Newspapers / The New Bern Mirror … / Nov. 12, 1971, edition 1 / Page 1
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U 5-^ A'-. The NEW BERN Yesterday was when, several times a year, someone here in the Coast Country would teif e into Fuller’s Music House with a cheaply made, inexpensive Addle. Always it was the same. Visualizing a fortune, the ex cited individual felt sure that in his Arm grasp he held a rare Stradivarius violin. Minutes later, the instrument’s owner departed, deefdy disappoint^. What fooled these residents of the Coast Country, and a lot of other folks throughout America who had the same experience, was a printed lable inside such imitations that read “Antonius Stradivarius Cremonensis Faci- at. Anno I7.%.” Or maybe 1725, 17.11, or another year of the period. Unfortunately, these reproductions, numbered in the thousands, were worth little. The hoax was finally halted approximately a half century ago, when the Federal govern ment passed legislation requiring the word COPY on all such tables. Hence, if the label in your particular Addle doesn’t include this word, yoii at least have the consolation of knowing that the violin in your possession is probably 50 or more years old. According to expmts, you have very little chance of find ing an honest to goodness Stradivarius vi(din. There are between 300 and 400 of the famed musical instruments in existence. Most of them are catalogued, we are told, and they all bear nicknames. If through some miraculous act of fate you do And the genuine article, you will indeed get more pocket money for it than you can cmveniently tote. Violins, as we know them today, were perfected in Italy in the latter half of the 16th century. Bom in a little town named Cremona, near Venice, Antonio Stradivari made a superb contribution to the art of fiddle making by fashioned with extreme delicacy the curves and arches of the violin body, while keeping the instrument strong and resonant. Stradivari didn’t roam afar to find the wood for his violins. He selected a certain type of pine that grew on the hUisides just outside his home town. He tried every available oil and Anish until he came up with a varnish that gave his instruments a rich amber color. Science, despite great strides made in the centuries since, has never been able to duplicate this varnish, or even approadi its incomparable beauty. The secret went with Antonio to his grave, or else was soon lost by those with whom he had worked. So conscientous was this gentle craftsman that in his old age, when his ^esi|^t was failing, he refused to ponoit his name to be afftxed to the in struments he was still creating. A few of them, at least, may have been just as close to perfection as the violins he had made from bovhood on, but he was fearful that some minor Continued on page X) ^0 PUBLISHID WEEKLY IN THE HEART OP EASTERN NORTH CAROLINA 5^ Per Copy VOLUME 14 NEW BERN. N. C.. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 12. 1971 LET YOUR FANCY ROLL BACK YEARS LIKE A BRISK NOVEMBER BREEZE, AND AMONG THE SCATTERED MEMORIES YOU’LL FIND SCENES SUCH AS THESE. —Photos from Albert D. Brooks Collection.
The New Bern Mirror (New Bern, N.C.)
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Nov. 12, 1971, edition 1
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