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