Please bear with me. I am not an expert on violins, purchased this at a thrift store and know very little about violins in general, I sell video games for a living, but I\'ll do my best :)Upon speaking with a friend of a friend who knows a lot more about violins than I do, she provided me with the following assessment of the maker and age: She says that most likely this is a German 4/4 Violin, a copy of a \"Stainer,\" made in Gotha Germany by the Julius Rudolph company somewhere between 1890-1920.Up for consideration is this amazing antique violin. First the bad, it is in very rough condition, the neck is separating from the body, I feel like if i pulled hard enough the neck would pop right off, and there are several cracks in the top of the instrument. The binding has small gaps in a few spots on the violin. The \"nut,\" sorry if that\'s not the right term, the piece that holds the strings in place at the top of the finger board, is missing. The case is pretty much disintegrating and not functional at all. There is what looks to be a small 2 inch peg rattling around inside the instrument that I have had no luck in removing. It is stamped \"Stainer\" or \"Steiner\" at the top of the back of the instrument. The Case is labeled with the Julius Rudolph label, there is a sticker on the inside but it is worn badly and no longer readable. Now the good, the back looks to be in very nice shape with an intricate carving of a priest in a european village. This would be a great project item, but since I have no interest in playing it I\'ve decided to list it on . If you have any questions at all please let me know and I will do my best to answer them promptly.

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