About Michael Avagliano Expertise I can answer questions about the violin family of instruments, including violins, violas, cellos and their bows. I can give advice on repair issues, valuation, and authenticity, although exact appraisals are not possible through the Web. If you'd like an appraisal of a particular instrument, and you tell me your location, I can usually find someone in your area to take it to for help. I have no expertise in fretted instruments (guitars, mandolins, etc.).
Experience 17 years of experience working in violin shops across the US, including 4 years of owning my own firm in New Jersey and 3 years working as director of sales for one of the best-known firms in the world. Also, as a professional musician, I've known the violin all my life.
Education/Credentials BM, Indiana University School of Music; AS, String Instrument Technology, Indiana University; MM, Rutgers University. I also have spent 24 years as a professional violinist and violist, and 17 years repairing, restoring, and dealing in instruments.
I understand mr Peters is the american "stradivarius" maker can you shed any light on this piece....the label inside reads win L peters Mass 1865....it has a lovely feel to it
stephen
Answer Hello Stephen,
Well, I don't know if I would classify William Peters as the American Stradivari (there's really no American maker who could lay claim to a title like that), but he was a well-known maker and dealer in Massachusetts in the late 19th century. He was part of the "Boston school" of making, which is essentially the only recognized school of violinmaking in the US.
He made, as far as we know, somewhere upwards of 100 instruments, working first in Worcester, before moving to Hartford, CT, around 1904.
That being said, Peters was also a dealer, and like any dealer in instruments, sold German workshop models with a label in them from his firm. It's difficult to make any authoritative statements from the picture that you provide, but at first glance this violin appears to be a German workshop instrument. It would have to be examined more closely to determine its origins.
The label, though, may give some indication. Peters almost always numbered the instruments he made himself on the label, and the date of 1865 would be very early in his career, so if it's an instrument he made himself, it's likely to be numbered very low.
Your best bet is to take it to a qualified violin shop in your area. If you're unsure where to go, I can give you some names of reputable shops almost anywhere in the country.
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