A Beautiful English Gold Mounted Violin Bow By Malcolm Taylor

Malcolm Taylor (1933-2012) was an artisanal bowmaker known for his refined and sometimes elaborately decorated work in the style of his colleagues and mentors at the W.E. Hill & Sons workshop. Considered to be one of their last great achetiers, Malcolm Taylor first entered the employ of the fabled English firm at the age of 16, but enlisted in the Royal Army Corps to serve in the Korean War just three years later. He returned in 1956 and resumed refining his skills under Arthur Copley before eventually becoming the foreman of the workshop and training the later generation of Hill makers, including John Clutterbuck, Brian Alvey, and others. From 1949-1973, the tip facing of his Hill bows are identifiable but the numeral, 8. Afterwards, he operated independently out of Barnstable, in Devon, where he branded bows with his name, and also “England.”

This fine, highly characteristic example of Malcom Taylors later work is branded accordingly and features whalebone lapping with gold mounts. The frog, running along a track, a system popularized by the Hill shop and originally inspired from the early achetiers of the Vuillaume shop in Paris, France. It demonstrates strength and finesse, providing a level of performance that readily exemplifies why both Malcolm Taylor, and the Hill bows in general are so widely desired.