Pierre Simon

Life and Career

Most practitioners of the arts and sciences have become famous for being innovative or otherwise of exceptional significance to their field, and only rarely for having consistently maintained a high level of work over a long period of time. Pierre Simon belongs to the latter category. Pierre Simon is hardly ever mentioned in lists of famous instrument makers. It is to his credit that he left behind a large number of exquisite bows.

In 1808, the year he was born, his hometown of Mirecourt had a population of about four thousand, a large portion of whom were involved in violin making in one way or another. They worked at home or in one of the two hundred workshops where instruments were made. The crafting of bows was part of that.

Pierre Simon was the eldest son of Charles Simon and Marguerite Caye. Together with his brother, he likely began his training as a bow maker at one of those many workshops around the age of ten. It was a trade recommended for boys who were thought to be too restless to build a violin. Raffin (2000) believes that Pierre Simon must have been a somewhat wild young man. He sees the fact that Pierre was jailed for rowdy drunkenness and disturbing the peace at night as confirmation of this.

Around 1838, Pierre Simon went to Paris. That was the city where the violin makers and bow makers from Mirecourt sold their work or went to work themselves. In Paris, Pierre joined forces with his fellow townsman Dominique Peccatte (1810–1874), who was two years his junior. Peccatte had just taken over the business of the legendary violin maker François Lupot (1774–1838), who had died in 1838. Dominique was exceptionally gifted but, like Pierre, too restless for violin making. He came from a well-to-do family and had been able to afford a renowned teacher, Joseph Pierre Marie Persoit; Pierre Simon was presumably just as talented, though his path of learning had been different. Their collaboration lasted two years. After that, in 1840, Pierre went to work for Jean Baptiste Vuillaume (1798–1875).

Jean Baptiste Vuillaume was by far the greatest and most inventive instrument maker in Paris. While working for him, Pierre made countless bows in his employer’s style. Vuillaume also entrusted him with building a new type of bow—bows featuring an ingenious mechanism that made it easy to refur the bow. Vuillaume’s workshop was a rich source of new innovations and major challenges in the field of violin making. Vuillaume enjoyed inspiring and challenging those who worked with him. For Pierre Simon, his time in Vuillaume’s thriving workshop served as advanced training at the highest level.

In 1844, Pierre Simon started his own business. He opened a workshop on Rue Croix des Petits Champs, a well-known street in Paris where many renowned violin makers were based. He didn’t stay there long. After two years, he moved again, but remained in the neighborhood.

Dominique Peccatte had made bows not only for himself but also for Vuillaume. In 1847, Dominique returned to Mirecourt to do what he loved most: tending the family vineyards. He handed over his business in Paris to Pierre Simon. This meant that Pierre found himself in the former workshop of one of France’s most legendary violin makers and bow makers: François Lupot. He even gained his former employer, Vuillaume, as a client.

Pierre Simon did not remain on his own for long; in 1848, he took on Joseph Henry. Raffin (2000) describes it as an unfortunate partnership that lasted only three years. Joseph Henry and Pierre Simon made bows together, but Pierre put his name on them. After three years, in 1851, the two makers went their separate ways. Pierre set up shop on Rue Saint-Honoré.

He would not stay there long either. A year after opening his last shop, he, too, returned to Mirecourt. No information can be found about his address or his employees during that period. Only his bows provide a clue. Previously, he had stamped his work with “Simon Paris,” but after 1855 he used only his last name, omitting “Paris.” It wasn’t until 1870 that he resumed using his original stamp, this time with “Paris” added. However, he was not yet registered in Paris at that time; it was not until 1878 that he reappeared in the Paris archives. His business address was Rue Saint-Denis, but he lived in Neuilly-sur-Marne. He died there in 1881.

Pierre Simon was not an innovator, but he did leave behind a large body of work consisting of exceptionally fine bows. These are now highly sought after.

Work and Influence

Pierre Simon's earliest bows still show a strong influence from Dominique Peccatte. According to Raffin (2000), they are not always distinguishable from one another.

For Vuillaume, he made bows in Vuillaume’s style, sometimes featuring a micro-photo of his boss, hidden in the ferrule and visible only through the “eye” on the side, which acted as a magnifying glass. He also made bows that could be ingeniously rehaired.

Although he made all sorts of minor changes to his models over the years, they remained largely in the Peccatte style.

Around 1850, very luxurious models appeared with gold or silver floral decorations on the frogs. These were usually made of tortoiseshell and sometimes of ivory. These bows were often made by Joseph Henry, but later also by Pierre Simon himself. Most were commissioned by the firm Gand frères in Paris, one of the most prestigious trading houses. Even after leaving Paris, he continued to supply bows to this firm, but none of them featured the floral motifs anymore.

Over the past ten years, his work has become somewhat more robust, but his style remains unchanged. He signs them simply as “Simon,” but after his return to Paris, he began signing them “Simon Paris” again.

Considering the large number of moves he made—which seem to indicate a turbulent life—his body of work is of a remarkably high and consistent standard.

Pierre Simon made bows for Vuillaume, Gand, Gand frères, Gand & Bernardel, and Chanot. As far as is known, he had no other students or employees besides Joseph Henry.

The bow in the Musical Instrument Fund’s collection is a fine example of the work Pierre Simon produced after leaving Paris. He made this cello bow around 1855 for Jean Baptiste Vuillaume, whose brand mark is stamped on the bow. “A fine specimen by a great French master,” says Raffin of this bow.

Sources

Henley W., 1959 Universal Dictionary of Violin and Bow Makers. Amati Publications. London.

Vatelot, E., 1976, *Les Archets Français*. Nancy.

Millant, R., 1979, J-B Vuillaume: His Life and Work. Hill & Sons, London.

Childs P., 1986, The bow makers of the Peccatte family, New York.

Cité de la Musique/Musée de la Musique, Violins, Vuillaume, a 19th-Century French Master Luthier, 1998, Paris.

Millant, B., Raffin, J.F., 2000, *L'Archet: French Bowmakers, 1750–1950*. Paris.

Carlson B., Schmitt J. F., Moroder I., Leonhard F., 2007, Italian & French Violin Makers, Keulen.

Thöne J, 2008, Italian & French Violin Makers, Dubai.

Archives Nationales de France, accessed in 2020.

Tarisio, Cozio Digital Archive, accessed in 2020.