BAUSCH Illegible Stamp German Workshop Violin Bow circa 1910-1925

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This BAUSCH workshop bow is from the early 20th century, and it is a sterling silver mounted workshop bow. The bow is missing the standard stamp for the Bausch workshop for the time period when these bows were made under the management of the Paulus family. To meet the demand, the bow industry developed and rose in a remote area of eastern Germany near the Czech border, a region known as Western Bohemia. The center of this instrument making industry was the town of Markneukirchen in the state of Saxony. The Bausch family, makers from 1804-1875, were highly regarded and esteemed in the bow making part of the violin trade. Their bows were known for their outstanding handwork and playability. The family made bows for four generations, beginning with Ludwig Christian August Bausch in the 1820’s. They made superb bows sold as their own and marketed unstamped bows to other shops in Germany, such as the Heinrich Knopf workshop. “BAUSCH” branded bows were still being made while the Bausch shop was under the management of the Paulus family from 1876 up to the 1920’s.

This bow was made before or just after World War I. During this era many German shops left the maker’s name and origin off the stick. I’m not sure if this was done purposely or not, there are no origin markings on this stick. The bow simply would have been placed in a violin outfit headed for sale at a music company. I’ve had this stick hanging in the workshop for years. These older German pernambuco bows are beautiful sticks. This bow needed everything to get ready to sell and make it to the showroom. The bow got extra cleaning, and a new sterling tinsel winding to keep the overall gram weight down. It got a new thumb in goat leather, a new tip, two new pearl eyes in the frog, and a little TLC on the three-piece end button. The camber starts quickly after the head and helps make this bow feel firm. The grain is tight, and this piece of pernambuco is older, strong, and a fantastic piece of wood in round section. The color is dark chocolate brown. The ebony frog is a Parisian eye model with a one-piece heel and a very small bronze screw holding the lining. Yes, a great bow to add to someone’s collection. It will give you another option of sound and response off your violin. A nice sleeper bow, a great playing stick not stamped and at an excellent price for a 100-year-old bow now in great condition.

We have over 500 wood violin bows in our show rooms for you to try. 90% of these bows are pernambuco sticks, many I collected as a young kid, starting at age 13 and into my college years growing up in the New York City area. If it’s an older European bow that you’re looking for, this might be a perfect fit. The bow feels light in the hand, balanced well. A bow that has German fuss and attention to detail, no real papers about its provenance, just a very nice bow that I have spent a lot of time on.

Weight fully haired 60.5 grams