cello bow
W.E. Hill & Sons
built in London
A cello bow, made in the workshop of W.E. Hill & Sons, London. Round shaft, silver end plate. Serial number J 26.
History of this instrument
In 1994, The Netherlands Musical Instrument Foundation received a collection of cellos and cello bows on loan from Julius Röntgen, a relative of the composer Julius Röntgen and Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, the discoverer of the rays named after him. This Hill & Sons cello bow is also part of that collection. You can read more about the Röntgen family here.
The first player to use this bow was Job ter Haar. Sven Weyens, Sarah Wijzenbeek, Gonçalo Silva, Pieter de Koe, and Thomas Larichelière-Banken have also played this English bow. Hadewych van Gent also played the bow for some time.
Sometimes, details that are almost invisible to the untrained eye serve as important clues for experts to determine the authenticity of an instrument or bow. On bows from the workshop of W.E. Hill & Sons—where many makers worked—all sorts of mysterious markings can be found that may reveal something about who built the bow. A number, dot, letter, or notch beneath the ferrule or the tip—visible only after disassembly—reveals hidden information. The engraved letter J may indicate a batch of pernambuco wood rods. 26 is the serial number. The J on the ferrule indicates that the ferrule belongs to this batch.
About the builder W.E. Hill & Sons
In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, William Ebsworth Hill and his sons were England’s preeminent violin makers. With their unparalleled knowledge and experience, they set a new standard in British violin making. W.E. Hill began...