Eugen Meinel German Roth Workshop Violin Bow circa 1930 – 1935 – Lightweight Gem!

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The Eugen Meinel brand was a trade name used by the Ernst Heinrich Roth shop of Markneukirchen right after World War I. The Meinel name was used to avoid conflicts with the same type of bows imported to North America as well as in the homeland. The Roth firm was one of the most prominent German firms in the early 20th century and they were known for their instruments as well as their bows. At a time when German makers did not want to place their country of origin on their bows and used famous French and Italian names to sell their items, the Roth firm operated with transparency in their business practices. They were and still are a very fine company in the string business that survived two World Wars, and who cared about their workers and their families. I say again- there should have a movie made about this family and their story of survival from Markneukirchen to a reboot in Bubenreuth.

I grew up in the New York/New Jersey area. With close to eight million people in that area and well before “Antiques Road Show” my dad and I gathered quite a collection of instruments and bows with no help from cell phones or computers. With a decade of collecting as a teenager with my dad from 1974 to 1984, we purchased hundreds of violins, violas, and over 1,200 decent bows, mostly German bows. As a young kid, into carving, instrument restoration, and Mets baseball, I really had no idea of what I was looking for. If the stick and/or violin were in decent condition, we bought it. My dad was a fantastic bird carver. If you come to the violin shop you can see some of his birds. Somehow, I have 10 carvings of his that did not get sold. They are here in the shop, and a few are at my home. Many times, we came away with 3 or 4 bows in one violin case. They were usually shabby looking, lacking luster, full of dirt and with ravaged hair in a case. At the time the bows were always a second thought of what we collected in instruments. This Meinel bow has just been completed, brought back to life after a hibernation of 45 years hanging in my home workshop.

This is a great bread & butter German bow. It is mounted in nickel silver, and round in section. The pernambuco wood is an orange/amber/brown color – older pernambuco and the stick is round in section. I have replaced the small leather lap and the leather thumb grip. The frog is Parisian eye, and the endscrew has the typical E. Meinel two-piece button. The bow is light in the hand with semi-firm fight. It is a 90-year-old German bow in very good condition.

Weight fully haired 57.0 grams