Books › The fiddle fancier's guide; a manual of information regarding violins, violas, basses and bows of classical and modern times, together with biographical notices and portraits of the most famous performers of these instruments, 1892 › scan 254
Scan 254
The fiddle fancier's guide; a manual of information regarding violins, violas, basses and bows of classical and modern times, together with biographical notices and portraits of the most famous performers of these instruments, 1892
4 lines. Read by computer on 29 August 2026. Printed page 240. See the scan on archive.org.
1elasticity. Too much of that is a nuisance, and makes a very good bow in other respects, powerless. But there must be some, and the quality of the wood is responsible for it. It is not the flexibility of a piece of cane which is required, but the firm, yet responsive elasticity, which, to a certain extent, guarantees a pure and even tone. All these points were splendidly illustrated by François Tourte, and, in some slight degree, by his brother. I have never seen a bow by Tourte père, and I am beginning to think there was no such person employed in this business. The name was first published by Fetis—I suppose, on the authority of Vuillaume—but I do not know of any other source from whence the information comes. The bows of Tourte ainé have rather quaint-looking, small heads, not unlike the profile of the bell of a trumpet, but having the top line of the head a little shorter than the under line. The head of a François Tourte has a much fuller outline of the same kind, but infinitely more graceful and artistic. Some of the finest Tourtes are of a lightish coloured wood called grey Pernambuco, which is very rich looking. The majority are darker.
3The Tourtes never marked any of their sticks, but in two instances, François Tourte is said to have glued into the slot a very diminutive little ticket containing an inscription to the effect that he made the article. From one of these inscriptions the date of his birth has been deduced. It runs, "Cet archet a été fait par Tourte en 1824, âge de soixante-dix-sept-ans." (This bow was made by Tourte in 1824, aged seventy-seven years). F. Tourte invented the ferrule for keeping the hair flat,
The computer misreads some letters and numbers. Where a name matters to you, read the scan.