Christian Willhelm Seidel?

[j.janson]

Hello forum users.

Sorry for not speaking german, I hope this is ok.

I have recently aquired a violin labeled "C. W. Seidel 1836" hand written with a goose quill and ink, and I wonder if this could actually be genuin.
Acording to the label Christian Wilhelm Seidel would have been 21 years old at the time, and the instrument looks to have been built by a student. The sound is very nasal and not so pleasant, my guess is that the top or the bass bar is too thick. My plan is to let a trusted violin maker open it and see what needs to be done to make it sound as good as posible. There are also a couple of cracks that need to be repaired. Before doing all that I would like to hear your opinions.

- Can this be a student time build by C W Seidel?
- Are there other intruments by him to compare with from the same time?
- Are there other instruments by him with hand written labels?

Thank you for your time and effort to help me with these cuestions.

Jonas Janson, Uppsala Sweden

[j.janson]

[j.janson]

[Udo Kretzschmann]

Hello Jonas,

It is very difficult to say anything about an instrument without holding it in fingers. The arching, the fluting, the edge work, etc., or even the entire interior work, cannot be assessed from the photos.

As I cannot read a place name on the label, it is not even clear which Christian Willhelm Seidel might have written it, as there were two violin makers by that name: one from Markneukirchen (1815–1900) and one Christian Willhelm Seidel from Klingenthal (1820–1849).

"other intruments by him ... from the same time"

That makes me smile. I’m actually just glad to know of ONE violin that can be definitively attributed to Christian Wilhelm Seidel. There were hundreds of violin makers in Markneukirchen, yet there are comparatively few instruments in our museum!
I’d give the same answer to the question about handwritten labels.

"Can this be a student time build by C W Seidel"

I have to say, anyone who can cut the f-holes so elegantly in wide grained spruce wood is skilful. I wouldn't dismiss him as a student. That’s quite an achievement!

If you know a violin maker whom you trust to carry out the necessary repairs, you should also ask him to assess whether the cost is reasonable in relation to the work involved. Or why not just pop over here to Markneukirchen - here you can meet a lot of experienced violin makers?

Sincerely

Udo

[j.janson]

Thank you Udo for such an extesive and detailed reply!

I am a guitar player and music educator with limited knowledge in violin making, but still with a great love for these instruments and the history they come with. I do play violin on a hobby basis.

First I would like to reflect on the great difficulties in determining the origin of anything that is 190 years old. Violins are no exception to this. Then attempting to do it from photos alone is off course imposible. The reason I ask for help in this manner is to determine what next step to take. Is it worth the efforet to continue searching for it's origin or is it clearly a cheap copy?

I had no idea that there were so few examples of violins actually attributable to this maker. Thank you so much for teaching me! One of my posible routs to go in this investigation is to compare it to other violins and see what similarities there are. And off course let violin makers with the proper knowledge help me in that process.

There is no more text on the lable than what is shown on the photo, no place or other name. Still I think C W Seidel from Klingenthal was a bit young at that time, only 16 years old. The Seidel from Markneukirchen was 21 and is more likely the one we are looking for. But that's only my uninformed guess, so I might be wrong on that.

I do have a violin maker in Uppsala whom I trust, named Christer Berglund. Nevertheless I might bring the violin to Markneukirchen to seek more information and decide what to do with it. Mabe Christer will repair it, mabe someone in Markneukirchen, we will see.

The instrument is a nice player, but the sound could be improved a bit. I will keep it, care for it and play it.

I spoke with Ekkard Seidl the other day asking for his opinion. I might pay him a visit with the violin if he thinks it's worth it.

Thanks again for your time.