This 17 3/8" viola is modeled after Maggini.  The spruce top was cut in 1914 in the Canadian forests and is of two pieces.  The back is a single slab of northern Michigan red maple cut around 1990.  The scroll and ribs are from red maple grown here in Vermont.  The right upper bout has been reduced in size by one centimeter in order to facilitate playing in the upper positions.  Because of Maggini's unique design in setting the stop at the geometric center of the instrument, the playing string length is the same as that of a 16" viola.  The viola is dedicated to my Uncle Thomas Simmons of Ellerbe, North Carolina.  It was completed and sold in September, 2005, to Michael Whitmore in Chicago.