Vuillaume A Paris Violin Bow Mirecourt circa 1900-1920

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Stamped:

Violin players, don’t miss out on a terrific French bow. The French get many well-deserved accolades bestowed on their makers and their sticks. The bow was made in a Mirecourt workshop with no stamped maker on the stick. Mirecourt was known for the start of many famous violin and bow makers. Young apprentices trained here, developed their skills with many fine shops, and some of the apprentices became quite good. They ventured out to other parts of the world, some to the West, and many located to the big city: Paris. I have had this bow in my collection since the early the late 1970’s early 1980’s. Covid allowed me to pull everything out to categorize and prioritize my collection of hundreds of older bows. As a young guy totally into instruments and bows, my dad and I spent many weekends collecting and purchasing string instruments in the New York/New Jersey area where I grew up. As a young lad I was totally into violin, baseball, and umpiring. I’m still playing violin and bass but my negotiations with my wife about playing ball have not gone in my favor. My ball days are behind me. So, I’m finally getting to these sticks and having a blast working them up and doing the research.

The bow is pernambuco specie, nickel mounts, and round in section. The wood is superb, subtle, and light in the arm. The bow has been meticulously gone over here in the shop. We added a new tip, nickel winding, and leathers. The frog and endscrew are original. The frog has single mother-of-pearl eyes and is a French style frog with rounded edges, a rounded ferule, and the frog lays in a track which helps secure the frog to the stick. The track also aides in keeping the frog and stick aligned. The single pearl eyes are white abalone, and the mother-of-pearl slide color has an ethereal quality. The heel is one-piece and contains a pin at the top of the throat. The rounded lining has two fine pins. The end button is three pieces, and the final section of the button is a silver cap, not a pearl eye cover. This well thought out bow is thinner than most – meaning great wood and the balance is excellent. Yes, I love the bow because it looks good and also handles very well. If you’re looking for an affordable French bow- this could be it.

Weight fully haired 58.1 grams