Violin Forum/Message Board

[violinbridges]

Illustrated Notes on Violin Making — by Claire Hutter (née Nicolls)

Discover the beauty and craft of traditional violin making through Claire Hutter’s exquisitely hand-written and illustrated workshop notes, created during her time at the renowned Newark School of Violin Making.

This unique volume is the perfect companion for anyone wishing to understand how to make a violin from start to finish the classic “Newark Way,” capturing every lecture and step in rich detail.

Claire’s drawings and explanations offer an intimate glimpse into a golden era of the school—before mobile phones, before the internet, and when craftsmanship was passed down by eye, hand, and memory.
“A love letter to Newark.”……Ben Hebbert

https://violinbridges.co.uk/product/violin-making-the-newark-way/

[John Cadd]

The title will be easily missed without Newark being included .I visited the Newark school when they held a competition . The school displayed many violins on tables in a classical red brick building . The competition was outside town where the violin wood was kept in a large shed .Some Rumanian makers needed help to get there and I arranged a lift to get them out of a spot The competition took place in the open air ,all sitting on chairs .There was luckily no rain that day .
The winner of the tone test sat right beside me.He worked in Birmingham Post Office and learned his making from a small thin book .I think it taught you how to make a violin without a mold .
He was well pleased before we arrived there .He held a Stradivarius in his hands for a few seconds . I was pleased to have a brief chat with Charles Beare .
I don`t know the winner`s name and wonder if there are records of winners . This was in about 1985 I think .
The building I visited is Italian Gothic style.It used to be a bank. One manager guilty of fraud (about £3,500.000 in modern money) drowned himself in the River Trent .