The Dead C Scrolls

My wife and I are planning to go to the Cincinnati Natural History Museum for their Dead Sea Scroll Exhibit. This exhibit brought to mind a story that I recently heard.

Back in the late 1700’s, there was a Bavarian violin maker named Hans Gittlesburger.  Gittlesburger’s violins never brought him much fame. But what did were the magnificent violin necks that he carved.

For the unfamiliar, the top portion of the neck is called the scroll and his carving on the scroll was a thing of beauty. 

Folks came from all over the European continent to have Gittlesburger replace the neck on their violin with one of the necks that he carved with the finely carved scroll.

It was unfortunate, but Gittlesburger’s popularity and fortune only lasted a few years due to the fact that virtually no one could play the C note on their violins with the Gittlesburger neck. Most player replaced the neck with the original. 

This is why the Gittlesburger necks came to be known as the…Dead C Scrolls.