Fine German Violin Bow by Curt Prager circa 1946

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Branded: GUSTAV PRAGER (arrow —— G.P. —-)

Gustav Prager studied with his father, Fredrich Wilhelm, and opened his own shop in 1893 in the town of Landwust, which is near Markneukirchen. The bows Gustav Prager made were highly valued on the music market of the time. The Prager’s were another making family that helped establish the Markneukirchen region as a powerhouse for fine instruments, and in this case bows. Gustav Prager trained two of his sons to become bow makers: Hans Prager (1900-1970) who later worked for his brother as a salesman, and Curt Prager (1897-1973) who was another fine craftsman and took over his father Gustav Adolf Prager’s workshop in 1946. Curt continued to run the bow making shop and used both his father’s name and stamp well into his old age.
This bow was made by Curt Prager. Curt’s work shows typical Prager style, especially in the head. The upright model head has a lightly round peak and the nose has been worked down to a rather sharp tip. The chamfers on the back of the head are more inwardly inclined to the center of the back of the head. The bow favors the Parisian eye frog of his dad, with a fully lined frog with a decidedly different endscrew, with each member of the endscrew being equal segments. The bow is of pernambuco specie, octagonal in section and mounted in sterling silver. Curt learned his craft well from his father, and this is a beautiful 75 year old plus German bow in excellent condition.

Weight fully haired 62.9 grams.