This illustration of a violin by Sam Daniels was published in The Strad, August 1980. The following text is extracted from the article accompanying the photographs:

Sam Daniels was born in 1915 in Idaho. His first attempt at making a violin was in 1936, when Sam ordered a kit from the Montgomery Ward catalogue. Armed with just an instruction book and a few tools he perseveringly set out to make a violin without any outside help. It turned out so well that it was used as a down payment for a much-needed refrigerator, washing machine and electric range.

He has now made over 100 violins in his shop in Jerome, Idaho. Many of these have won first place awards for tone and beauty from the Violin Maker's Association of Tempe, Arizona.

The violin illustrated here is numbered 89 and dated from 1977. The one-piece back is made from highly flamed maple with matching ribs; the belly is of fairly wide-grained maple. The oil varnish is of a rich luminous golden brown colour. The measurements of the violin are: length of body 14 inches; upper bout 6 and a half inches; middle bout 4 and a half inches; lower bout 8 inches.

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