Label Type
Cultural/Historical ContextLabel
Gibeon Bradbury was a lifelong fiddle player and owned several different violins over the years, at least some of which he made himself. This fiddle neck, which lacks its fingerboard, bears an inscription in Bradbury's handwriting that reads "GEB 1877-82," presumably the years when he was playing this particular fiddle. Bradbury would have used the rosin to coat the horsehair of his bow. The rosin creates friction so that the hairs vibrate more loudly. The mutes, on the other hand, would have been attached to the bridge in order to dampen the intensity of the instrument's sound.