The Pioneer Valley and Violin Making | Continue |
Technologists of an era
| The Pioneer Valley was at the heart of the American industrial revolution mid-19th century. It was known worldwide for precision machinery, tools, and technology. The Connecticut river and its watershed tributaries supplied abundant power for many mills. The technology to mass produce products with interchangeable parts, whether they were guns, clocks, shoes, tools or toys, required skilled creative craftsmen who could work to precise measurements. The Pioneer Valley had a very high per capita percentage of such skilled individuals. (Compare it with Silicon Valley, which today has a very high concentration of computer-related industries and technologists). |  |
| Water Turbine Patent Model. Charles Pierce Coolidge, Walnut Wood. This articulating model demonstrates great skill to design and make. It is symbolic of the talented craftsmen of the Pioneer Valley who transferred their expertise to making violins. |
The need for music andinstruments
The period following the Civil War, and before the common use ofrecorded music (Edison pioneered recording technology when he patented a tin foil cylinderphonograph in 1878) was the heyday of live local music. Every notable theater, hotel, andmovie house employed local musicians. Families gathered in parlors to make socialmusic with one another.
During the 1880’s violins captured the imagination of skilledcraftsman in the Pioneer Valley. In 1884 British author Edward Herron-Allenpublished Violin-Making: As It Was And Is.The book contained fold out paper templates of instruments and tools with directions formaking violins. This book was recorded as part of the Forbes Library collection inNorthampton, May 13, 1902.
Clickon the map to find violin-makers from that area
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