violin bow

This bow was donated to the Musical Instrument Fund in 2025 by a private individual who had already loaned it to the fund nearly 20 years earlier. The bow had belonged to his uncle, Max Karp (1906–1944), who was a professional violinist in the 1930s. He played in ensembles that were popular at the time. In addition to the violin, he also played the trumpet, but the violin was his primary instrument, as evidenced by an advertisement in the June 1936 issue of the magazine *Jazzwereld*, in which he advertised himself as a “stehgeiger.” At the age of 37, he perished in Auschwitz on January 31, 1944. Family accounts indicate that he was always practicing. His skill level must have been quite high, as the sheet music he left behind includes pieces such as Hubay’s “Hejr Kati,” Sarasate’s “Zigeunerweisen,” Paganini’s 24 Caprices with fingerings, and much more. In the early 1950s, his violin and bow came into the possession of his nephew, when the latter began taking violin lessons from Jeanne Vos and later from her husband, Bouw Lemkes. He stopped playing the violin in the mid-1960s. The history of this bow will hopefully add an extra dimension to this crucial component of a violinist’s instrument. Nasim de Haas-Allamehzadeh was the first violinist to play with this bow. Silke Kolfschoten currently owns the bow.