Donald,
I am not looking to get into a spat, particularly with you. You have been of help to me in the past and I am appreciative of your willingness to share your knowledge.
I'm not sure what brought forward the comment about 'waiting for dealers to tell you how to make a decision' but it did seem to be in reference to my posting.
My comment was not intended to denegrate the cap by stating that well known dealers hat poo pooed it, but to illustrate that even professionals are often quick to judge when faced with a rare/unfamiliar example. Not to say this cap is original (as I truely do not know), but I think it deserved more examination than many at the show were willing to give it.
I have stated most of the issues that caused me to pass on the cap at the show, but the most important two were certainly the lack of wear and the cloth used for the lining.
Given the images of the Violin cap for comparison, I am definitely more favorably inclined to believe that the cap has a good chance of being an original example. I would certainly need a lot more time with the cap in hand than I had at the show to feel comfortable adding it to my collection.
Doug
