Karl van der Meer started out as a violinist in the Concertgebouw Orchestra, taking up violin making in 1892. He became head of the violin department of a large Amsterdam music store, establishing his own firm in 1899 which became the most important violin shop in Amsterdam. He was especially well known for his fine bows. Those branded K.V.D.MEER AMSTERDAM. Were made by A.Toussant in Mirecourt.
The Cuniot-Hury workshop was founded by Pierre Cuniot in the later 19th century. It flourished under Pierre’s son Eugène who employed several fine makers including E.F.Ouchard and later his son E.A.Ouchard. This fine bow has a Vuillaume-style frog and is in almost new condition, remarkable for a bow that is 120 years old. It is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from Raffin, Paris who describes it as a beautiful example of this great French maker.
Originally from Perryville Missouri, Frank Callier moved to St Louis at age 17 where he began studying violin making. After working in San Antonio, TX, he settled in Hollywood in 1928 where he set up his own violin and bow making shop. He was by far the most important bow maker in Los Angeles and won a number of medals and awards for his fine bows.
John Greenwood is well known to string musicians all over the Bay Area and beyond. He studied making with Jean Grunberger in Paris continued at the Oberlin bow making workshops.
André Lavoye began his career as a violin maker in 1980 in Quebec. In 1988 he went to Paris and studied violin making with Serge Boyer and bow making with Jean François Raffin. He then worked for makers in Brussels and Hong Kong before returning to Quebec City in 1994. He has since taught at the National School of Violin Making in Quebec City and has become highly respected both as a violin maker and a bow maker.
A beautiful gold-mounted bow
Heinz Dölling worked with his father Otto and established his own workshop in 1938. He was highly respected for his elegant workmanship. Even though the GDR was not favorable towards individual craftsmen developing their own personal style, he was able to establish an international reputation through major trade fairs. This excellent example has a beautiful horn frog.
Herbert Chanon was born in Macon, France and studied violin performance at the Lyon Conservatory. He then trained as a violin maker with J.F.Schmidt in Lyon, but his real interest was bow making so he traveled to New York to work with Bill Salchow. He set up his workshop in Sherbrooke, Quebec in 1978. His bows are used by musicians all over the world. He won a number of awards at competitions including the Violin Society of America.
August Nürnberger-Suess was born in 1872 and studied bow making with his father Adolf Nürnberger and his grandfather J.C.Suess. He emigrated to Novato, California in 1912 and in spite of the rural location of Novato (about 30 miles north of San Francisco) had a successful career.
Over the years, John Norwood Lee has become one of the best known bow makers in America. He spent many years in the workshops of Bein & Fushi in Chicago perfecting his craft before opening his own workshop. This is an especially nice example of his work, gold mounted with a beautiful gold and ebony button.
Garner Wilson started his career as a bow maker with W.E.Hill & Sons form 1960 – 1966. He then set up his own workshop in London, later moving to Bury St. Edmonds in Suffolk. A number of bow makers were trained in his workshop.
François Lotte was the son of violin maker Georges Lotte and was trained first in the Bazin workshop, then working for Cuniot-Hury. He set up on his own in 1926 and was later assisted by his son Roger. The bows of both François and Roger have always been popular with our clients.
Born in 1930, Richard Grünke trained with a number of important bow makers before setting up his own workshop in 1975. The tradition continues with Richard’s son Klaus.
Branded Ernst Heinrich Roth, Probably by Hoyer