VIOLIN
Datec. 1907
Dimensions.1: 57 x 20.5 x 10 cm
.2: 71.5 x 2.5 x 1.2 cm
.3: 83 x 23.5 x 14 cm
Object numberHF.2019.35.2.1-6
Description.1: Violin with light reddish finish, with double black line outlining the top and bottom (1 millimeter apart and 3 millimeters from the edge). The finger board is a walnut color and the tuning pegs are ebony as is the tail piece. The bridge is a light natural colored wood that is a replacement. The chin rest, added in the 1970s, is made of plastic with a chrome mount. The tail piece is attached to wooden buttons at the base of the violin. .2: The bow is wood with metal and mother-of-pearl decoration on the handle
.3: The case is rough wood with a reddish brown finish, two hinges on the back and a hook and nail fastener on the front. There is a ridge running along the length of the lid. The base has a bale handle that is metal and wood. The case is lined with blue sateen. There are two blocks of wood inside the case that fit in the waist of the violin. The blocks have a swivel lock made of wood to hold the violin in place. At the narrow end of the case there is a sliding wooden cover that holds extra strings and rosin. In the lid is a leather strap that fits one end of the bow the other end fits around a small wood block with a swivel lock.
.4-.6: Three replacement strings. Two are made of metal and one is plastic. All three are wrapped in thread at either end each string with a different color thread
Narrative
Elijah Douglas Simpson (1879-1949) acquired this fiddle as a young man, around 1907. The donor remembers watching her grandfather play "St. Anne's Reel" in his unique style - holding the fiddle along his left forearm and playing skillfully.
Memories of lively kitchen parties stand out as furniture was cleared away, music from several fiddles and the parlour's pump organ started and the dancing got going. The donor remembers her grandparents house alive with merriment - dancing, visiting and tired little ones finding a bed on which to curl up. When the square dancing was done, Elijah would take to the floor and step-dance, looking like a puppet dancing effortlessly a few inches off the floor. "Lunch" was served shortly before guests made their way home around 10pm.
Memories of lively kitchen parties stand out as furniture was cleared away, music from several fiddles and the parlour's pump organ started and the dancing got going. The donor remembers her grandparents house alive with merriment - dancing, visiting and tired little ones finding a bed on which to curl up. When the square dancing was done, Elijah would take to the floor and step-dance, looking like a puppet dancing effortlessly a few inches off the floor. "Lunch" was served shortly before guests made their way home around 10pm.
1810
