Circa 1900 School of Caussin Violin from JTL, France.

In the last decade of the 19th century, Jerome Thibouville Lamy acquired craftsmen from the fading workshop of Nicolas Caussin in the Northern French town of Neufchâteau. By the turn of the century, JTL was producing School of Caussin instruments in several styles to meet the demand for antiqued instruments abroad, ranging in quality but often better than than their more simple predecessors, at least in so much the workshop lines were concerned. This interesting violin was intended to be somewhat archaic and demonstrates details that are very similar to the workshop production of Nicolas Caussin, with minor differences to the scroll, edgework, antiquing, and tool marks; the purfling, traditionally inlaid (a departure from many of the Caussin production and simpler JTL fabrications). With a back length of 359mm, this French violin dating to approximately 1900 offers tremendous character at an affordable price -  a modest stand out.