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This bow has been used so extensively that the stamp has been worn away almost completely but it is unmistakeably from the firm of W.E. Hill & Sons. It no longer has its original silver tip slide which means the identifier of the original maker is lost. However this bow is almost beyond doubt the work of William Charles Retford (1875-1970) who is regarded by many as probably the greatest bow craftsman of his time. This bow's frog is fitted according to a French 'rebated' system in which the frog slides in two rebates in the stick, thereby eliminating any rolling across the stick. Of the early Hill bow makers Retford was the only one who systematically used this system in his bows. Retford was a careful student of French bow making and largely worked to establishing the definitive profile of the Hill bow.
This bow shows signs of much use and with reason - it is arguably one of the very best bows I've ever played with. It has outstanding balance and weight distribution, while delivering effortless articulation and spiccato. Interestingly this bow was in high professional use until a few years ago and rightly so. It was previously the property of the great concert violinist, Arthur Grumiaux (1921-1986) who was also a violin teacher in Brussels. He gifted this bow to one of his students who used it as principle bow for the rest of his life.
This bow's outstanding properties sets it in its class of its own as one of those fabulous bows that makes difficult passages easy. It should be in the hands of an outstanding and serious player looking for an excellent career bow.
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The Stick :
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Octagonal pernambuco
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The Nut :
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Ebony with parisian eye
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Lapping :
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Silver lapping. Black leather thumbpad, recent.
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Condition :
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Superb condition
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