Hermann Beyer Trade Violin Bow Markneukirchen Pre-WW II

click picture to enlarge

Stamped:

For centuries Markneukirchen was the hub where master instrument and bow makers and apprentices gathered and lived to learn and excel in their craft. I’ve had this older bow stuck in a pile of bows I rediscovered in one of my large boxes I ‘ve had since my high school days. These sticks are now in 2024 cost effective to restore, especially considering what is happening with pernambuco wood in South America. This bow is a trade bow produced in the Ernst Heinrich Roth workshop in Markneukirchen for the sale of bows to the West, especially the United States. The Roth family was steeped in the tradition of violin making and the strings in general. They were a fine firm and found it necessary to have bows made under a few different marketing names to increase sales.

This bow is old pernambuco specie wood that is a light-colored orange/brown. The grain is tight, the bow is light in overall gram weight, and it’s easy to handle. This is a German trade bow with good bones, nickel silver mounts, and carved in pernambuco. We carefully went over the entire bow; the tip and the fittings were all in very good condition. We removed the older winding and leathers and restored them with new. This will make a great first-step wood bow for a player. The bow is octagonal in section with nickel silver mounts in the frog and winding. The stick has clean lines, nice balance, playability, it’s light in the hand, a little age, and German workmanship: it lacks only provenance. Violinist, see how it responds on your instrument. Sometimes these bread-and-butter bows are fantastic. Remember, it is all about the sound on your instrument.

Weight fully haired 58.2 grams