Books › An Encyclopedia of the Violin, 1925 › scan 147
Scan 147
An Encyclopedia of the Violin, 1925
18 lines. Read by computer on 28 September 2026. Printed page 121. See the scan on archive.org.
1"The bows of stringed instruments, as they have hitherto been constructed, present two serious disadvantages, admitted by all artists: the first lies in the difficulty experienced in arranging the hairs in such wise that they form a perfectly flat ribbon along their entire length; in fact, it is decidedly rare to find bows whose hair is properly arranged. The second disadvantage is that the nut, to which one of the ends of the length of hairs is affixed, is constantly changing position, and that hence the length of the hairs necessarily varies. In consequence the artist, whose thumb should always remain near the nut, places it at various distances from the head of the bow itself, which varies the length and, as a result, the weight of this part of the bow stick, which is sufficient to disturb the extreme tactile sensitiveness which is transmitted from the artist's hand to the head of the bow.
3"To remedy these two disadvantages it would be necessary, on the one hand, to find a less crude method of fastening the hairs, and on the other, to see to it that the nut be made immovable. I believe that I have succeeded in accomplishing this double task.
5"The nut ordinarily is made of ebony, is hollow inside, and always fixed to the stick; the hairs are attached to a kind of inner nut, made of copper, which is set in movement, as in the case of the ordinary violin, by means of a nut screw fixed in the stick.
7"As may be seen, the inner nut is able to move forward or backward as much as may be necessary, without the hairs comprised between the head and the exterior nut of the bow being in any way affected. The ribbon of hair used for the violin bow is formed of hairs carefully arranged parallel to one another, side by side, and are uniformly strung and solidly fixed at each of their extremities in a species of cylindrical wedge.
9"The inner nut and the head of the bow are pierced on each side to receive these small wedges, in such a way that the artist himself may place the ribbon of his bow hair with the greatest ease, and hence may renew it whenever he desires."
11In addition to François Tourte, John Dodd, known as "the English Tourte" in his native land, should not be forgotten. He was the only contemporary of the great Tourte himself to acquire a European reputation. His bows are remarkably well made; but, unfortunately, somewhat too short.
13In his splendid work, La Lutherie et les Luthiers, Antoine Vidal says, anent Dodd:
15"I am indebted to Dr. Selle, of Richmond, who knew John Dodd for forty odd years, for some biographical notes regarding this master, which I take pleasure in communicating:
17"I first met John Dodd in Kew, when I was no more than twelve years of age. At that time he made me a violin bow remarkable for its length and elegant shape. A distinguished teacher in Kew, Mr. Richard Platt, was his
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