Is it worth getting this Violin restored? 12:34 on Monday, December 29, 2003
0 votes
(kickinpretty)
Hi, i have just brought a violin which is "The Maidstone" By John G.Murdoch & Co Ltd London EC. for £70.00 UK pounds. It is pre-war but i dont know an exact date.
It is missing the bridge and has some scratches to the front and back.
Somebody has attempted to re-varnish the outer areas of the violin but it was very badly done, the strings need replacing as well.
1. Is it worth spending the money to get it re-varnished by a restorer?
2. Will the missing bridge affect the value?
3. What valuation could i expect to get for a fully restored "maidstone"?
Re: Is it worth getting this Violin restored? 16:00 on Monday, December 29, 2003
0 votes
(Sean)
1. Is it worth spending the money to get it re-varnished by a restorer?
-Yes, or you could try doing it yourself, it`s really not that hard. You just have to find wood varnish. You could save lots and lots of money.
2. Will the missing bridge affect the value?
-No, the bridge doesn`t matter that much.
3. What valuation could i expect to get for a fully restored "maidstone"?
-Not sure, so the name of which you said is in the violin?
Re: Is it worth getting this Violin restored? 16:10 on Monday, December 29, 2003
0 votes
(kickinpretty)
Thanks for the replies, whilst i coulsd re-varnish myself, i feel it would be better done by a restorer as i dont want to have an adverse affect on the value.
As for the name inside its as i posted before, would this have any connection to "Murdoch & Murdoch" or is it a completely different company?
I purchased the Maidstone for the purpose of learning to play along side my six year old daughter, i wanted something old and with a mature sound and also something that will hold its value, hopefully i have picked a decent violin - Your thoughts on this though would be most appreciated
Re: Is it worth getting this Violin restored? 19:36 on Tuesday, December 30, 2003
0 votes
(Liz Ward)
maidstones are a turn of the (19th-20th) century trade violin originating from germany. there are lots of them and by today`ds standards they`re not bad. Price for a fully restored one varies: we have never managed to get more than £200 on ebay and that took some doing and was for a bow and case as well. A specialist shop might get £300 or so for the violin. you won`t make any profit on it if you resell it, i`d suggest you just enjoy learning on it once it`s set up properly (expect to pay £100 or so)
Re: Is it worth getting this Violin restored? 14:54 on Wednesday, December 31, 2003
0 votes
(Sean)
Liz Ward,
Yes, but by the time (kickinpretty`s) 6-year-old daughter has a 6-year-old daughter of her own or granddaughter it would be worth a lot more. That`s because others just like it have been thrown away or damaged badly.
Re: Is it worth getting this Violin restored? 04:39 on Friday, June 10, 2005
0 votes
(oriel)
I have one with the same label for which I paid £250. I doubt you would get your money back unless you did the work yourself. They seem to go typically for about £200. Good luck!
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