Heinrich Richard Knopf Violin Bow New York City circa 1900

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Heinrich Richard Knopf (1860-1939) started his training as a bow maker with his father Heinrich Knopf (1839-1875). After his father’s death in 1875 he completed his training with his uncle Wilhelm Knopf in Markneukirchen. After his apprenticeship, he worked in the Bausch shop in Leipzig and later for the Adam shop in Berlin, where he also received training in violin making. By 1879 he immigrated to America and worked for a year with John Albert in Philadelphia. In 1880 he opened a violin making shop in New York City. The shop became successful and in time his two sons Eugene and Richard joined him there until the shop closed in 1931. Knopf made a number of violins and bows while he was in New York. I believe this to be one of his bows made in New York. Many of the parts of Heinrich (now called Henry) Knopf’s bows made while he was in New York were made with bow parts and wood for the stick coming from Markneukirchen. Henry imported many items, especially violins, for his New York violin shop from his home town. Henry Knopf died in 1939 in New York City on the evening of his 79th birthday.

I’ve given the bow a new winding in silver tinsel silk thread and a new lizard leather thumb grip. The old leather was not salvageable, and the original sterling wire for the bow was crushed, mangled, and just added too much weight to the bow. The frog is sterling silver mounted and a Parisian eye model with a three-part end button, which has a double turn in the collar. I do not believe the frog is original to the bow, but the frog is very stylish. The silver tip is perfect and helps set this bow apart with its pin work. The bow is sterling silver mounted, old pernambuco wood, and octagonal in section. This is a gem of a bow made while he lived in America close to where I grew up from1963-1970 as a youngster in Staten Island and then in New Jersey.

Weight fully haired 63.3 grams