History of Bow Making

Very little is known of the makers of the early baroque period, bow types were generally designated according to the players who used them i.e. The Cramer, Corelli, Tartini or Viotti.

The Tourte family with Viotti, and primarily Francois Tourte were responsible for the development of the early modern bow, while John Dodd in London produced similar bows.

With the arrival of bow makers such as Peccatte, bows, while looking similar to those of Francois Tourte can be heavier and stronger but do continue to retain the same camber shape.

Voirin (1833-1885) takes the next step and increases the camber of the stick, in particular, behind the head.

Sartory (1871-1946) later produces a more robust version of this style of bow.