F. P. Brown Sterling Silver Lovely Old Pernambuco Violin Bow- Boston circa 1900 -CURRENTLY OUT ON TRIAL-

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We have an older piece of pernambuco made into a fantastic sterling silver mounted bow. It’s all about the wood for a bow. This piece of pernambuco would have been growing in Brazil in the late 1700’s or early 1800’s. The tree would have reached maturity in 70-80 years, then being harvested and the logs transported in ships from Brazil to Europe and North America. The pernambuco was cut up into bow size 32” x 3” pieces and let dry 15-20 years. After all that F. P. Bown would have selected the piece to make this bow from his own wood pile or from someone else who housed the wood in a workshop or barn.

If you ask any string player about their tools of the trade they will speak of their violin for sure, but chances are that the conversation will quickly turn to their bow, how it’s perfect for this piece, or the way it draws a particular tone quality from their violin, or perhaps that it’s not quite right for their hand or the right match for their instrument. Good instrumentalists know that the deceptive intrigue of bow is in fact essential to the magnificent sound and energy a good player derives from a celebrated instrument. The bow is so very important. Bows are varied and vibrant as much as any violin; they are commanded by an artist. The bow in a player’s right hand focuses on the articulations, speed, angle and striking the string, creating a mature sound.

This bow by F. P. Brown will help your sound jump on any decent violin. The bow has been in my collection of sticks to work on for close to 35 years. I put many hours into the stick and have dug deep to try to discover more about F.P. Not much is known. He worked in Boston in the late 19th century and early 20th century. He was a violin and bow maker, and a restorer in South Weymouth, Massachusetts, just south of Boston. His working dates were 1886 to 1912. From 1904 there is information I found that he concentrated on bow work and restoration/rehair on bows.

I love the feel of the entire bow and especially the pernambuco, so it received the full spa treatment. The old winding came off before deep cleaning the stick with my own formula. This occurred two or three times to reveal the wonderful orange/brown color. The bow is choice pernambuco, round in section, and incremented well with Brown’s small plane work. The grain is dense, and the stick is in amazing condition. Exceedingly nice. I replaced the facial tip and the tinsel winding that was on the bow. The new winding is a silver tinsel with an olive green silk accent, captured with a leather thumb grip. The frog is a blind eye model, and the sterling fittings are fitted to precise tolerances. I also replaced the mother-of-pearl slide; the original had a crack in the pearl. The heel is two pieces with pin work and the lining is also held to the frog inside with two fine silver pins. The button is a solid cap with two turns in the collar. American luthiers usually don’t get enough credit, but this maker, needs to be recognized. The workmanship in the bow is excellent, and it is great to bring this stick back to life. It is nice to recognize American craftsmanship. F.P. Brown must have played a vital role in violin and bow work in and around Boston.

Weight fully haired 61.8 grams