JA Lamy Violin Bow, Paris circa 1900

Here we have a beautiful JA Lamy violin bow in original condition – unpolished silver, original tinsel lapping, thumb leather and ivory face. Fresh as the day it was made, it’s a strong stick with a massive sound.

Joseph Alfred Lamy is the Poggi of bow makers, renowned for the almost superhuman perfection of this workmanship. We can see these features in this bow – the perfectly rounded throat of the frog with its finely bevelled faces and oh so slightly tapered pearl slide, the beautifully proportioned and crisp button, and of course the head, absolutely symmetrical, strong yet skeletal.

The stick is of strongly flamed orange pernambuco, mounts are silver and ebony. The condition is outstanding with no wear to the stick whatsoever – the only issue is a miniscule chip in the ebony of the frog on the bottom edge, audience side.

Although on paper the weight is under 58 grams, this is a strong and powerful bow – silver wire wasn’t used for lapping until the early 1930s, and all historic bows which are in original condition have silk lappings and tend to be top-heavy by today’s standards. With a fine silver wire lapping this bow would be over 60 grams, but it’s up to the next owner to decide whether to ‘modernise’ it or to keep it in this remarkable original condition.

That aside, this is a great bow – quite meaty graduations for a Lamy resulting in a medium-stiff stick with a gorgeous fat sound. The spring is lively but not too lively. Effortless staccato and a great kick to the start of the note.

A jewel of a bow!