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Johnson String regularly acquires exceptional antique bows as well as bows by award-winning contemporary makers.
Below are featured bows available for purchase or home trial.
Please contact us for more information.
This Month's Featured Violin Bow: | |||||
French-born bowmaker Benoit Rolland trained with Bernard Ouchard in Mirecourt. Rolland, who currently resides in Boston, has over 40 years of bowmaking experience. He has won numerous awards for making as well as trained some of the top makers working today. Rolland was the youngest person ever nominated Meilleur Ouvrier de France in the history of the competition (Best Artisan of France). He received in 1983 the rare national title of Maitre Archetier d'Art. His bows are played by top artists, such as Anne-Sophie Mutter, Lynn Harrell, Miriam Fried, Christian Tetzlaff and Julia Fischer. They can also be found in the world's major orchestras. This bow, in original condition, is finely carved of the best quality red-brown pernambuco wood. It draws a warm, even sound and responds instantaneously with minimal effort on the part of the player. The stick is strong without feeling stiff and exquisitely balanced. The bow is sold with the original certificate and appraisal from Benoit Rolland.
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This Month's Featured Viola Bow: |
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Founded in 1887 by William Ebsworth Hill, the London firm, W. E. Hill & Sons (1887-1992), was built on a long family history of violin making going back to William Ebsworth's great grandfather, Joseph Hill. They soon gained a widespread reputation for excellence in repairs, instrument making, bows, cases, and fittings. The firm also offered instrument identification and authentication. Many fine craftsmen worked for W. E. Hill & Sons, including William Grieve Johnston (b 1860-d 1944), the maker of this bow. He apprenticed with the piano maker Broadwoods where he became an expert on veneers and then joined the W. E. Hill & Sons case making department in 1894. He moved on to bow making at the turn of the century but switched back to cases for ten years. He finally settled back with bows and eventually became workshop manager in 1930 at the age of seventy. He retired nine years later. The octagonal stick of this viola bow is finely carved out of top-quality orange-brown pernambuco wood. All parts are original and in an excellent state of preservation. The sound that is produces is bright, clear, and even from frog to tip. With a total weight of 70.5g and a good balance, this bow handles at a very high level.
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This Month's Featured Cello Bow: |
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Johann Wilhelm Knopf (1835-1912), son of Christian Wilhelm Knopf, Jr., was a member of one of most prodigious bow making families in Germany. He trained within the family shop in Markneukirchen before opening his own shop in Dresden in 1886. This bow, from around 1865, was made when Johann Wilhelm was still working in Markneukirchen, and shows the direct influence of the older Knopf makers. The bow is stamped "GRIMM MODEL", and was most likely made to be sold by the Grimm firm in Berlin. The dark brown pernambuco stick is masterfully carved and produces a warm, even sound. The button is not original, but the stick is in an excellent state of preservation as is the original frog.
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This Month's Featured Bass Bow: |
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When one thinks of quality Brazilian handcrafted pernambuco wood bows, one name comes to mind: Horst John. Founded in 1951 as a precious woods exporter by a 24 year-old German-born immigrant, Horst John became a true pioneer by converting his firm's noble woods operation to bowmaking twenty years later. It was, and continues to be, a reference point of high standards in the quality of its naturally dried process (not artificially force cured). John only used pernambuco wood from a decades-old private stock approved by the Brazilian Environmental Authorities. The company today continues the same practice of using only aged wood.
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