Violin A Sons Graves De Letellier

"Violon a sons graves" made by Jules Césaire Joseph LETELLIER in Choisy le Roi (France) in 1925.
Viola shape, "C" shaped soundholes.
Two piece table of spruce with irregular grain.
Two-piece medium-curl maple back. Ribs and head of the same wood.
Asymmetric ebony tailpiece.
Orange varnish.
Label: VIOLON A SONS GRAVES / breveté SGDG N ° 578 768 /
inventé par J.C. LETELLIER / compositeur O.A.O.J.P. /
n ° 98 (manuscript) à CHOISY LE ROI (Seine) Année 1925

Brand on the heel and under the button: JLC
Back length; 395 mm
Sounding length: 345 mm
Ribs heights: 46 mm / 59 mm / 55 mm / 46 mm

Called violon a sons graves or violin-cello, this singular instrument was invented in 1925 by Letellier (died in 1928) for which he obtained a gold medal. Musician, he also composed pieces for this instrument, tuned like the violin but one octave lower.

c.f. Cité de la musique / Musée de la Philharmonie de Paris n ° inv. E 980..446
Réné VANNES Universal Dictionary of luthiers, Brussels 1951, p.210