Dulcimers made by Walter Finter (1856-1940)
Three instruments made by Walter Finter are documented here, but he is known to have made at least twenty-five by 1908 – we are so lucky that Walter Finter numbered his instruments, because it gives us an idea of the scale of his operations. No. 20 was made in 1896, so we can tell that he must have been making them for some time before that, probably from the 1880s and possibly enthused by the hobbyist magazines of the time which contained instructions and guidance on building your own dulcimer (see the section on Tuning for more on this).
All the instruments are big and simply made with no decorative details except for the distinctively S-shaped soundholes, probably inspired by those on a violin. Interestingly, the dulcimer shown in the 1930s photo (on Walter Finter’s main page) has two plain round soundholes. The photo does also show the distinctive East Anglian tuning of the fifth and sixth treble bridges being placed deliberately out of line.
David Kettlewell was aware of Finter as a maker in the 1970s and had seen, or been sent, details of a label by the then owner of one of his instruments, Roger Young. Whether this was one of the following three instruments, or another one, is not known.
(1) Finter No.20 (1896)
This instrument was opened up during restoration in 2018 and written in pencil inside is Walter’s signature and No. 20, 14 February 1896. The bridges are extremely primitive, and surely cannot be original, as this would be really poor quality for someone who had made twenty instruments by this date.
(2) Finter No. 21-24 (1899)
A big, distinctive looking instrument with 4 strings per course over 20 bridges, some of which are missing, and the remainder of which are (now) in five different styles. Integral metal handle and no wooden case. No stand or feet.
Inside this one is a printed label, just visible through the soundholes but not really legible. However, with the aid of a special camera, it has been possible to make out the wording and a date of 1899, although no pencil markings which might have included a number were noticed. However it must be between 21 and 24.
(3) Finter no. 25 (1908)
This instrument was also opened up during restoration in late 2024 and written in pencil inside is Walter’s signature, the year 1908 and No. 25.
Again, the instrument has four strings per course over 20 bridges, which are replacement ones from a London-made dulcimer, as when the present owner acquired this instrument there were no bridges. And again, it has the distinctively-shaped pair of soundholes which seem to have been Walter Finter’s trademark.
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