This is a very fine and rare ivory-mounted bow by Auguste Husson, a Parisian maker of the early 20th century. It’s in excellent condition and is a top class player.
Mars Auguste Husson spent most of his working life making for André Vigneron, and his work is indistinguishable from Vigneron’s – except for bows made during the last years of his life such as this one which carry his brand. Ivory mounts are always a sign of extra quality, and they tend to go with better qualities of pernambuco. In this case the stick is of round section light brown pernambuco with a beautiful speckled translucency. Mounts are silver and ivory, the plain frog with its highly ornamental pearl slide making a very strong impression. The condition is outstanding – I know I seem to say this most of the time, but that’s because we are increasingly rigorous about condition issues, and prefer to offer bows that are problem-free.
I loved this bow from the first stroke – it’s very responsive, the stick dense but not too thick, and the tone is very big but still clean and airy. It’s a bow which seems to be slightly further ahead than I am in its understanding of the music, and it’s a real joy to have such a willing partner. The stick has the easiest and most controllable staccato I’ve come across recently, and it would be great for a section player who needs accuracy at low dynamics. Ideal weight and balance, very good-looking, just a great bow! What a pity that we don’t have more bows by this maker …
