Otto Felix Wunderlich Violin Bow, Moscau circa 1905-1910

click picture to enlarge

Stamped:
O.F. Wunderlich Moscau

Wow! Another older German bow that plays well and deserves to create friction, to move a string or strings which in turn vibrates wood and moves air to create sound from a violin.

Otto Felix Wunderlich was born in Markneukirchen in 1873 and died in Moscow around 1925. Otto Felix learned under Richard Monnig in Markneukirchen. He worked in Cologne, Amsterdam, and for a time in Carlsruhe. He then established a shop in Moscow, Russia from 1895-1925. “Moscau” is the German spelling of Moscow, the capital city of Russia. Wunderlich is a famous violin making and bow making family name that goes back to the mid 1800’s. The family was established in the area called Saxony and many of the family trained in Markneukirchen. Max Wunderlich was born in 1876 and Friedrich Wunderlich, born 1878, are the best known of the family of bow makers. Both Max and Friedrich moved to Leipzig and copied great masters’ bows but favored Françoise Torte and Vuillaume models.

Our Otto Felix Wunderlich bow is pernambuco specie and round in section. The bow is just oiled and is orange/brown in color. The head is original, but the silver winding and leathers were so far gone I had to remove and restore with new silver and leathers at the thumb and the winding end I call the lapping. The bow is mounted in sterling with a Parisian eye model ebony frog with small 3.0 mm eyes. The ferule is slightly short in its porch and rounded on the edges while the heel is one piece. The silver work is pinned in the plates and in the lining.

Weight fully haired 60.8 grams