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

by Henry Saint-George

FIG. 27.	FIG. 28.

A great advance on this was the crémaillère (Fig. 29), which served to vary the tension of the hair in a more or less satisfactory manner. This device is still in use in Sweden.

FIG. 29.

The actual invention of the movable nut travelling on a propelling and withdrawing screw is attributed to the elder Tourte, but some of the bows in Mr. Hill's collection having this contrivance appear to be too remote for this to be the case. It is a point that I fear will always be shrouded in mystery.

PLATE. II.

In Plate II. we see a nearer approach to the outlines of the modern bow. These I should say are the work of W. Tubbs, who worked for most of the English fiddle makers and dealers. The first one bears the stamp of Norris and Barnes. This bow is 27⁷/8 in. in length, the other two being exactly one inch longer. The hair in the first and third is ¼ in. in width; in the centre one it is full ⁵/16 in. The handsome ivory nut of this bow is shown in Fig. 28. They are extremely elegant, and have much of the character of the modern bow in finish and cambre, though the deviation is again too low down.