A Silver Mounted Cello Bow by Gunter A. Paulus

Günter Paulus (1949-2006) was born into a dynasty of bow makers in 1949, the year before his father Johannes Otto Paulus (1916-?) completed his apprenticeship with Adolf C. Schuster, for whom he had worked for a number of years. Günter’s grandfather, Otto Paulus established the family workshop in 1923 and set the precedent for father training son; Günter studied under his father, Johannes until 1973, when he opened his own atelier in Markneukirchen. He became an important figure in his community, serving as the head of the bow makers guild and directing the bow making department at the Markneukirchen Technical School.

This expertly crafted pernambuco cello bow features the maker’s brand stamp on the player side of the handle, as well as the family crest to face of the frog. The ‘***’ on both sides of the brand stamp denotes this specimen as among the finest of examples and represents a grading system used by many Markneukirchen makers. Silver mounted, with three piece button, matching lapping, leather thumb grip, and an ivory tip facing. Strong, consistent, producing an abundance of overtones, with a luscious legato and a nimble, balanced weight of 79.6 grams; an ideal choice for a player looking for a good bow at a modest price point.