Richard Grünke Sterling Silver Violin Bow- Bubenreuth, Germany circa 1976 -1979

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Richard Grünke, born in Poland in 1930, ended up in the upper Vogtland in 1944 during the turmoil at the end of WW II. He began his apprenticeship as a bow maker in 1945 with Edwin Herrmann in Schönlind, then completed it in the H.R. Pfretzschner workshop in Markneukirchen between 1946 and 1948. He remained in this workshop until 1950 when he went to Berlin to work for Alfred Leicht. The years in Berlin were to augment the training he had received in the H.R. Pfretzschner workshop and had an important effect on his later working career. In 1952 he moved to Bubenreuth to work for Roderich Paesold. With his master’s examination in 1957, the Paesold company began to stamp his bows in general– “Richard Grünke.” The style of his early bows was clearly influenced by the Pfretzschner workshop. Later, with the inspiration of old master bows and suggestions of important musicians he developed a very personal model which he followed for his entire career. In 1975 Richard Grünke set up a business of his own near Bubenreuth. The workshop developed with great success and became a highly frequented address for professional German and international string players. In 1996 he founded a new company with his two sons, Klaus and Thomas, named “Richard Grünke & Söhne GmbH”.

As a young guy learning the bow trade, I spent much time studying Grünke’s stick graduations, camber increments, the layout of his bows, and the Pfretzschner style frogs. I rehaired and restored hundreds of bows and got to handle and study many fine French and German Bows. In addition, I handled many Grünke sticks for customers in the New York/New Jersey area from 1976 through 1988.

Here at the shop, we have a great collection of Richard Grünke’s bows. I purchased 14 Grünke violin bows and 2 Grünke viola bows 16 years ago at an instrument /bow auction in Austria to restore and work up. Two of the bows in our collection, one viola and one violin, were gold mounted and have already been sold here at the shop. These bows and the completed bows in the shop for sale are excellent examples of Grünke’s work and are in various gram weights. What is interesting to me is the quality of the pernambuco chosen and his style of making while he was at the famous Paesold shop. He used different brandings on the frogs, and he made subtle changes to his sticks when his own shop began. The wood is exceptional pernambuco, probably from a ton of sticks he had piled and graded in his barn. The bow is octagonal in section and sterling silver mounted in a Parisian eye ebony frog. The frog has the Grünke insignia crest; RG initials inside the bow and arrow insignia which is on the player’s side of the bow. The bow is in excellent condition.

Weight fully haired 60.1 grams