I’d like to welcome you to my collection. My expertise, instruments as well as my network are at your disposal for one-off or permanent exhibitions, musical events or any other fascinating project.
I am pleased to inform you that Oxford University Press has published my article
"Bridge shapes of the violin and other bowed instruments, 1400–1900. The origin and evolution of their design", in Early Music, Volume 48, Issue 2, May 2020, (27 pp).
Abstract
As one goes back in time the number of extant bowed instruments decreases gradually, and this is particularly true for loose parts such as bridges, pegs and tailpieces. The current article traces the development of bridges of instruments of the violin family, based on a study of extant instruments and around 800 iconographic sources. This study reveals the origins of the various elements of bridges found on modern instruments of the violin family, and reconstructs the different stages of their evolution. Many elements of the modern violin bridge were already present, sometimes hidden, in bowed instrument bridges of the 16th century. The extensive appendices and many line drawings offer today’s researchers, makers and restorers the possibility of providing historically informed bridges that are less fantasized than those hitherto often encountered on restorations or reconstructions of old instruments.
The online article can be seen here but unfortunately it is not freely accessible:
https://academic.oup.com/em/article-abstract/doi/10.1093/em/caaa027/5871656
As one goes back in time the number of extant bowed instruments decreases gradually, and this is particularly true for loose parts such as bridges, pegs and tailpieces. The current article traces the development of bridges of instruments of the violin family, based on a study of extant instruments and around 800 iconographic sources. This study reveals the origins of the various elements of bridges found on modern instruments of the violin family, and reconstructs the different stages of their evolution. Many elements of the modern violin bridge were already present, sometimes hidden, in bowed instrument bridges of the 16th century. The extensive appendices and many line drawings offer today’s researchers, makers and restorers the possibility of providing historically informed bridges that are less fantasized than those hitherto often encountered on restorations or reconstructions of old instruments.
The online article can be seen here but unfortunately it is not freely accessible:
https://academic.oup.com/em/article-abstract/doi/10.1093/em/caaa027/5871656
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Guitars and other fretted instruments 1920-1970:
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Especially recommended to those Europeans who wish to know more about American-made guitars
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Especially recommended to people tired of looking at musical instruments behind glass