Viola

Date1924

Place MadeHamlet, Ohio, United States, North America

Serial No.1

SignedWritten in black ink on brown paper label: No. 1 Made by / James Reynold Carlisle / Hamlet Ohio 1924
Small, brown paper label with maker’s thumbprint in black ink, above previous label
Written in pencil on inside of top in front of top block: J. R. Carlisle / Hamlet Ohio / 1924MarkingsBridge branded toward fingerboard: BASS VIOL SHOP CINCINNATI
Bridge branded toward tailpiece: AUBERT / À / MIRECOURT [in oval] / FRANCEDescriptionOf more than 500 violins made by this noted American maker, this is one of 75 hand-made instruments that are distinguished by his thumbprint on the label. This is Carlisle's first viola, serial number 1

Top: two-piece, quarter-cut spruce: wide grain
Back: two-piece, quarter-cut maple: very narrow, horizontal curl
Ribs: quarter-cut maple: very narrow curl; lower ribs divided by purfling strip; rib deeply corners chamfered
Head and neck: maple: very narrow curl; pegbox with shoulders; neck oiled
Varnish: dark red, shaded darker at center bouts of top and back, and at corners of ribs
Fingerboard: ebony
Nut: ebony
Tailpiece: ebony; tulip-shaped
Tailgut: black plastic
Pegs: four ebony
Saddle: ebony; finished with same varnish as body
Endpin: ebony
F-holes: upper treble wing wider than upper bass wing; lower wings channeled; large notches; slightly undercut
Linings: poplar or willow
Corner blocks: poplar or willow
Top block: poplar or willow
Bottom block: poplar or willow DimensionsTotal viola length: 672 mm
Back length: 409 mm
Upper bout width: 190 mm
Center bout width: 126 mm
Lower bout width: 237 mm
Upper rib height: 31-33 mm
Center rib height: 33-34 mm
Lower rib height: 34-36 mm
Stop length: 223 mm
Vibrating string length: 370 mm
Neck length (bottom of nut to ribs): 149 mmProvenanceDonor is maker’s niece. Published ReferencesMargaret Downie Banks, "Thumbs Up to James Reynold Carlisle (1882-1962), Noted American Violin Maker," The Shrine to Music Museum Newsletter 22, No. 3 (April 1995), pp. 6-7.

Credit LineGift of Mary Corsi Kelley, 1996

Object number06024

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