Violin
2 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Violin. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
the smallest but most important of the stringed musical instruments played with the bow. Like other bow instruments now in use, it consists of a wooden sonorous chest, formed of two slightly arched surfaces, known as the back and belly, united by sides or ribs, and with a curve or hollow on each side in the middle of the length; a neck or fingerboard attached to the chest ; and strings fastened at one end to the belly by a tailpiece or projection of wood, and at the other by turning pins at the head or extremity of the neck, by which they can be tightened or loosened at pleasure. The strings thus passing over the belly are raised up from it by a bridge, which is supported in the interior by the sound post; and on the belly there are two sound-holes opposite each other, of a form resembling the letter f, or rather the long f. The sounds are produced by drawing a bow across the strings, the upper surface of the bridge being convexly curved, so as to enable the bow to be drawn along each string separately, without coming in contact with the rest. The modern violin has four strings of gut, the lowest covered with fine silvered copper wire, or sometimes, in the best instruments, with silver or even gold wire. These strings are tuned in fifths, the highest or first string sounding E on the fourth space of the treble clef, and the other three the A, D, and G in succession below. The bow, made of horsehair, is held in the right hand, and the sounds of each string, other than the open notes, are obtained by stopping-i. e., pressing it with the finger against the fingerboard at certain distances, thus shortening the vibrating portion, and raising the pitch of the sound. Very high notes are produced by the harmonics of the string, which, instead of being pressed against the fingerboard, is touched lightly, the sound resulting from the vibration being not, as in ordinary cases, of the part of the string between the point of stopping and the bridge, but of a harmonic section of it. A peculiar modification of tone is produced by the application of the mute, or sordino, a little instrument placed on the bridge. A violin or other bow instrument is occasionally played pizzicatoi. e., with the fingers, as a harp or guitar. The compass of the violin is about three octaves and a half, from G below the treble clef to C above the fifth leger line above it, with all the intermediate chromatic intervals; but the highest notes are apt to be harsh and squeaking. Great players command a few notes higher, chiefly by harmonics. Though chiefly an instrument of melody, it is to a limited extent capable of harmony by double stops-two notes may be struck together, and three or four notes may be played in arpeggio. No instrument can compare with the violin in power of expression and execution. It has an unlimited command over a very wide range of sounds, to which any degree of piano and forte, of staccato and legato, can be imparted. ways two In orchestral music there are always different violin parts known as first, and second violin (see ORCHESTRA); and the same is generally the case when the violin is used in concerted music, the usual arrangement of stringed quartet music being for two violins, viola, and violoncello. The origin of the violin has been variously traced. The generally accepted view derives it from the one-stringed ravanastron, the simplest of the numerous Oriental stringed instruments played with a bow, which is traditionally the invention of Ravana, King of Ceylon, 5000 B. c., and is still played by Buddhist begging monks. From India these instruments of varied form found their way, through Persia, Arabia, and Spain, to the rest of Europe about the close of the 11th century. The French rebeck, resembling the Oriental rebab, is the type of them, and from it sprang the viol, the immediate precursor of the violin. Another account derives the violin from the classic lyre, as well as the crwth of the Welsh, which was latterly played with a bow. It is not impossible that both theories may be correct. The bow has not been conclusively accounted for, being variously supposed to have been primarily a military bow, a plectrum, and a second monochord lute applied to the first. The earliest violins seem to have been those of Gasparo di Salò in Lombardy (1560-1610), one of whose violins at one time belonged to Ole Bull. Those of Maggini, probably his pupil, are still highly prized. During the 17th century the family of the Amati, at Cremona, including Andrew, his sons Jerome and Antonio, and Nicolo, son to Jerome, produced violins the wonder of succeeding times, whose tone and quality more recent makers have in vain sought to equal. Antonio Stradivari (1649-1737), also of Cremona, pupil of Nicolo, if pos sible surpassed the Amati, and for a time the repute of Cremona was kept up by the families of the Guarnieri and Ruggieri. Next to the Cremonese violins, in the estimation of connoisseurs, stand those of the Tyrolese makers, Jakob Stainer (1621-1683), and Matthias Klotz and his sons. Villaume of Paris and Gemunde (father and son) of New York City were the most celebrated modern makers. Experience has shown that the minutest details of form and proportion, and the material of which each separate part is made, are matters of vital importance to the quality of the violin. The great makers seem by a succession of delicate experiments and observations to have attained to acoustical qualities of high perfection, which their careful workmanship and extreme dexterity enabled them in all cases unfailingly to reproduce. VIOLLET-LE-DUC EUGENE EMMANUEL, a French historian of art; born in Paris, Jan. 27, 1814. He made profound study of mediæval architecture in Italy and southern France; and became professor in the Ecole des Beaux Arts, 1863. His great work is "Dictionary of French Architecture from the 11th to the 16th Century" (10 vols. 1854-1869). His other chief works are: "Essay on the Military Architecture of the Middle Ages" (1854); "Dictionary of French House Furniture from the Carlovingian Epoch to the Renaissance" (6 vols. 1854-1875); "Discourses on Architecture" (2 vols. 1858-1872); “Chapels of Notre Dame de Paris" (1867-1869); "Memoir on the Defense of Paris" (1872); "History of a House," "History Fortress," "History of Human of a Dwelling Places," "History of a City Mansion and of a Cathedral" (4 vols. 1873-1878). He died Sept. 17, 1879.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
a well known stringed musical instrument. It consists of a resonant box or body, a neck, a bridge, pegs, four catgut strings, and a bow. The largest string is wound with fine silver-coated copper wire. The origin of the violin is credited to India, where mendicant monks still beg from house to house with an exceedingly primitive instrument regarded as the ancestor of the Italian violin. The violin of India is reputed to be several thousand years old. The Italian violin was brought to perfection by Stradivarius, a violin maker of Cremona, who lived 1644-1737. The utmost that can be done today is to imitate a Stradivarius. The violin bow was originally a slender piece of bamboo bent after the fashion of an archer's bow. The spring of the bamboo kept the hair taut, hence the name bow. Tourte, a Frenchman (1747-1835), is credited with bringing the modern bow to perfection. He decided that Brazil wood gives the greatest degree of lightness, spring, and flexibility. He decided upon the exact length of the bow, seventy-five centimeters, and the curve to be desired. He contrived the method now in use for holding the hairs flat. The Chinese use an odd instrument which has all the parts of the violin save the resonant box. A cut of the affair looks something like a smoker's corncob pipe on a large scale. A section of bamboo supplies the part corresponding to the bowl of the pipe, and a wooden stick takes the place of the stem. Two strings are stretched from the bowl-like head to two pegs in the far end of the stem. The hair of the bow is carried between the two strings instead of above both. This Chinese instrument is "sometimes atrocious, but not discordant." The merely scientific principles of the violin are easily stated. The violin is played in accordance with the laws of vibrating strings . The four strings vary in weight. The right tension is secured by twisting the pegs. The bow, rubbed with rosin, grips the string with either an up or a down movement and sets it in vibration. The four strings at full length give four fixed tones and no others, but by using the fingers of the left hand to press down the strings upon the neck of the instrument any string may be shortened and its tone raised, the number and nature of the variations being limited only by the capacity of the performer. Harmonics may be produced by touching, not pressing, the strings at natural nodes. The violin is unquestionably the most human of all instruments. It can be made to sing, to laugh, to weep, or to scream--to express any emotion not absolutely requiring articulate speech.