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Kris posted a note about fake Strads. Yes, if your violin does not have some sort of document of authenticity, it is almost certainly made between 1850 and 1930. BTW, Antonio Stradivarius lived from 1644-1739, and he never worked in Czechoslovakia, Germany, or anywhere outside of Cremona Italy. Strad is not the only name that can be found on fake labels. Amati (the whole family), Guarnerius (the whole family too), Tieffenbrucker (aka Duopprogar and variant spellings), Maggini, Steiner, Stainer, Gasparo da Salo, and many other famous makers appear on labels that were printed so that people could take factory made violins and then put the phoney lables in the new violins. Even genuine makers' labels have been removed from authentic instruments and placed in other people's violins. Professional appraisers of violins only look at the label after looking at the entire violin first. The label is rarely worth the paper it is printed on. Fake Strads (etc.) are generally considered very fine student violins, and can be worth between $200 and $500 depending upon condition and tone quality. If, however, your violin has an odd shape, such as a cut away, or a very ornate edge it might be worth more. Also, Tiefenbrucker violins often have the head of a man instead of a scroll, and the back might have an inlaid sceen of a village. These instruments are more valueable as something to hang on a wall than to play.
If you have a violin by a maker not listed, look for William Henley's 'Universal Dictionary of Violin Makers.' That book is the most complete book for researching this subject. If you still think my comments are bogus (and please believe what you want), take you violin to the best violin repairer in your area and ask for an opinion. If you actually have something important and wish to sell it, contact Southeby's, or Christies, or Phillips, or Swann Galleries to sell it. Other auction houses also ocassionally auction instruments, including Butterfield & Butterfield in S.F. If you have a musical instrument that the violin repairer can't identify, Email me for addresses of people who can identify it. The more bizarre the instrument, the more likely it MIGHT have value.
Also consider this. Few people have gotten around to faking brass instruments. So, if you have a Distin or Conn-Dupont, or E.G. Wright (or hundereds of other names) on a brass instrument, you probably have an authentic instrument. This is to say, violins are faked because originals are worth so much money. Brass instruments are worth a whole lot less.
Many people, however, have faked the old keyboard instruments, like harpsichords. If you have an instrument that was sold by a man called Franciollini around the end of the 1800's you probably have a fake. Many important musical instrument collections that were started at this time possess fakes from this man. BUT he did sell authentic instruments too. Only a qualified specialist can tell the difference, and the difference can be $200 verses $200,000. So look for any paperwork stating that a string instrument is authentic. Wind instruments don't need no stinking paperwork.
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