English: The soundboard is made of spruce; the back, neck, pegbox, fingerboard and tailpiece are made of ebony; and the finial and pegs are made of ivory. The soundboard is fine grained. The sound-holes are of a C shape, the inside of the C being straight, with a nick in the centre. The back, although produced from one piece, is carved to imitate 5 ribs, the outermost of which are almost parallel. The neck (86 mm long) is shaped as for a normal violin-type instrument, 12.2 - 14.3 mm thick. The fingerboard is a separate piece, 144 mm total length, 21.6 mm wide at the nut, and 27.9 mm wide at the bottom. There is an added piece to protect the soundboard from the tailpiece gut. The plug to hold the tailpiece is of ebony with an ivory decoration. The tailpiece is rounded at the bottom and has an inverse scalloped pattern at the top. The finial is shaped like a hat, made by turning an ivory button and planing off the sides. The ivory tuning pegs are heart-shaped. Has remains of label indicating it was part of the Reid Collection. Specific literature references: Engel 1872, Item 55; G.S. (1958) No. 67. Illustration references: Hipkins and Gibb 1888, plate XXXIII; Campbell and Greated 1987, p. 208. Previous ownership: Possibly the 'kit' purchased by Professor John Donaldson for the Music Classroom, University of Edinburgh, from Wood & Co, 12 Waterloo Place, 11 October 1856.

Provenance

Possibly the `kit' purchased by Professor John Donaldson for the Music Classroom, University of Edinburgh, from Wood & Co, 12 Waterloo Place, 11 October 1856.