L. BAUSCH LEIPZIG Late 19th Century Violin Bow circa 1890-1900

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This is a fine violin bow out of Leipzig, Germany and the workshop of Ludwig Bausch & Sohn. Ludwig Bausch moved his workshop to Leipzig in 1839. After 1874 Adolf W. E. Paulus, a longtime employee, took over the running of the shop until 1899. His son, who had the same name, managed the shop until 1908. Bows with the “L. Bausch Leipzig” stamp would have still been sold while the shop was under the management of the Paulus family. I believe this is one of those bows. These Bausch model bows were made in both quantity and in various qualities, which were then sold as ”Bausch” models to different dealers in Germany and then North America. An “L. Bausch Leipzig” gold mounted violin bow just sold for $21 K in February 2025 in the Chicago Instrument Auction. Yes, these bows are nice, a testimony to the family’s attention to detail, quality workmanship, playability and the fact that they just specialized in bows for almost a century and a half. It is also a known fact that “L. BAUSCH LEIPZIG” bows for 35 years were supplied by the famous Knopf shop, Heinrich Knopf (Berlin). These bows were unstamped from the Knopf shop and then were stamped at the Bausch workshop as Bausch model bows.

Our bow is a fine nickel mounted L. Bausch Leipzig. We have replaced the winding and leather, everything else on the bow is original. I used my formula for cleaning the stick- 90 proof alcohol, simple green, and turpentine solution to treat and clean the stick which was black and full of dirt and grime when first started. The round section wood under the dirt is quite remarkable tight-grain old growth pernambuco. It looks very nice now, showing a beautiful orange/brown color. The bow maker determines the stick’s section while working with the wood. The maker determines whether to keep the original 175 mm. octagonal area of the bow (where the frog rests) and continue the facets on the stick or change direction and go to the round (or egg) shape in the transitional area of the winding. The bow maker went round from the transition forward. The bow handles well at this light overall weight. The bow is semi-firm with a little bit of flex. The frog is fully lined, and the metal lining is attached to the ebony with silver pins– not screws. It has a traditional ebony frog with single mother-of-pearl eyes and a slightly flanged mother-of-pearl slide. All this to say that the frog is handmade, as well as the entire stick. The bow is finished with a three-piece endscrew of silver/ebony/silver. This is a beautiful 125 year-plus bow now in very good condition. Bausch bows have great success with players and have stood the test of time. This stick is a gem ready for its next home.

Weight fully haired 55.1 grams