The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Bow, Its History, Manufacture and Use, by
Henry Saint-George

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Title: The Bow, Its History, Manufacture and Use
'The Strad' Library, No. III.

Author: Henry Saint-George

Release Date: June 13, 2009 [EBook #29112]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BOW, ITS HISTORY ***

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 goo