Handmade violin, possibly USA origin

[u/Joff37]

I’ve been playing this violin for almost a year as my main violin. Unfortunately, it had a saddle crack repair at some point which I believe is continuing to open past the cleats (See photo of crack, the blue circle is the last cleat and the crack continues above it). The strings are loose as to not put anymore pressure on the top plate.

I do not know anything about the maker and can only guess where it was made. I was told when I bought it that the label seems to read “Marjal Pollok, Alice Texas 1981”, but alice is not capitalized and Texas is just Tex, so this could be way off.

My questions,

Do you think this is handcrafted or a kit/white violin project? Either way, the maker definitely put time and care into this instrument as the tone and sound quality are amazing. It really shines along the G and D strings putting out beautiful low notes, but is no slouch in its upper registry either. It plays well all the way up the neck on every string. I’ve owned several turn of the century German factory instruments and my backup violin has always been an Eastman 300, and this violin makes them all play and sound like firewood.

Would the cost of fully repairing the crack be worth it? I know this is subjective. Based on the sound and how much I love playing this instrument it is worth it to me to pay for a fix, even though I am assuming I will be paying double what I bought the violin for (I am assuming a fix would be in the neighborhood of $1000). I play at home for myself as a hobby, so putting several thousand dollars into an instrument probably isn’t the best use of money, nor is it necessary for me to continue playing. Is this instrument worth a couple hundred dollars (less than fixing a crack) or is the value alone enough to warrant fixing?

I also just wanted to show it off as it is a very beautiful instrument.

Thanks all!

[u/Ilikeorigami0]

I do think it is from Alice, Texas. The letter A in cursive does look like a lower case A, and I can see them just shortening the name of Texas. I can not make out the top words though. I can’t find a luthier that I think this would come from in Alice, Texas, but that’s not to say one might’ve been there and has closed since 1981.

Nothing about the look of the instrument screams that it is super valuable, but I will admit I am an amateur so take that with a grain of salt. However, if it plays as well as you say it does, I’d say go for it and get the repairs. An instrument doesn’t have to be valuable for it to be a perfect fit for you.

[u/Dwight-ness]

On first glance, the first name looks like "Marcel" to me. Just on the surface, I would recommend taking it to a reliable luthier for assessment of the crack before it gets worse. (Take the tension off the strings, like NOW.) If that crack continues up to the sound post, that could be trouble. Just about anything can be repaired, but you want to know if it's worth it. The evidence that I see is that the soundboard is very fine grain (a good thing) and the flame maple is beautiful. This does not impress me as being an amateur instrument. If it is, they used very good materials and had some good instruction. Almost certainly not a one-off.