Private Observational Study 2026/PR-117

MET OFFICE — MANCHESTER (WOODFORD) FIELD STATION
PRIVATE OBSERVATIONAL STUDY 2026/PR-117
SUBJECT: VIOLIN, ATTR. GAGLIANO (DISPUTED), NAPLES C.1763
OBSERVER: DR. M. ASHWORTH
ENTRIES: MONTHLY, JANUARY–DECEMBER 2026

---------- 20260112 / 0900Z ----------
Location: Halloran study, Didsbury, M20.
Ambient: 6.1 °C, 41% RH (sling th., Vaisala HMP60).
Case interior: 5.9 °C, 42% RH.
Body cavity (Assmann via f-hole, 60 s draw): 38% RH.
Top-plate moisture content: 7.2% (bass), 7.0% (treble).
Soundpost: firm.

Instrument removed from case at 0852. Case opened on the writing-desk;
lid hygrometer card read 40% on retrieval, consistent with cabinet
trend over the preceding fortnight ‖. Subject placed on a clean
cotton cloth, scroll to north. Assmann wetted at 0855, vertical
draw commenced 0858, reading taken 0900. Cavity figure four points
below ambient, within expected winter offset for sealed bodies of
this volume. No deflection of belly observed under load of own
weight. Bridge: vertical, no creep. Pegs: holding. Case returned
to mantelpiece at 0907; Tinytag continues at five-minute interval.
Subject in winter setup ‖. Stub torn and clipped to case lid per
standing protocol.

M.A.

---------- 20260209 / 0900Z ----------
Location: Halloran study, Didsbury, M20.
Ambient: 4.4 °C, 36% RH.
Case interior: 4.6 °C, 37% RH.
Body cavity: 34% RH.
Top-plate moisture content: 6.9% (bass), 6.7% (treble).
Soundpost: firm.

Cavity figure has fallen three points since January, tracking ambient
‖. Top-plate moisture down 0.3 points on the bass side, 0.3 on
the treble. Owner reports the instrument feels "tight under the
bow" this month; reported in the same tone as one reports a cold
draught. No measurable change in plate dimensions to account for
the report; logged for completeness. Two attribution certificates
remain folded in the lid pocket: one issued 1971 (Naples, Gagliano
workshop), one 2004 (London, attribution withdrawn in favour of
late Testore hand). Both present, both legible, neither current.
The case lid acts as the passport wallet; no action required of
the observer. Pin meter calibrated against reference block prior
to readings; deviation 0.0%.

M.A.

---------- 20260311 / 0900Z ----------
Location: Halloran study, Didsbury, M20.
Ambient: 8.2 °C, 39% RH.
Case interior: 7.9 °C, 40% RH.
Body cavity: 37% RH.
Top-plate moisture content: 7.0% (bass), 6.8% (treble).
Soundpost: firm.

Ambient up 3.8 °C on February, RH up three points ‖. First cavity
response of the warming trend: plus three points on January floor.
Inspection under raking lamp at 0903: a single craze in the
varnish, upper treble bout, length 11 mm, oriented approximately
parallel to the purfling. Crazing fine; no lift at the edges; no
displacement of underlying ground. Logged as a defect of varnish
‖. Photograph filed. No remedial action proposed. Subject
returned to case at 0911. Register strict.

M.A.

---------- 20260408 / 0900Z ----------
Location: Halloran study, Didsbury, M20.
Ambient: 11.0 °C, 48% RH.
Case interior: 10.8 °C, 47% RH.
Body cavity: 44% RH.
Top-plate moisture content: 8.1% (bass), 7.9% (treble).
Soundpost: firm.

Spring transition under way. Cavity has lifted seven points across
March–April ‖, top-plate moisture up 1.1 percentage points on the
bass side. Back grain examined under low light; the descending
flame on the lower bout reads settled, the slab cut taking the
varnish evenly. F-holes ~~patient~~ symmetrical, no rotation
against the plate. Owner present in the room during the second
half of the observation, reading. No bow taken up. Bridge
vertical. Subject returned to case at 0914.

M.A.

---------- 20260513 / 0900Z ----------
Location: Halloran study, Didsbury, M20.
Ambient: 14.6 °C, 57% RH.
Case interior: 14.3 °C, 55% RH.
Body cavity: 52% RH.
Top-plate moisture content: 9.0% (bass), 8.7% (treble).
Soundpost: firm (industrious).

Plate swelling, bass bout, 0.04 mm against the January datum,
measured at the standard point 38 mm below the upper eye of the
f-hole ‖. Within expected range for the cavity response logged.
Bridge feet examined: full contact, no rocking. The soundpost
held its station across the seven-point cavity rise of the
preceding month — recorded above in parentheses, the qualifier
being neither protocol nor poetry but the observer's working note.
Pin meter drift 0.1%; recalibrated. Subject returned to case at
0918.

M.A.

---------- 20260610 / 0900Z ----------
Location: Halloran study, Didsbury, M20.
Ambient: 17.8 °C, 64% RH.
Case interior: 17.4 °C, 62% RH.
Body cavity: 61% RH.
Top-plate moisture content: 10.2% (bass), 9.9% (treble).
Soundpost: firm.

Cavity within nine points of ambient; summer setup approaching ‖.
No deflection of belly under own weight; no rib distortion at the
end blocks. Bridge vertical, no creep against the bass-side foot.

A note on the varnish, made under the same raking lamp used for
the March inspection: the ruddy orange-brown over the yellow
ground answers light at this season in a way it does not answer
it in February. Thinned regions at the chinrest and along the
upper bass bout admit the lamp through to the ground; the
unworn regions return it. The phenomenon is consistent with the
plate moisture and the cavity figure logged above and may be
nothing more than that. Not a measurement; logged.

M.A.

---------- 20260714 / 0900Z ----------
Location: Halloran study, Didsbury, M20.
Ambient: 21.1 °C, 71% RH.
Case interior: 20.7 °C, 69% RH.
Body cavity: 68% RH.
Top-plate moisture content: 11.6% (bass), 11.2% (treble).
Soundpost: firm.

Summer setup confirmed. Cavity within three points of ambient ‖;
top-plate moisture above the eleven-point threshold for the first
time in the study. No lift at the purfling, no opening at the
centre seam. Bridge vertical. Pegs holding under thermal load.

0918 to 0927: owner playing in the adjoining room, audible through
the open study door ‖. Door left open per owner's preference.
Material not identified by the observer; passage repeated three
times at decreasing tempo. Observation continued through the
interval; no additional readings taken under the acoustic load.
The body cavity figure was logged before the playing commenced
and is the figure used in this entry. Stub torn at 0931 and
clipped to case lid.

M.A.

---------- 20260811 / 0900Z ----------
Location: Halloran study, Didsbury, M20.
Ambient: 22.4 °C, 69% RH.
Case interior: 22.0 °C, 68% RH.
Body cavity: 67% RH.
Top-plate moisture content: 11.4% (bass), 11.0% (treble).
Soundpost: firm.

Ambient steady on July within instrument tolerance; cavity steady
‖. Plate swelling at the standard bass-bout point holding at the
May figure. Bridge vertical, no creep. Pin meter calibrated
against reference block; deviation 0.0%. No varnish phenomena
observed under raking lamp on either bout. Case hygrometer card
reading 60% on retrieval; consistent.

M.A.

============ VERSO, RED RIBBON ============
AMENDMENT TO ENTRY 20260311.

The craze in the upper treble bout, previously logged
as a defect of varnish, is in the present observer's
view a feature of long use, not deterioration.

Initialled M.A. 20260811.
===========================================

---------- 20260909 / 0900Z ----------
Location: Halloran study, Didsbury, M20.
Ambient: 18.7 °C, 62% RH.
Case interior: 18.4 °C, 61% RH.
Body cavity: 60% RH.
Top-plate moisture content: 10.0% (bass), 9.7% (treble).
Soundpost: migrated 0.3 mm bassward against the January datum.

Cavity falling with ambient on the autumn transition; seven points
down on August ‖. Soundpost station re-measured against the two
reference marks scribed inside the lower rib at the commencement
of the study: displacement 0.3 mm in the bass direction ‖. Re-set
deferred at owner's request. No further comment. Bridge vertical.
Subject returned to case at 0921.

M.A.

---------- 20261014 / 0900Z ----------
Location: Halloran study, Didsbury, M20.
Ambient: 12.0 °C, 54% RH.
Body cavity (Assmann via f-hole, 60 s draw): 49% RH.
Case interior: 12.1 °C, 52% RH.
Top-plate moisture content: 8.6% (bass), 8.4% (treble).
Soundpost: migrated 0.3 mm bassward; station unchanged on September.

Ambient down 6.7 °C on September. Cavity down eleven points ‖.
Top-plate moisture down 1.4 points on the bass side. Plate
swelling at the standard point reduced to 0.02 mm against the
January datum. Bridge vertical. No new varnish phenomena.

M.A.

---------- 20261111 / 0900Z ----------
Location: Halloran study, Didsbury, M20.
Ambient: 7.9 °C, 44% RH.
Body cavity: 41% RH.
Case interior: 8.0 °C, 43% RH.
Top-plate moisture content: 8.0% (bass), 7.8% (treble).
Soundpost: station unchanged on October.

Cavity down eight points on October ‖. Within expected winter
return for cavity of this volume. Case hygrometer card inserted
2024 by previous protocol; card not changed at this observation.
Replacement card present in the lid pocket against the
certificates; declined. The case interior figure remains within
the band the existing card describes; the card's reading at the
observation point and the Vaisala reading at the same point
agree to within two percentage points. Bridge vertical. Pegs
holding.

M.A.

---------- 20261216 / 0900Z ----------
Location: Halloran study, Didsbury, M20.
Ambient: 5.3 °C, 38% RH.
Body cavity: 36% RH.
Case interior: 5.4 °C, 37% RH.
Top-plate moisture content: 7.2% (bass), 7.0% (treble).
Soundpost: firm; station unchanged on November.

Cavity down five points on November ‖. Top-plate moisture returned
to the January figure within instrument tolerance. Plate swelling
at the standard bass-bout point: 0.00 mm against the January
datum. Bridge vertical. No varnish phenomena under raking lamp.
Case hygrometer card unchanged from the date of insertion.

Conditions within nominal range; instrument stable; observer concludes study; instrument retained for further observation ‖.