Rescue Violins: The Violin Rescue Centre

 One of my current project violin restorations is on a rather well used and previously professionally repaired Jerome Jérôme Thibouville-Lamy – (J.T.L.) Mirecourt Violin from France. This appears to be a late 19th century violin and is definitely a genuine Le Parisien model as it has every precise known detail of that model and a genuine JTL label of the exact label type used on that model in the 1870s. These violins sold by JTL for more than their Medio Fino model, more than their superb Number 3 model and more than their sumptuously sounding Compagnon models. I have all of these other three models in my collection and now I am wondering how the Le Parisien will compare. What makes the playing the violin sound test I will have carried out by a professional violinist in the future all the more intriguing is that my Le Parisien violin has, previous to my ownership, had a sound-post crack repaired with the currently orthodox standard-recommended Luthier internal oval patch repai...

This is my newly acquired supposedly French violin, supposedly by Thibouville Lamy of Mirecourt circa late 19th early 20th century 3/4 size. Its original eBay listing is archived  HERE I bought this nice violin off ebay by way of auction this month (October 2020) for a shade over £100. The violin is a suitable size for the average 9-12 years of age player. The violin has a lovely original golden vanish. The previous owner bought it a a boot fair some 25 years ago and had it hanging on their wall ever since.  Like so many old violins, including the most expensive in the world, this violin has served as a host for wo odworms in the past. Woodworm damage might at times - as some experts think - even improve  the tone of a violin  by thinning the wood, and creating little channels here and there that transmit sound beyond the dreams of violin  makers. The little blighters! The lava of the furniture beetle (a common woodworm), can only live in and feed on w...