Weber Violin: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

This violin was made by Robert Weber in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1930. Robert Weber was born in Germany in 1865 and was exposed to the craft of woodworking through his father, a carriage maker. He later received formal training in violin making. In 1888 Robert Weber immigrated to the United States, setting up his violin shop in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he remained until his death in 1947, at the age of 82. A quartet (two violins, one viola, one cello) of his instruments was displayed at the Chicago Exposition of 1893. This violin is made of a two-piece table of spruce with irregular medium grain broadening toward the flanks, two-piece back of maple cut on the quarter with irregular medium ascending figure, ribs of similar maple, original neck, pegbox and scroll of mild medium figured maple, and a golden orange-brown varnish.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1930
• maker: Weber, Robert
• Object Name: violin
• Physical Description: spruce (table material)
• Physical Description: maple (back material)
• Measurements: overall: 23 7/16 in x 8 1/8 in x 3 7/8 in; 59.53125 cm x 20.6375 cm x 9.8425 cm
• Place Made: United States: Wisconsin, Milwaukee
• ID Number: 1984.1133.01
• catalog number: 1984.1133.01
• accession number: 1984.1133
• Credit Line: Gift of Joseph G. Strawitz
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.