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Ref : 1100
A good English violin bow by
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Edgar Bishop (1904 - 1943) was one half of what came to be known as the Gold Squad that made bows for W. E. Hill & Sons during the 1920s and 30s. The other half was Albert Leeson (1904 - 1946). The two began very young, just after the First World War and together they were William Retford's favourite pupils. They worked on extremely demanding projects and were the first bowmakers to implement the beautiful golden 'fleur de lys' in the Hill bows. It can arguably be said that they were the finest bow makers who worked for Hill at that time, if not ever - as many believe. There is a peculiar twist in this story in that both members of this Gold Squad died very young - Bishop died in 1943 at the age of 39 and Albert Leeson died three years later, in 1946, at the age of 42 when he was knocked down by a bus in London. Owning a bow made by either Bishop or a Leeson today is not only a privilege, but is akin to owning a piece of bowmaking history. A stamp in the shaft at the adjuster mortise indicates that this bow was made in 1928, when Bishop was 24. The superb pernambuco stick is cut round, is impeccably straight and has perfect camber. The simple ebony frog is silver-mounted and the adjuster button of solid silver. The lapping is of silver wire and the thumbpad of black ostrich shin leather, recent. In this bow Bishop chose to fit the frog through a French slide system in which there is no metal underslide, but where the two edges of the frog slide in two rebated grooves in the shaft, making for a tidy fit and a perfectly solid frog which doesn't 'roll' from side to side around the stick. Needless to say, as one would expect from a bow by Bishop, this bow has outstanding playing properties. It is beautifully balanced, articulates well in the détaché-type strokes and allows for superb spiccato. This is a very good bow by all standards.
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