



Produced by Ron Swanson





THE BOW, ITS HISTORY, MANUFACTURE AND USE.




Printed in Great Britain by J. H. Lavender and Co.,
2, Duncan Terrace, City Road, London, N.I.




[Frontispiece: HENRY SAINT-GEORGE.]




_"THE STRAD" LIBRARY, No. III._
THE BOW, ITS HISTORY, MANUFACTURE AND USE

BY

HENRY SAINT-GEORGE




ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR




THIRD EDITION




London:
HORACE MARSHALL & SON, 46, Farringdon Street, E.C.4.

New York:
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS, 597-599, Fifth Avenue.

1922.




PREFACE.


It has always appeared to me a curious thing that the bow, without
which the fiddle could have no being, should have received so scant
attention, not alone from the community of fiddlers, but also from
writers on the subject. I only know of one book in which the subject
is adequately handled. Out of every twenty violinists who profess to
some knowledge of the various types of Cremonese and other fiddles of
repute and value, barely three will be met with who take a similar
interest in the bow beyond knowing a good one, or rather one that
suits their particular physique, when playing with it. They are all
familiar with the names of Dodd and Tourte, but it is seldom that
their knowledge extends beyond the names. As for a perception of the
characteristics of bows as works of art, which is the standard of the
fiddle connoisseur, it hardly has any existence outside the small
circle of bow makers. Of the large number of undoubted fiddle experts
now in London, but a small proportion profess to any similar
knowledge of bows, and of these there are but few who can be credited
with real authority in the matter.

It is, therefore, with the object of bringing the bow into more
general notice that this little book has been written, and, to drop
into the good old prefatory style, if I succeed in arousing the
interest of but one violinist in the bow for itself, and apart from
its work, my efforts will not have been in vain.

My most hearty thanks are due to those who have so kindly assisted me
in my work. To _Messrs. W. E. Hill and Sons, Mr. E. Withers, Mr. F.
W. Chanot, Mr. J. Chanot, and Messrs. Beare, Goodwin and Co._, for
the loan of valuable bows for the purpose of illustration, and _Mr.
A. Tubbs_, who, in addition to similar favours, most kindly placed
much of his valuable time at my disposal, and very patiently helped
me to a sufficient understanding of the bow maker's craft for the
purpose of collecting materials for the second part of the book.

The third part, in which I treat of the use of the bow, I have
purposely avoided making a systematic handbook of bowing technique,
for to handle that subject as exhaustively as I should wish would
require a separate volume. As stated in Chapter XIV., that portion of
the book is addressed almost exclusively to teachers, and in the few
cases where I have gone into questions of technique it has been
limited to those points that appear to be most neglected or
misunderstood by the generality of teachers.

"Anything that is worth doing is worth doing well" is a maxim that
teachers should hold up to themselves and their pupils, and this
reminds me of an exhortation to that effect in "Musick's Monument,"
that quaint and pathetic book of Thomas Mace (1676) with which I
cannot do better than end my already too extensive preamble.

"Now being Thus far _ready_ for _Exercise_, attempt the _Striking of
your Strings_; but before you do _That_, Arm yourself with
Preparative _Resolutions to gain a
Handsome--Smooth--Sweet--Smart--Clear--Stroak_; or else Play not at
all."




CONTENTS.


PART I.
_The History of the Bow_.

CHAPTER I.                                                       PAGE
ORIGIN OF INSTRUMENTS. FRICTIONAL VIBRATION. THE BOW DISTINCT
FROM THE PLECTRUM. THE TRIGONON. BOWING WITH VARIOUS OBJECTS..    1

CHAPTER II.
ORIENTAL ORIGIN OF THE BOW. INDIAN, CHINESE AND OTHER EASTERN
BOWED INSTRUMENTS .......................    7

CHAPTER III.
THE CRWTH. FLEMING'S "ETRUSCAN RAVANASTRON." THE MEDIAEVAL BOW.
UNRELIABILITY OF EARLY DRAWINGS AND SCULPTURES.........   14

CHAPTER IV.
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE MODERN BOW. ORNAMENTATION. A POSSIBLE
STRADIVARI BOW. THE MOVABLE NUT. THE CREMAILLERE. THE SCREW NUT    23

CHAPTER V.
VUILLAUME'S FACTS. THE FERRULE AND SLIDE. JOHN DODD ......   31

CHAPTER VI.
DR. SELLE'S RECOLLECTIONS OF DODD. HIS WORK AND POVERTY. DODD
AND TOURTE. THE CALCULATION OF F