Nicolas Maline was one of the truly great French bow makers of the 19^th century. He was the son and pupil of Guillaume. He then worked for Pajeot alongside Nicolas Maire before opening his own workshop. He supplied bows to J.B. Vuillaume starting in 1840 although he never worked in Paris, and he was actually the first to make bows with the Vuillaume style frog. Vuillaume greatly appreciated his work and many of the bows stamped Vuillaume Paris were actually made by Maline in Mirecourt. The stick of this viola bow is of snakewood.