I have a violin with the label, Dulcis & Fortis on the inside and I have tried to find out if it is a makers or a distributers label, but to no avail. I wondered if the words could be latin as I found out Fortis means "Strong"
I would be grateful if anybody could shine some light on the matter as I am curious to know its origin and whether it's worth getting insured.
"Latin's a dead language, It's very plain to see; First it killed the Romans, And now it's killing me."
Sounds like it's a distributor's label. If the measurements of the fiddle are pretty close to a particular pattern, it's probably a school fiddle. Is it dated? Signed? Numbered?
There are no dates, signatures or other labels, just the words Dulcis & Fortis.
It does not appear to be a factory fiddle e.g. Stentor or Skylark, but I could be wrong.
okay, i'm going to go out on a limb with a guess. i did some web searching on 'dulcis & fortis' and ran into a reference to a french student fiddle and a 19th century saxophone. the saxophone listing mentioned a maker named 'thiboville', who was involved in making violins ... and there was a firm of the same name that made other reed and mechanical instruments.
i'm guessing that 'dulcis & fortis' might have been a label that thibouville (whether the violin maker or the firm) slapped onto instruments that were crafted well but not of sufficient standard to bear the name 'thibouville'
this may not be the answer, but doing the research & guesswork was way more fun than working
Dulcis et Fortis is one of many model names which were used by the Thibouville Lamy workshops in Mirecourt to grade their violins. All Dulcis et Fortis labels also tend to have a JTL logo, generally a harp. There are a lot of 3/4 size Dulcis et Fortis violins around, less 4/4 instruments, but they're very nice violins, not to be sniffed at in any way! Most were built around 1920. For further info, you can look up old JTL catalogues by going to http://www.luthiers-mirecourt.com/documentation.htm#Documentation.
You can also see a nice Dulcis et Fortis violin by going to my website www.martinswanviolins.com!
Violin Origin
Violin Origin
I have a violin with the label, Dulcis & Fortis on the inside and I have tried to find out if it is a makers or a distributers label, but to no avail. I wondered if the words could be latin as I found out Fortis means "Strong"
I would be grateful if anybody could shine some light on the matter as I am curious to know its origin and whether it's worth getting insured.
Many Thanks
# Posted on June 2nd 2002 by fiddlers-elbow
Re: Violin Origin
Can't help you with origin but Dulcis means "Sweet"
# Posted on June 3rd 2002 by B Rad
Re: Violin Origin
"Latin's a dead language, It's very plain to see; First it killed the Romans, And now it's killing me."
Sounds like it's a distributor's label. If the measurements of the fiddle are pretty close to a particular pattern, it's probably a school fiddle. Is it dated? Signed? Numbered?
Zina
# Posted on June 3rd 2002 by Zina Lee
Re: Violin Origin
I know nothing about origins of fiddles either, but 'Fortis' means strong. Well, at least you know it's sweet and strong - like a Turkish coffee.
# Posted on June 3rd 2002 by CreadurMawnOrganig
Re: Violin Origin
There are no dates, signatures or other labels, just the words Dulcis & Fortis.
It does not appear to be a factory fiddle e.g. Stentor or Skylark, but I could be wrong.
Thanks for the replies
# Posted on June 3rd 2002 by fiddlers-elbow
Re: Violin Origin
okay, i'm going to go out on a limb with a guess. i did some web searching on 'dulcis & fortis' and ran into a reference to a french student fiddle and a 19th century saxophone. the saxophone listing mentioned a maker named 'thiboville', who was involved in making violins ... and there was a firm of the same name that made other reed and mechanical instruments.
i'm guessing that 'dulcis & fortis' might have been a label that thibouville (whether the violin maker or the firm) slapped onto instruments that were crafted well but not of sufficient standard to bear the name 'thibouville'
this may not be the answer, but doing the research & guesswork was way more fun than working
sarah
# Posted on June 3rd 2002 by sarahc
Re: Violin Origin
Good detective work, Sarah! Only...wouldn't fiddlers-elbow's label read "Dulcis et Fortis" if it were really out of Jerome Thiboville-Lamy?
Aaaaand, back to work I go...
Zina
# Posted on June 3rd 2002 by Zina Lee
Re: Violin Origin
Dulcis et Fortis is one of many model names which were used by the Thibouville Lamy workshops in Mirecourt to grade their violins. All Dulcis et Fortis labels also tend to have a JTL logo, generally a harp. There are a lot of 3/4 size Dulcis et Fortis violins around, less 4/4 instruments, but they're very nice violins, not to be sniffed at in any way! Most were built around 1920. For further info, you can look up old JTL catalogues by going to http://www.luthiers-mirecourt.com/documentation.htm#Documentation.
You can also see a nice Dulcis et Fortis violin by going to my website www.martinswanviolins.com!
# Posted on January 12th 2009 by martin swan
Violin origin
i saw a dulcis et fortis advertised for 450 euros in kerry {ireland{,,,,,,,wonder is it worth lookin at for that money??????
# Posted on December 6th 2010 by gerry1916