Vuillaume Style Frog German Trade Cello Bow circa 1930
$1,250.00
click picture to enlarge
GERMANY branded very small on the audience side towards the button
We have a post-World War I German cello bow made for the trade. During this era many German shops left off the maker’s name and origin on the stick. Many bows would have been branded with a French or Italian sounding name to market the bow. Purposely, there no maker’s name on this stick, only a small GERMANY brand. The bow would have simply been placed with a cello outfit headed for sale at a music company. I’ve had this stick in my collection for years and it was time to get this bow worked up and out onto the showroom floor. These bows are very cost effective, and in light of what is happening with pernambuco in South America and the lack of bow production or even complete stoppage of bow making in this specie I have decided to get all of my bows in the workshop restored and ready for the showroom. Some of the restorations take many hours and a few, like this stick, only took about 4 hours of work.
This German bow is light brown with orange/brown highlights. The wood is beautiful older stuff: slow growth tight grained pernambuco. It is light in the hand and easy to handle. What is over the top nice is the wood choice itself. The bow is round in section, a typical characteristic for a German bow. The frog is Parisian eye and French Vuillaume style. The mother-of-pearl slide has some nice color, and the bow is mounted in nickel silver. The head is in good condition, and I replaced the original tip. Everything else on the bow is original. This will make a great playing bow for the up-and-coming cellist looking for a very cool old stick. Yes, it should give you a different sound off your cello from a carbon fiber bow. It is supposed to. The Vuillaume style ebony frog with chamfers is slightly large and that helps keep more weight in the lower half of the bow and aids the player in holding the bow. The endscrew is three pieces and the bow has a good weight and balance.
Standout points for the bow:
• Gorgeous older tight grain wood, the tree beginning its life in the very early 1800’s
• French looking bow but fully made in Germany.
• Good workmanship,
• No famous maker’s name, this helps keep cost down.
• Strong/firm playing bow.
• Mr. Judd likes the bow, Yup, that’s a plus.
Weight fully haired 81.3 grams
