A Viola Bow By John Bolander in Silver & Mahagonay, #403

John Alfred Bolander II (1892-1990) is remembered as the first American born achetier, a bow maker. Born to a musical family, he began his career in the trade repairing string instruments under the direction of his father when the family moved to San Francisco in 1915. He worked for H.C. Hanson, the Roehr Drum Shop, and P. Johnson before studying bow making with Alfred Lanini from 1943-1946. Though he established his own shop in 1946, he continued working closely with Lanini for a number of years.

By 1964, Bolander had made over 1000 bows and is credited with crafting over 3000 over the span of his career. His work is distinctive and easily recognizable by a number of characteristics. All his frogs are plain faced with no embellishments, with squared frogs for the viola bows, entirely hand made fittings and a personal hatchet-head design for the heads. Most of his bows featured locally sourced mountain mahogany for his frogs. However, he made a dozen each in ivory and tortoise shell, along with several dozen in ebony. Uniformly branded “Bolander.” He authored “Bow Making: 1000 Bows And A Tribute” and published a book, “Violin Bow Making” in 1969.

This viola bow is a historical example of early American bow making, branded with a serial number just forward of the silver lapping on the lower facet, and the maker’s stamp on the player side of the handle, “Bolander.” Hallmark hatchet style head, plain faced mountain mahogany frog, and matching 3-piece button, with a balanced weight of 66.3 grams. The stick is strong but active, nimble, and ideally suited for switch hitters or performer’s with more petite violas.