Louis Lowendall Gorgeous Trade Violin Bow- Berlin circa 1915

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Louis Lowendall (1836-1912) was into violins at a young age. His father encouraged this love for the violin. He became interested in the construction and the woods used to make instruments. At 13 he was enrolled in school at Konigsberg High School in northern Prussia to enhance his musical studies. At 19 he also became proficient at the cello. He further studied violin and bow making with Bausch and Heinrich Knopf. In 1855 he opened a music retail shop in Berlin where he sold many instruments and bows. He did well as a businessman and is not known as a violin or bow maker. He owned the company and employed very good craftsmen to work for him, having various levels of trade instruments and bows made with his name or brands on the instruments. For six years he left for America where he befriended George Gemunder, a famous violin maker in New York City. The Gemunder firm purchased many of Lowendall’s instruments, bows, and tonewood. Lowendall spent much time traveling, dividing his time between America and England. He gained contacts and developed relationships while he sold his instruments and bows. He opened a second larger shop, the Star Works Company, in Berlin in 1889 specifically to import instruments and bows to the West.

We have one of those bows. The bow is stamped on both sides of the stick above the frog. It is a very nice trade bow that we have meticulously gone over. We replaced the cracked facial with a new tip, and the silver winding that was chewed up, and the missing the thumb grip. After giving the bow a good cleaning, we added a new nickel silver winding and leather thumb. The bow is pernambuco specie and round in section. The ebony frog has single mother-of-pearl eyes and a beautiful old slide with pink, green, and blue hues. The silver lining on the frog is held in place with silver pins, no screws. The frog is almost in a Peccatte French style frog. The stick and frog are in very good condition. The bow is finished off with a three-piece end screw. The bow has great balance, good flex, and is a stick that grabs the strings. This bow plays well and is easy to handle with a lighter gram weight of 59.7.

Weight fully haired 59.7 grams