Rare French “Médio Fino” Violin, ca. 1910 Size: 4/4 Provenance: Mirecourt France Year: ca. 1910 Tone: rich in overtones, brooding, dark, warm, singing
*Sound sample upon request.
Médio Fino violins are of historic importance. They were produced by Jerome Thibouville-Lamy (J.T.L.) in Mirecourt France in the early 20th century. The J.T.L. ateliers in Mirecourt offered with the highly sought-after “Médio Fino” line solid quality, simple instruments with very good musical properties. Correspondingly, many of the “Médio Fino” violins available today have intense traces of use, and examples such as this one, which is in pristine crack-free condition, are quite rare. This particular instrument was made around 1910, following a broad model with a skillfully carved spruce top, pressed maple back, drawn-on purfling and a resin pocket on top.
This French violin is extremely visually appealing with it’s gently flamed one-piece back, radiant orange-brown varnish, and new boxwood fittings. Musically, this instrument produces a beautiful, warm and nuanced sound rich in overtones. Don’t be fooled by the seemingly plainly-flamed wood - this instrument is a true example of solid, historic, and magical sounding French violin. If you’re looking for a quintessential French violin, this is it.
Identification: printed paper label, “Médio Fino”
Top: two-piece, quarter-cut wide-grain spruce, descending & book-matched to center. Back: one-piece, lightly-flamed quarter-cut maple Ribs: quarter-cut maple, lightly flamed Head & Neck: lightly flamed maple, inside of pegbox stained black Varnish: original Varnish Color: golden orange-brown Fingerboard: new, ebony Linings: spruce Soundpost: high quality 7-grain spruce Condition: excellent/restored Fittings: boxwood Guarneri style chinrest, heart-shaped boxwood pegs with ebony trim, boxwood tailpiece with ebony trim, boxwood endpin with ebony button Pirastro Violino string set Aubert Mirecourt self-adjusting bridge
