L. BAUSCH Sterling Silver Viola Bow- Leipzig circa 1890-1900

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This is a fine viola 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 stamped with the Leipzig name in the brand were generally made post 1908. These Bausch bows were made in both quantity and in various qualities which were then sold as ”L .BAUSCH” or L. BAUSCH LEIPZIG to different dealers in Germany and North America. Bausch bows are gorgeous, with attention to detail at its finest, quality workmanship, and playability. The L. BAUSCH bows were made in the Knopf family workshop for Bausch in accordance with the Bausch family models. Both the Knopf and Bausch shops were highly specialized makers of handmade bows. They must have been selling so many bows that they could not keep up with demand. The Bausch family enlisted highly qualified help. For a time of 35-40 years bows were supplied by Heinrich Knopf (Berlin) unstamped and then were stamped at the Bausch workshop.

Our L. Bausch model is mounted in sterling silver. We replaced the sterling winding and leathers to bring up the weight and bring the bow into a better balance. Everything else on the bow is original and in pristine condition. I used my formula for cleaning the stick: 190 proof alcohol, simple green, and turpentine solution to treat and clean the stick, which was grungy, before doing the silver work and polishing the frog. The bow is octagonal section pernambuco of a darker chocolate or reddish/brown color. The wood is dense, and the bow favors tight grain old-growth pernambuco. 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 maker stayed with octagonal facets. The bow is semi firm, 7+ out of 10 with 10 being a rock of a stick, and handles well at this light overall weight. The frog is fully lined, and the lining is attached to the ebony with silver pins – not screws. It has a traditional ebony frog containing single mother-of-pearl eyes and a slightly flanged mother-of-pearl slide. The frog is fully handmade as is the entire stick. The bow is finished with a three-piece endscrew- silver/ebony/silver and a pearl end. This bow is fantastic. Bausch bows have great success with players and have stood the test of time. This viola stick is an outstanding playing bow, ready for its next home.

Weight fully haired 69.0 grams