Aluminum Violin History

Aluminium Violin, 1932

Instrument Company
Historial Society of Western Pennsylvania

Alfred Springer patented an aluminum violin in 1891 which was well received and played to critical acclaim both in the US and abroad. The Springer Violin was machined from aluminum with top, back and sides of metal; only the neck and fittings were wood. In 1894 the John Church Company announced they were working on an Aluminum violin of their own, built by the Imperial Company, Church's small instrument manufacturing arm. In 1910 Edgar l'Allemand a WI violin maker, revived the interest in aluminum violins, but on a small, handmade scale. A notice in the December, 1914 Music Trades magazine stated that William Koelpin had made an aluminum violin while in the process of testing an aluminum solder he invented. Aluminum bass violins were made and sold in the 1930s & 40s and The Boston Pops orchestra had one for many years.

In fact we can conclude that aluminum castings have many possibilities for development, in this case the music industry was able to improve important innovations on sound across the creation of an aluminum violin, breaking with past that centered all of music instruments on wood.

Aluminum rules! That's why you should use it.

[Via Michael I. Holmes]