Jasper County Democrat, Volume 9, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 July 1906 — A Violin Town. [ARTICLE]

A Violin Town.

There is a little town named Markneukirchen. in Saxony, where nearly every inhabitant is engaged in the manufacture of violins. The industry gives employment to nearly 15,000 people, who live in Markneukirchen and the surrounding villages. The fiddle is usually made of maple wood and consists of about sixty pieces, each one of which is cut, smoothed and measured, so that everything Is exact with the model. The old men make the ebony fingerboards, screws and string holders and the younger ones, with strong, steady hands and clear eyes, put the pieces together, which is the most difficult performance of any. The women attain marvelous skill in polishing the violin after it is fitted up, and almost every family has its own peculiar method of polishing, which is handed down from mother to daughter, some excelling in a deep wine color, others in citron or orange color. The more expensive violins are polished from twenty to thirty times before they are considered perfect and ready for use.