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Scan 258
Old Violins And Their Makers, 1883
2 lines. Read by computer on 27 September 2026. Printed page 244. See the scan on archive.org.
1flat and ribbon-like surface throughout its whole length, and the second was found in the circumstance that the nut, being movable, suffered a continual change of position, and that, therefore, the hair which was fixed to it was constantly varying in length, and the performer, whose thumb should be always close to the nut, was obliged, in consequence, to play with his hand at different distances from the head, a circumstance which also altered the weight of the bow at that part. These two faults were remedied by the new bow in the following fashion: An ordinary but hollow ebony nut is employed, and firmly fixed to the stick. Inside of this fixed nut is another of brass, to which alone the hair is attached, and which is tightened or loosened in the ordinary way by the screw of the button. Thus the tension can be altered without the least change being necessary in the position of the player's hand. The hair is carefully placed parallel, and the inner nut and the head are so arranged that the performer can hair his bow himself when required. These bows were made for violin, tenor, or violoncello, and were sold by Vuillaume at 25 francs, the same price as his wooden and steel ones. I do not know whether he had anything to do with increasing the number of hairs with which the bow is furnished, but it has more now than it had in the time of Tourte, who, by the way, was very careful in his selection of this requisite. He chose the hair produced in his own country in preference to that of other lands, because he thought it was thicker, and he used thoroughly to cleanse it with soap and water, then pass it through bran water, and finally clear it of any particles which
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