Page:Violin Varnish and How to Make it.djvu/14

4 ARNISH, as applied to musical instruments, is primarily intended to be a means of preservation.

If one of those beautiful masterpieces of the early Italian period could have reached us to-day without having been varnished, it would be in such a lamentable condition of decay as to render it completely unfit for use.

All the magnificent workmanship and design would have been obliterated by the accumulated dirt of many years, and it would be valueless either as a musical instrument or as an object of art.

Therefore, the first care of those making a varnish must be to make certain of its ability to act as a preservative. There are two kinds of varnish in general use, one being made from oil and the other from spirit.