No, I haven't seen the pictures. I haven't had a single line of reply from
Martin Perkins either ... I suppose his main line of enquiry was to do with
the maker's name as it appears in the inscription (i.e. Raucher). I may of
course be somebody different from the 'Rauche' that appears on other
surviving instruments or, indeed, a few other 'Rauche's, who knows. Also
it's always best to see the actual instrument so you've made the right
decision to ask for pictures.
The "conversion" you are talking about can be a really straightforward
matter to resolve or it can be more complicated. For a start, it would be
useful to know when the instrument was acquired by (or donated to) the
Birmingham Conservatoire. As for the lack of the ivory strip and pins for
example, this area of capping strip (if there is one) could have simply be
chiselled off in the need to achieve the necessary angle for the neck etc. I
haven't got a clue what the soundboard looks like; if there are any
remaining marks on it where the 'old', extended guittar-like fingerboard
would have been; what the "chunky lute-like" bridge is all about etc etc.
It's all in the end up to M.Perkins if he wants to investigate about this
instrument any further.
Alexander
----- Original Message -----
From: "Stuart Walsh" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "Alexander Batov" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Saturday, December 08, 2007 9:25 AM
Subject: Re: [CITTERN] Michael Raucher?
..
Have you seen pictures of the instrument? I asked Martin Perkins and he
sent 5 pics. It looks OK (I mean it looks like a lute-bellied 'guittar')
from the back but very odd from the front. Almost certainly, someone has
tried to convert it into a lute-like instrument. The fingerboard - without
metal frets - is flush with the table.The chunky lute-like bridge is
fixed. There's a typical lute design at the neck body joint. There are
marks, on the table itself, where other frets have been glued on.
There is no ivory strip for the strings to pass over the table to the
pins. And no pins - nor evidence of where pins might have been.
Of course it's possible that Rauche made this a sort of lute. But I doubt
it and I wonder if it really is Rauche or a concoction using his name.
Stuart
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