Violin
Maker
Kurt Lothar Meisel
Date1971
Place MadeOwatonna, Minnesota, United States, North America
ModelGuarneri
Serial No.111
SignedPrinted in brown ink on paper label with lined texture and wavy-line border, the location, last two digits of year, and serial number written in black ink, signed “Lothar Meisel” in blue ballpoint pen over label text: [bird on branch] K. Lothar Meisel [KLM monogram over lyre] / Violinmaker and Repairer / from Klingenthal, Germany / OWATONNA / MINNESOTA 1971 No: 111 Branded on inside of back, visible through treble f-hole: [large typeface] K.L.MEISEL OWATONNA/MINN.
Branded on inside of back in front of top block to bass side of center joint: K.L.MEISEL
Branded on inside of back in front of top block to treble side of center joint: OWATONNA/MINN.
Branded on inside of back in front of bottom block to treble side of center joint: K.L.MEISEL
Branded on inside of back in front of bottom block to bass side of center joint: OWATONNA/MINN.
Branded on inside of top in front of top block to treble side of center joint: K.L.MEISEL
Branded on inside of top in front of top block to bass side of center joint: OWATONNA/MINN.
Branded on inside of top in front of bottom block to bass side of center joint: K.L.MEISEL
Branded on inside of top in front of bottom block to treble side of center joint: OWATONNA/MINN.
Branded on inside of top between center joint and bassbar: [large typeface] K.L.MEISEL
Branded in inside of top between center joint and treble f-hole: OWATONNA/MINN.
Branded on base of neck heel, under fingerboard: [large typeface] K.L.MEISEL
Branded on bridge, toward fingerboard: K.L.MEISEL
MarkingsStamped on lower rib above endpin: Q
Stamped on lower rib below endpin: 1
Pencil line on inside of top between f-hole notches, mostly effaced
DescriptionNMM 5876 is the first violin in a quartet of Meisel instruments at the Museum. The bird on the label represents the family branch, known as the “Bird” Meisels.
Lothar made different price levels of instruments when he starting his business in the U. S. A. (from ca. 1957). The lowest level was $350, with one location pin, or dowel, through the back at the top block, and one at the bottom block. The middle grade was $550, with one pin through the back into the top block, and two into the bottom block. The highest grade was $800, and included the two upper and two lower pin configuration. Quality level was no longer tied to the pin configuration after ca. 1967. (Interview with Lothar Meisel, 7/7/03 and 7/30/03)
Lothar Meisel confirmed that the linings, corner blocks, and bottom blocks on his violins are made from basswood, 5/03. The pernambuco strips between the lower ribs are from wood he found in a scrap pile near Reinhold Schnabl’s workshop in Bubenreuth, Germany. The wood of the back is from the Carpathian Mountains. (Telephone conversation 7/30/03)
Top: two-piece, quarter-cut spruce: medium grain
Back: two-piece maple cut slightly off-the-quarter: broad curl descending from center joint; two small maple dowels through back into top block, one under purfling, one inside purfling, through other dowel; two small maple dowels through back into bottom block, one under purfling, one inside purfling, through other dowel
Ribs: quarter-cut maple: broad curl angled to right on bass side, angled to left on treble side; lower ribs divided by purfling strip and two wide pernambuco strips; rib corners slightly rounded
Head and neck: maple: narrow curl; inside of pegbox stained black
Edging: full, rounded edges
Purfling: maple and pearwood, according to Lothar Meisel; wide center strip
Varnish: medium orange; wood texture visible through varnish, resulting in a matte effect
Fingerboard: ebony; made by Josef Klier, Bubenreuth, originally from Schönbach
Nut: ebony
Tailpiece: rosewood; beveled face; ivory saddle; made by Herfried Werner, Bubenreuth, originally from Ursprung, Czechoslovakia, near Schönbach
Tailgut: black plastic
Pegs: four rosewood with ivory pins; undercut heads; made by Emil Lorenz, Bubenreuth, originally from Schönbach
Saddle: ebony
Endpin: rosewood with ivory pin; made by Emil Lorenz, Bubenreuth, originally from Schönbach
F-holes: steeply pointed wings; lower wings channeled; undercut; inside edges stained black
Linings: basswood
Corner blocks: basswood
Top block: spruce
Bottom block: basswood
Other: spruce cleats along inside of top center joint; maple cleats along inside of back center joint; inside of body stained light brown
DimensionsTotal violin length: 590 mm
Back length: 355 mm
Upper bout width: 169 mm
Center bout width: 111 mm
Lower bout width: 209 mm
Upper rib height: 30 mm
Center rib height: 30 mm
Lower rib height: 30-31 mm
Stop length: 195 mm
Vibrating string length: 329 mm
Neck length (bottom of nut to ribs): 132 mm
Published ReferencesAndré P. Larson, “A Salute to the Instrument Makers of the Vogtland, Including Nine
Generations of the Meisel Family,” The Shrine to Music Museum Newsletter 23, No. 1 (October 1995) p. 6.
Prod. Julie Kucaj. “Lothar Meisel,” Arts & Minds. Bravo! News Style Arts Channel, Toronto, 30-31 Jan. 2003.
K. Lothar Meisel with Betty Vos. The Meisel Family Violin Makers: Klingenthal, Vogtland, Saxony (Ely, Minnesota: Singing River Publications, Inc., 2007), pp. 248-249.
Credit LineGift of Kurt Lothar and Patricia A. Meisel, 1995
Object number05876
On View
Not on view
