A French Violin Bow From JTL Stamped, “CH. Buthod”

With a balanced weight of 61.5 grams, this fine French bow from the first half of the 20th century offers a decisive sound with the complexity of character that only heavier yet still supple bows deliver. Choice pernambuco selection, branded “C.H. Buthod,” a hallmark of higher quality bows from the firm of Jerome Thibouville Lamy. Featuring a Vuillaume system - a rounded track along which the frog is moved, with its original ivory faceplate and silk on silk lapping with lizard leather thumb grip. Altogether, quite easy to recommend, subjective to the most successful pairing with a particular instrument.

There are but a few firms who one might claim have contributed to and shaped our industry as much as that of JTL, a powerhouse of craftsmanship operating from 1857-1968, which produced as many as 150,000 instruments, bows, and other products yearly at its height and employed over 1000 craftsmen. Their extensive catalogue and collections serviced every niche of the classical music industry, ranging from commercial instruments a child might start their musical journey on to definitive works still honored and sought after today by performers and collectors alike, as well as everything you could imagine in between. The stick bears a brand stamp to the handle after Charles Louis Buthod, who worked with JTL from 1857 and managed the workshop as foreman for many years. Though it would be difficult to say exactly who made this violin bow, there is no argument that it caries the historical significance of both the JTL firm and the time honored traditions of French bowmaking, for which Mirecourt might as well be Mecca.