Violin Forum/Message Board

[strungout]

I bought a Lowendall violin at the weekend. Inside it says:

Made in Berlin. Special Copy of Antonius Stradivarius.

It has the L with the wreath to the right. I know it is a genuine product as it had been in the same family since 1929 and was bought in Berlin by the ladies' mother.

Curious as to whether it is worth having it restored to some extent? Or how many were made? I read somewhere it is supposed to be one of the better Lowendall instruments but I have no idea what it might be worth?

Few pics linked for you. Any thoughts? Thanks.





[img]hhttp://i712.photobucket.com/albums/ww121/thedddjjj/20160227_172545_zpsv0x5txx0.jpg[/img]






_________________
'For everything extraordinary I see, impresses me, and forces me to express it in music.'
Schumann

[Dave Chandler]

Maestronet shows a couple Louis Lowendall made in the 1880s, working in Dresden. Not sure same maker I do see some mentions of a Louis Lowendall making instruments in Berlin labelled with an L within a wreath, an example with double purfling and a very stylistic "f" holes. Doesn't look like yours.

Your instrument looks quite playable, and the wear & patina seem attractive to me. Looks like the peg holes need attention, but is that it? Is the bridge offset or is the fingerboard off center? Any cracks or seperations? Its value may lie in its playability and sound, not the label.
_________________
Dave in the Blue Ridge
Southern Violin Association

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to the next with no loss of enthusiasm" Winston Churchill

"I took the road less travelled, and now I don't know where I am." Marco Polo

[strungout]

Thanks for your reply.
I know Lowendall made a lot of violins. I know that he made some himself and the high cost of these was talked about at the time (they remain very expensive) and that he then got about a bit and also was in the US flogging violins for about 6 years. After that he went back to Germany and set up a factory and churned out quite a number. I know he changed his name a few times (Lowendahl / Lowendall) and his trademarks a fair bit - some violins are in-scripted, some have signed labels and so forth. From what I have read, his factory made violins were made to a much higher standard than any others that were being made in workshops at the time (or since most likely).
The instrument does sound nice, even to my amateur ears and it is quite loud. Actually, it is LOUD. After noting this, I read online somewhere that this is, indeed, a feature of most of the Lowendall violins.
So I know that much, I know it was bought in Germany in 1929, I am sure it is a Lowendall violin as I paid a pittance for it and it was sold by an elderly woman in good faith and her mother bought it from a luthier in Berlin in 1929. It came with a handmade wooden case as well that her mother had specially made for it and the smell that came out of that could not be faked anywhere. The lady told me it was her mother's first violin and they had sold the others she had owned at auction for serious money. This one, she said, was not in that class and she wanted to see it go to someone who would play it.
It has been well used but is in first rate condition, bar the scuff on the back. No cracks or repairs or anything of that kind. (She also had it checked over prior to selling it and this was confirmed by a professional).
The bridge and strings are dreadful and I will replace them at some point, but that's fairly easily done.
I just wondered about this particular model. How many were made and what they went for back then and, to a lesser extent really, what it is worth now. As I paid less than the price of a tank of petrol for it and have no intention of selling it, I am not overly concerned - but I am curious.
_________________
'For everything extraordinary I see, impresses me, and forces me to express it in music.'
Schumann

[Lyndon Taylor]

They sold in the Sears catalogue for about $40 when the cheapest Markneukirchen boxes were going for $10 or less, I think the Heberleins were a little pricier, an E H Roth would be more, but Lowendal made many different levels, the cheapest ones are quite poor without proper corner blocks, etc, but they still sound decent, Maybe $1000 instruments in top set up condition, the best Lowendals I have seen have proper corner blocks and are quite impressive some worth up to $5000 in top set up shape, but these are usually the older Dresden instruments with double signature on the label and the back.

Yours looks somewhat better than the cheapest models, but not as nice as the top models if that gives you any clue.

PS the general consensus of experts is that Lowendal was a dealer, possibly a factory owner, but not a violin maker, he had no record of any violin making training that I know of.
_________________
Honesty is the Best Policy
Taylor's Fine Violins
Redlands, California

www.taylorsfineviolins.com

[strungout]

Thanks, I took it to a professional luthier yesterday, happens to be one of the best in the country down the road from me which is lucky - he said its worth about £800 ($1139) and it is in very good condition.
_________________
'For everything extraordinary I see, impresses me, and forces me to express it in music.'
Schumann