Presale Offer: New Book Features Instruments from the NMM Collection
The National Music Museum is pleased to offer presales of a major new publication featuring instruments from the NMM collection:
Investigations of Classic Violin Family Instruments:
Thickness Graduations and other Critical Parameters
by Jeffrey S. Loen
Published September 2026 | 364-page hardcover
Based on more than 25 years of research, Investigations of Classic Violin Family Instruments presents careful documentation of historic and modern stringed instruments from museums, private collections, and leading violin shops around the world.
The book includes more than 600 color-contour graduation maps documenting 315 instruments—252 violins, 32 violas, 22 cellos, one bass, six fractional instruments, and two viols—made between 1559 and 2008 by 108 makers from 11 countries. More than 48,000 graduation measurements are presented.
The instruments were systematically mapped by Dr. Jeffrey S. Loen, a 30-year violin maker, professional shop owner, and former editor of the Catgut Acoustical Society Journal.
Featuring instruments from the National Music Museum
The NMM is among the major museum collections represented in the book, alongside the Smithsonian Institution, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Library of Congress, Chi Mei Museum, Musée de la Musique, and Royal Academy of Music.
Among the NMM instruments featured are examples by some of the most important makers in the history of the violin family, including Antonio Stradivari, members of the Amati family, Jacob Stainer, and members of the Guarneri family, along with instruments by other significant European makers.
Highlights include:
• More than 600 color-contour maps of the top and back plates of fine instruments from major violin-making centers
• 65 violins, violas, and cellos by Antonio Stradivari, spanning 64 years of his working life
• 16 instruments by four generations of the Amati family and 53 by five members of the Guarneri family
• Extensive data on dimensions, plate structure, symmetry, evenness, rib thickness, arching, ff-hole spacing, repairs, and instrument weights
Measurements are summarized statistically, with data displayed in dozens of graphs and charts. This extensive database provides a resource for answering questions about historic instruments and a basis for contemporary violin, viola, and cello making.
What readers are saying:
“The book is an invaluable aid that I refer to often. There's nothing else like it out there!”
“Great to see real world data displayed in such an intuitive manner.”
Presale Information
The National Music Museum is accepting preorders through October 17.
Price: $295 plus shipping
Reserve your copy through the National Music Museum today.
Orders will ship by October 31.
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