff.

Technical Description

This violin has a soundboard of spruce; back, ribs, neck and scroll of sycamore; fingerboard, tailpiece and tail-gut protector of ebony; pegs and endbutton of rosewood. The soundboard is of close grained wood with purfling of ebony/sycamore/ebony. There are plugged positioning holes at top and bottom. The varnish, which is golden brown in colour, has worn away where the chin rests against the soundboard. The back is made from two pieces of wood, with medium depth of figure rising from the centre to the edges. The neck and pegbox/scroll are of one piece of wood with bird's-eye figure. There is an ebony enlarging piece at the heel, suggesting that the neck and scroll may not be original.

Measurements: Neck 130mm long; fingerboard 267mm long, 22.6mm wide at nut, 40.4mm wide at bottom. Soundboard arch 16mm, back arch 16mm.

Printed paper label "Jacobus Stainer in apsam" (sic) / "prope coripontum, 16".

Playing accessories: 2 fine tuners, velvet chin-pad. With double polished wooden case with arched top, lined with black velvet, also formerly belonging to William Marshall.

Performance characteristics: Even but somewhat thin and reedy tone.

Associated with bows (327) and (328).

Specific literature references: The accompanying documentation contains a copy of letter from William E. Hill & Sons to C.M. Skinner dated 8th October 1920.
Illustration references: Vol. 1 p. 54.
Specific recording references: Ron Gonella Plays the Fiddles of Gow, Marshall and Skinner; Turiff: Ross Records, 1982 (WGR 028).

Specific usage history: Formerly owned and played by William Marshall (1749-1833), Scottish fiddler-composer of Keithmore, County of Banff.

Previous ownership: Colin Marshall Skinner, great-great-grandson of William Marshall; almost certainly the violin presented to Marshall by the Duke of Gordon whilst in his service.
Current ownership: Gift of Colin Marshall Skinner and Mrs. Phyllis Barbara Skinner (widow of James Hay McInnes Skinner, great-great grandson of William Marshall), 1965.

(Reid Collection).

Provenance

Colin Marshall Skinner, great-great-grandson of William Marshall; almost certainly the violin presented to Marshall by the Duke of Gordon whilst in his service. ; Gift of Colin Marshall Skinner and Mrs Phyllis Barbara Skinner (widow of James Hay McInnes Skinner, great-great grandson of William Marshall), 1965.