August Gemünder violin, 1881, New York, | Metzler Violins

powerful, clear, brilliant

About the Instrument
This violin is brilliant and powerful, making it a great solo instrument. It is nimble and responsive, with a beautiful clarity of tone. This violin has reddish-brown varnish and a two-piece back with a strong medium curl extending from the center joint. The scroll has blackened chamfers and is curiously inscribed with “IEG 1881,” perhaps the first owner of the instrument. This violin is in excellent condition.

Inside label reads: "August Gemünder, New York, 1881"
Length: 359 mm
Upper Bouts: 168 mm
Middle Bouts: 113 mm
Lower Bouts: 208 mm

About the Maker
August Martin Gemünder (1862-1928) was born in New York City and was a violinist. He began under for his father, August Martin Ludwig Gemünder, in 1875 and completed his first violin at the age of fifteen. With his father's retirement in 1890, Gemünder and his brother, Randolph, took over the family atelier. Gemünder made models of Maggini, Hieronymus Amati, 1705 and 1724 Stradivari, and Guarneri del Ges ù, though employing his unique approaches to varnishes and concerns of acoustics. In 1892, he founded the magazine Violin World. The next year, he earned first prize for four instruments at the Columbia Exhibition in Chicago. Gemünder began crafting instruments using his own model beginning in 1905. He also made bows based on excellent French patterns: Bausch, Lupot, Tourte, and Vuillaume. It is rumored that Gemünder's instruments were hewn from quality wood sourced from old New York City buildings.