Hopf violins history book

This beautiful cello is a good sounding instrument. Ludwig hopf 23 october 1884 in nurnberg, germany 23 december 1939 in dublin, ireland was a germanjewish theoretical physicist who made contributions to mathematics, special relativity, hydrodynamics, and aerodynamics. This violin does not have the square shoulders that so many hopf family violins do. All instruments belonged to jews before and during the war. The hopf name is stamped on a vast number of undistinguished violins, an inestimable quantity of which are unauthentic. Lso digital exhibition, violins of the lso violin festival historical context, expert commentary, rare images and original recordings. Any violin so marked should be viewed skeptically until confirmed by a recognized expert. Identifying and appraising violin family instruments. This violin from the famous hopf ateliers in klingenthal, saxony, is an outstanding antique instrument with a wonderful sound that is superior to many other violins sharing the same provenance. Violins by famous makers such as stradivari, guarneri, maggini, amati, or stainer had numerous followers. Juxtaposing these narratives against one mans harrowing struggle to reconcile his own familys history and the history of his people, this insightful, moving, and achingly human book presents a.

This violin has a scrolled head and black wooden tuning pegs, with a chin rest clamped to the bottom of the violin body. This violin was made in klingenthal, germany around 1880. Apr 15, 2012 a violin maker in israel has spent more than two decades painstakingly amassing a tragic collection. The violin was perhaps the most important instrument for the jewish people, weinstein says. Most are probably trade fiddles with carved bass bars and roughpoor graduations, but there are much better ones that are often wellliked by oldtime and trad players in celtic styles. The hopf trade instruments circa 18751940 germanyczechoslovokia the name hopf is found on many, many trade violins. This is an important question in the evaluation of a violin from the 18th or 19th century. How can you tell if the label in your violin is original. An original label in a violin by peter guarneri of venice 1734, showing the papers laid lines. However, all of the hopf violins ive seen have the name stamped in straight, unslanted block capital letters. Hopf is a legitimate instrumentmaker and produced some very decent violins. About factorymade violins around the turn of the 20th century, musical instrument manufacturing experienced an explosion of popularity, both in the u.

This commercial violin bears a square arching and outline typically seen in klingenthal trade. Hopf violins are well known by their peculiar shape and color. History of a violin maker dynasty in the vogtland region, saxony. Grymes tells the amazing, horrifying, and inspiring story of the violins of the holocaust, and of amnon weinstein, the renowned israeli violinmaker who has devoted the past twenty years to restoring these instruments in tribute to those who were lost, including 400 members of his own family. As a collector of hopf violins,i would be very skeptical of the 1780 date. The two earliest violin makers in recorded history are both from northern italy. Juxtaposing these narratives against one mans harrowing struggle to reconcile his own familys history and the history of his people, this insightful, moving, and achingly human book presents a new way of understanding the holocaust. The pegs are in great shape and turn smoothly and hold well, new dominant strings, new professionally cut bridge.

This is a violin of excellent proportions made with beautiful materials by highly skilled hands. The work is based on the extensive notes of violinist and composer william henley 18741957. The first confirmed date in the history of klingenthal violin making is 8 october. Hopfs were made in many diffrent areas in both germany and czechoslovakia old germany by many members of the. The hopf family from germany goes back to the late 1500s.

The son of an immigrant family, he was the first known master violin maker in klingenthal. I have ordered a book on violin makers, so i will see if that helps. Unfortunately not every fiddle marked hopf really is there are tons of fakes, there were various family members producing under that name, and there have been all the usual asian chinese knockoffs. The direct ancestor of all european bowed instruments is the arabic rebab, which developed into the byzantine lira by the 9th century and later the european rebec. Violins violin makers named hopf national museum of. Violins violin makers named hopf smithsonian institution. Outside, there is a crown branded on the button and the name hopf branded just below the button. The unmistakeable model with the wellknown hopf stamp on the back features the typical angular contours, opulently executed edges and a light brown. Violins of the lso violin festival historical context, expert commentary, rare images and original recordings.

Violin appraiser how to identify an original violin. I keep having an eye out for an old authentic hopf violin. Maybe also rare because of it being double makers marked and it has a crown on the neck above the burnt in. Most hopf violins found today would have been made in the late 1800s especially if the heal of the neck has a black stamp hopf. Chances are that your hopf is one of the many, many including mine that were made circa 18001900. It is intended to illustrate aspects of violin history and. Bass making book and plans, for building an upright string double bass guitar musical instrument. Simply because an instrument is old does not mean that it has great value. So the back story on the instrument and your grandmothers interest in music can be informative. Among the people who first took this surname, quite a few were also known by jewish surnames, such as levi, or by alternative germanbestowed surnames.

Grafted neck, selected with wonderful one piece back, beautiful wood and varnish, great hopf school, in playable condition, branded hopf on the back, some very well repaired cracks on the top. Thus many violins produced after 1800 are also stamped with the hopf name. History of a violin maker dynasty in the vogtland region, saxony caspar hopf, one of the founding fathers of early violin making in klingenthal and a key influence on its art, is thought to have been born in the spring of 1650 in graslitz kraslice in czech language. General information on violin authentication and appraisals. The history of bowed string instruments in europe goes back to the 9th century with the byzantine lira or lura, greek. Unfollow hopf violins to stop getting updates on your ebay feed. The pegs are in great shape and turn smoothly and hold well, new dominant strings, new professionally cut bridge, wittner technology carbon fiber tail piece. Jul 20, 2014 these are the 12 most expensive violins of all time. How can you tell an original hopf violin from a copy. A fine old german hopf cello a beautifull old 44 hopf cello, made in germany by the famous hopf workshop. To most people, anything over 5 years is old cars, television, and grandma. A social history of the worlds most versatile instrument. They are known in the music world for their quality of sound, their great value and rarity.

All these violins have a great story that continues today. The unmistakeable model with the wellknown hopf stamp on the back features the typical angular contours, opulently executed edges and a light brown varnish over a light ground. I do not know anything about violins except this one is old and very much an original. Lso digital exhibition, violins of the lso violin festival. For many years violin makers and scientists have tried to find the secrets to their amazing resonance. Violins of hope is a project of concerts based on a private collection of violins, violas and cellos all collected since the end of world war 2. Hopf genealogy, hopf family history geni family tree. Hopf violin 1830s excellent condition, all strings work. Andre amati from cremona and gasparo di bertolotti from salon gasparo di salon.

I have seen referrals from jacob saunders to a couple of books but i. This violin does not have the square shoulders that so many hopf family. He has restored more than 30 holocaust violins, and many are inlaid with an intricate star of david in. Mar 30, 2002 as a collector of hopf violins,i would be very skeptical of the 1780 date. They are all german, and most are fairly modern, having been made in factories and workshops. A violin maker in israel has spent more than two decades painstakingly amassing a tragic collection. I will guaranty the repair even though i did not make the repairs. The violin is solid and it has a couple repaired cracks on the top which are stable and holding well. David christian hopf, violin, quittenbach, 1777 tarisio. A good 2piece maple back, mediumflamed ribs, and a. Jun 29, 2011 hopf is a legitimate instrumentmaker and produced some very decent violins.

Violins general information on violin authentication and. Trade instruments violin information violin making book. Most authentic hopf violins were produced during that time period. Here is one of the earliest hopf violins i have ever found. Also included is a brown hard plastic case with latches and a handle, as well as two bows. A social history of the worlds most versatile instrument by david schoenbaum isbn.

I invested quite a bit of money into repairs to restore and learn to play but immediately realized i was in over my head. Among the people who first took this surname, quite a few were also known by jewish surnames, such as levi, or by alternative germanbestowed. Hopf there were at least 26 different actual hopf violin makers, and many, many thousands of factory instruments that were just labeled or stamped hopf. This particular instalment, a history of violins in germany contains information on violin design and german luthiers. History of the violin dover books on music 9780486452692. Hopf cello made in germany for sale at european violins. Antique hopf violin cf hopf wcrowns insidedouble mkd. This commercial violin bears a square arching and outline typically seen in klingenthal trade instruments of the late 19th century branded hopf. A good 2piece maple back, mediumflamed ribs, and a well made round and elegant scroll. Antique early 19th century hopf violin this violin is german violin from around 1820s. Caspar hopf, one of the founding fathers of early violin making in klingenthal and a key influence on its art, is thought to have been born in the spring of 1650 in graslitz kraslice in czech language. Further north, in klingenthal, vogtland, a similar story unfolded. Is this an old violin, an old violin or a fake old violin. Jul 10, 2017 a real hopf, any of those makers instruments doesnt worth that value as you thought, so it is good for antique collectors.

Ive hardly even touched the violin since having it restored and would just like to see this. Maybe also rare because of it being double makers marked and it has a crown on the. It was a common practice in the later victorian era for violin makers to stamp their wares with the names of wellrespected violin masters, such as hopf, in order to drum up sales. This book discussed nearly all aspects regarding violin. Get the best deals on hopf violin when you shop the largest online selection at. A stirring testament to the strength of the human spirit and the power of music, violins of hope tells the remarkable stories of violins played by jewish musicians during the holocaust, and the israeli violin maker dedicated to bringing these.

Hopfs were made in many diffrent areas in both germany and czechoslovakia old germany by many members of the hopf family which was quiet large and scattered throughout europe. Both were trained as shamisen makers and began making violins based on instruments brought to japan toward the end of the 19th century from western sources, using japanese pine and maple and sometimes sycamore. Here, the hopf family established something like a franchise in the violin trade. The earliest makers of violins in japan were sadajiro matunaga and masakichi suzuki b. I own an old hopf violin which was given to my mother in 1932. The value of an antique violin from the early 1900s our. With these two violin makers, the history of the violin emerges from the fog of legend to hard fact. So of course a violin that is 50 or 100 years old seems very old. Behind each of these violins is a uniquely fascinating and inspiring story.

Early in his career he was the assistant to and a collaborator and coauthor with albert einstein. The instrument has cracks on the top and one on the back. Violins are likely to have been developed from a number of other string instruments of the 15th and 16th centuries, including the vielle, rebec, and lira da braccio. However, carl freidrich 18111892, caspar 16501711 and christain donat were the outstanding makers of this prolific family and whose quality of workmanship gave the. According to karel jalovec, in his book german and austrian violin makers, each maker, to be entered into the guild had to have been. Violins by famous makers such as stradivari, guarneri, maggini, amati, or stainer had numerous followers and imitators. However,there are many ways to identify hopf violins,one way to identify the origin of a hopf violin is by the way the bass bar is made. Often a disciple placed a facsimile label in his violin to acknowledge or honor the master whose model had inspired his work.

Dictionaries of violin makers list as many as eighteen makers by this name. One of the most respected and referenced books of its kind, this authoritative volume covers not only violins but other bowed instruments. These are the 12 most expensive violins of all time. Works related to the making and repair of violin family instruments and their bows. This one has slanted letters, the h capitalized and the other three letters in lower case. Violin making, history, reference books lemuel violins. The typical hopf violin with its distinctive squary outline a highly arched top.

It ranges from the earliest makers of stringed instruments greek, roman, and egyptian to the latterday masters of french, italian, german, and english styles. Carl freidrich hopf is one of the many german makers with the name hopf and indeed the name was adopted for many of the mass produced instruments emanating from that country. This was a chosen surname used by a number of jewish hops merchants, traders, and agricultural bankers in the area around nuremburg, germany after the german government required jews to take germanic surnames in 18. Processes were developed that allowed oldworld craftsmen, with the. This is no mass produced hopf instrument but the work of the master craftsman himself. A social history of the worlds most versatile instrument 9780393084405. It is intended to illustrate aspects of violin history and serves as a guide for anyone wishing to obtain a general knowledge of the subject and understand the field in its historical context. I own an old hopf violin which was given to my mother in 1932 and the giver said it was 100 years old answered by a verified musical instrument appraiser we use cookies to give you the best possible experience on our website. Believe me some of other violins copy worth more than the original hopf.

Many works related to the history of violins, biographies of makers, and appraisal references. I am selling a hopf violin that i recently acquired. Hopf s were made in many diffrent areas in both germany and czechoslovakia old germany by many members of the hopf. Hopf violin, with its coffin style case, including the cases small skeleton key. Ludwig hopf was a germanjewish theoretical physicist who made contributions to mathematics, special relativity, hydrodynamics, and aerodynamics. Thank you, jim there are a great number of violins made under the name hopf. Violins general information on violin authentication and appraisals. One of the most famous hopfs was a david hopf from the late 1700s. It is most likely an 1870 or early 1800s piece probably from saxony. We frequently receive phone calls about old modern violins. Many factors go into determining the worth of an antique violin, including the instruments manufacturer, how it has been treated over the years and the violins overall appearance.