Ivory Button Non-Stamped Late 19th Century Old German Violin Bow

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Wow, we have a beautiful older GERMAN bow all restored here in the shop. Another bow from Mr. Judd’s early collection as a young kid. This bow has received a deep cleaning to remove years of dirt, a new tip, silver winding, and new leather thumb. The tip is so unique with a wider width in the back of the head that happens in an instant. The flange and the lines in the head grab me. The bone tip head restoration was tricky because of the strength of the bullnose and short quick curved head, but well worth the time. Yes, I love the bow! The stick is firm and is slightly shorter than a full-size bow. The frog is half-lined and the fittings of the winding and the ferrule are nickel. The endscrew button is a gem- ivory and unlike any other. The bow has no silver lining between the pernambuco stick and the ebony frog.

The stick is easy to control and throw at the strings. The balance of the bow is interesting, still around 10 inches from the ivory button. The weight is primarily felt in the in the winding frog area of the bow. The gram weight is at 60.0. I purposely made the silver winding slightly shorter from normal so as not to get heavier in the bow. The bow length is short at 724.0 mm but it does not hurt the feel this bow has. The stick draws a great sound, and you won’t notice the 19.0 mm smaller length. The bow plays and I’m really taken aback by the ebony frog. It is one of a kind, hand done with small 3.5 mm single pearl eyes. The frog flanges wider from the start of the throat to the end of the ferrule. I enjoyed studying and learning from this bow. The thought process and this layout is much different from a modern bow. But it all works in how the bow is put together and even where the camber ended up being. German creativity or genius. Maybe the maker has a small piece of pernambuco that they were not going to toss. “Who wants it?” They should have stamped their name on the bow. Easily a 125–140-year-old bow that shows a little wear in the head and in the ebony frog audience side. Who wouldn’t show a little wear after that long. Check this stick out if you’re looking for something different to tickle the strings on your violin.

Weight fully haired 60.0 grams.