London, England
Maker unknown: Sold in Warsaw, Poland

Wood, aluminum, ebony
ca. 1910’s
Length: 23.5 inches
Strings – Lutes – Violin Family

Metal Tag reads: M. LEWIN / WARSZAWA / Senatorska 22

The tag possibly indicates that M. LEWIN, a known instrument dealer from London was importing musical instruments including the Strohviol to Warsaw (Poland).

A Resophonic Violin of natural wood, aluminum fittings, and ebony fingerboard.  It is a close copy of the Stroviol (also found in this collection) instrument design with some minor variations.  The most notable difference is this is a single horn (modeling the earliest version of the Strohviol) and lacks the small horn attached to the larger horn or to the diaphragm, so that the violinist might hear themselves better when playing.  The chin and shoulder rest design differs slightly but their function is the same.  The bridge design on this instrument differs slightly as well as it is adjustable via two screws allowing you to move it forward and backwards, likely for intonation purposes.

 While Johannes Matthias Augustus Stroh, an electrical engineer from Frankfurt, invented the instrument in London in 1899. His failure to register his inventions in the USA allowed John Dopyera and Geo Beauchamp to subsequently obtain US patents for the tricone and single cone designs used in National brand instruments, as well as later Dobros.  Stroh violins were somewhat successful for a couple of decades, especially in the era of acoustical recording.

This fiddle came from the Fred Spector collection of Chicago (Lincoln Park), Illinois.  Fred played violin with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for 47 years.