Violin Restoration: A Manual for Violin Makers - Hardcover

Hans Weisshaar; Margaret Shipman

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0962186104 ISBN 13: 9780962186103

Publisher: Hans Weisshaar & Margaret Shipman, 1988

Synopsis

Since its completion in 1988 this manual has become the world's leading source for information on violin repair and restoration. It contains 41 chapters of detailed repair description, 125 photographs, 60 technical illustrations and 18 patterns.

About this title

About the Author

Hans Weisshaar was born August 25, 1913 in Wildberg, Germany. Even as a very young child he wanted to become a violin maker. His father, a fine painter, was apprehensive of violin making as a profession, but his mother was more sympathetic and Hans was allowed to go to the Fachschule fur Geigenbau in Mittenwald, where he earned a journeyman's degree.
Hans worked in Germany, Switzerland and Holland before coming to the United States in 1937. For the next ten years he saw and repaired many fine instruments and bows while working in New York with Simone Sacconi (at Emil Herrmann) and at Lewis & Son in Chicago.
In 1947 he moved with his wife and two children to Hollywood, California and established his own business. His keen memory and creative thinking became useful practical tools-- perhaps best exemplified by his restorations of the "Red Diamond" Stradivari violin and the "Bass of Spain" Stradivari cello. Hans has lectured, judged international competitions and taught extensively. He passed on the art of restoration on to more than 40 young people who worked in his shop.
In 1980 Mr. Weisshaar suggested forming the American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers, a national organization for professional makers. He was instrumental in its development and served as its president for five years. In 1987 he was elected president of the Entente Internationale des Maitres Luthiers et Archetiers d'Art. He was also a member of the German Violin Maker Association and the Appraiser's Association of America.

Margaret Shipman began her music career at an early age. Born in Denver, Colorado on October 7, 1046, she began studying piano when she was 10 and cello when she was 11. While still in high school, she traveled regularly to the University of Colorado in Boulder for cello lessons--250 miles each way by bus! She attended the Eastman School of Music, where she earned a Bachelor of Music degree in cello, and went on to take a Master's Degree in Performing Arts at the University of Southern California.
In 1969 Margaret took her cello to the Weisshaar shop for repair. She was astonished to find that the work resulted in "a year's progress without practicing". Fascinated, she began an apprenticeship with Mr. Weisshaar and has been with the firm ever since.
In 1982 she became a member of the American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers and served on its Board of Governors from 1985-87. She won a gold medal for craftsmanship and a certificate of merit for sound in the 1978 international competition sponsored by the Violin Society of America. In 1987 she joined the Entente Internationale des Maitres Luthiers et Archetiers d'Art.
She became the president of Hans Weisshaar, Inc. upon Mr. Weisshaar's death on June 24, 1991.

Edition details

• Publisher: Hans Weisshaar & Margaret Shipman
• Publication date: 1988
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0962186104
• ISBN 13: 9780962186103
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 261