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Harold Ketèlbey was a formost English concert violinist who toured and performed extensively during the first part of the 20th century. He was born in 1883 and was the brother of the composer Albert Ketèlbey. Harold Ketèlbey studied violin in Prague under Prof. Sevcik and after that in Berlin under Joseph Joachim (1831 - 1907).
This was Ketèlbey's main concert bow which he used for all his performances during the early 20th century. In about 1951 he gave this bow to a student of his on the student's 21st birthday and the bow remained in concert use for many decades after that. It suffered a fracture to the head which was repaired, probably by the Dutch violin maker, J. J. van de Geest. Albeit conspicuous, he repair is secure.
The bow maker Edwin August Präger (1875 - 1956) was born in Schönlind and spent a lifetime working initially in Markneukirchen, then in Leipzig - where he worked for Bausch - and later returning to Markneukirchen where he founded his own workshop. He extensively copied the work of Tubbs, Tourte and Bausch and mounted his bows in silver, gold and tortoiseshell. John Dilworth refers to Präger's bows as 'High quality hand work.'
This bow bears the maker's known brand - AUG. EDWIN PRAGER.
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The Stick :
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Very good pernambuco
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The Nut :
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Ebony with a simple eye. A three-ring adjuster. All probably later.
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Mountings :
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Nickel-silver
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Lapping :
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Silver wire lapping with a black leather thumbpad.
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Condition :
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This bow was used extensively and in recent times required considerable restoration. The tip had been fractured and repaired solidly long ago, but it's not known who did the repair. Also, considering the bow's age and use it's unlikely that the frog and adjuster are the originals.
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Provenance :
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This was Harold Ketèlbey's principal concert bow used during all his international tours. It's now the property of Johan Grobbelaar
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