unknown (good) bow, stamp nearly worn away

[Thomas Erickson]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/4978178...57624137957346

Here's a link to the set of images; that way you can pick your size and I won't plug up the forum...

I haven't really been told anything about the bow, but like I say; I haven't pursued it much since I have no intention of selling it. The number engraved on the stick under the frog indicates that it belonged to maybe a conservatory or other organization I guess, and other players have agreed that it's rather good. I've turned down a couple of offers to buy it from me.

I managed to get one good shot of the stamp and now I remember that it looks to start with a squiggly mark and probably the letters H.A. and then perhaps an "S"... not sure.

[Ken Smith]

I thought it was a French bow. I don't know much about German Bow makers personally. Show this to Chris Brown or Sue Lipkins and maybe they can help you. That's all I can advise, sorry.

[Thomas Erickson]

Thanks for looking Ken; maybe someone else will have a thought.

[Thomas Erickson]

Sue Lipkins was kind enough to take a look and offer her opinion - she says it appears to be a commercial German made bow of some sort. Oh well!

I still haven't had any luck on deciphering the stamp, so if anybody has a trick that might help I'd still be interested...

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Thomas Erickson

Sue Lipkins was kind enough to take a look and offer her opinion - she says it appears to be a commercial German made bow of some sort. Oh well!

I still haven't had any luck on deciphering the stamp, so if anybody has a trick that might help I'd still be interested...

Commercial means they stamp what ever name they make up that day. You are looking for a Ghost! What Sue probably meant is that there is no such person with a name like that OR, if there is, it means very little. I would go with the Fictitious name and let it rest. So many sellers and shops over time have had names stamped into Bows for the sake of selling something that the other guy doesn't have. The next shop down the street has the exact same Bows with a different name in them.

Look at all the Chinese stuff sold today with German and Italian names. Some are names of real people and some not. Years ago I was at the VSA Violin convention here in Pa. and had lunch with a couple of dealers. One was bragging how well he did in his shop with Violin Bows. He would have a bunch made and put some name on them, real or imagined. Then, the next batch would have a different name on them. Today we have so much junk on the market that some people are hoping to find that maker in Germany or Italy somewhere. Too bad, because most of them weren't even born yet!

[Thomas Erickson]

Yes, I realize that the name isn't going to be that of an actual maker or anything and that it probably isn't of any use whatsoever. That really doesn't bother me much since my only interest is just to satisfy my own curiosity; it really doesn't matter what the bow is, what it might be worth, or any of that - for me, having an instrument or any piece of gear that I happen to like and not knowing what it is just creates a little "itch" at the back of my mind, you know... and if nothing else, having 1/4 of the stamp staring me in the face doesn't help... so any little bit of information would just be interesting is all. Simple as that.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Thomas Erickson

Yes, I realize that the name isn't going to be that of an actual maker or anything and that it probably isn't of any use whatsoever. That really doesn't bother me much since my only interest is just to satisfy my own curiosity; it really doesn't matter what the bow is, what it might be worth, or any of that - for me, having an instrument or any piece of gear that I happen to like and not knowing what it is just creates a little "itch" at the back of my mind, you know... and if nothing else, having 1/4 of the stamp staring me in the face doesn't help... so any little bit of information would just be interesting is all. Simple as that.

Believe me, that 'itch' is not all that uncommon. Actually, more often than not we question 'what is'.