Revived Old 4/4 Bench-Made Violin Labeled Pietro Perni 1892, Vintage Roman Labeled Fiddle Outfit w/ Holstein Pernambuco Bow and Antique Case

I've had this lovely Pietro Perni, 1892, labeled 4/4 violin finished for several months now, and she's had a lot of playing time from my son, but I decided it was time to list and send her to a new home. Pietro Perni is a listed amateur Italian maker circa 1890. This violin came to me needing repairs but not in a horrible state of disrepair. There is playing wear throughout and two small chips at the top of the back worth noting. The violin had an apparent neck reset (not poorly done, solid but visible) and top-off repair to one of the ribs, which was patched (a solid repair but highly visible) (see internal/external photos).

The primary repair needed in my shop was a fingerboard/nut replacement, as the original board was damaged beyond saving. The original fingerboard appeared to have been made from a non-ebony European hardwood. I can't place the species, but it looks to me like a fruitwood. I made a bold choice here and shaped a fingerboard from a block of good-aged Pernambuco (see photos). Although the fingerboard replacement went very well (note there is a barely visible surface crack repair at the bottom of the fingerboard), I didn't get the projection height I wanted. As a result, the violin has a lower fingerboard projection of 18mm (end of fingerboard)/24mm (at the bridge) than the standard 21mm/27mm. What to do next: rather than dive into a neck reset, which the violin had previously endured, I decided to keep the projection and see how she performed before deciding on a reset. The playing test was beyond good, and I don't personally feel there's justification for resetting the neck. I am disclosing my decision-making process here to be fully transparent with you, the buyer. I have also factored the lower fingerboard projection into my listing price.

In addition to replacing the fingerboard, I fashioned a new nut from wood harvested from the original fingerboard, which is the same wood species as the saddle. I also closed several open seams between the top plate and ribs with hot hide glue and clamps, saved the original soundpost, fitted a new fine maple bridge, and lathe-fitted new Pernambuco pegs. The tailpiece and endpin are also new Pernambuco, and the chinrest is new flamed Himalayan boxwood. I paired the Pietro Perni violin with a mint condition Holstein one-star Pernambuco bow (used in the sound sample video), and she comes to you in her original wood case, which has lots of wear but does function. I selected Warchal Amber strings, and her playing test did not disappoint. This violin has good resonance across all strings and one of the purest upper registers of any instrument I've had in my shop. Since tone evaluation is subjective, please listen to the sound sample video and judge for yourself.

I am a lifelong woodworker from a family of musicians (yep, that's my son playing in the video:) with a love for these old instruments. I am not a storefront, and I do not charge high storefront prices for my work. As such, I do not wish to enter into returns, so please view the high-resolution photos carefully, ask questions, and watch/listen to the video before purchasing. I only sell and ship to the lower 48 states.

*Sorry, I do not sell to shops. If you represent a shop or are a re-seller looking to flip this violin, please move on.

**No international shipping; ships to the lower 48 states only.