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Frank Younger just sent me this additional background information about Jim Younger’s violin, to be auctioned today in the Wilbur Zink Collection at Heritage Auctions. Frank’s email now will be included when the fiddle is transferred to its new owner.
“Just to let you know, the case in which Jim Younger’s violin appears in the auction picture is not the original case. I am the one who restored the violin (it was not in bad shape at all, just some glue joints which had given up the ghost.) The “original” case was literally falling apart. It was, as I recall, painted black and looked not unlike a small coffin – this type may still be seen, usually carrying beginner-student violins. I insisted that Wilbur replace the case; he sometimes took the fiddle to different venues to give a talk and there was a very real danger that the case would “let go” while carrying with disastrous results to the fiddle.
“The size of the fiddle is what we call a 7/8, which is applied to any violin larger than a 3/4 but smaller than full size. I replaced the bridge and added the fine-tuners found on the tailpiece to make it easy to tune and easier to play for the “Younger Desperadoes” CD, and left the original bridge with the fiddle The instrument is strung with new strings. Although I would have liked to re-set the sound post, I could not knock it down using the usual method of going through the E-string side f/hole. It could have been glued in (!) but I do not know. I could find no sign of a maker. It appeared to be a factory violin, but of this I am not sure.
“As I recall, the bow was a disaster. I cannot recall if I re-haired it or not. The frog looked to me to be roughly carved from a bone.
“After the repairs I played a few tunes on the fiddle for Wilbur, using my bow. It certainly sounded like it had not been played for 100 years! My sister, Evelyn Hall, made the CD recording (with Matt Audette on guitar) in Phoenix.
“The repairs were made at Wilbur’s home in Scottsdale, Ariz. in the winter of 1997. I photographed both sides of the instrument, stringless, from above in Wilbur’s car port where the lighting seemed as near to ideal as we could find.”

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