K. Reindahl Bow

[Yucca]

I came across a nice violin bow with the name K. Reindahl on it. No other markings that I can see. It weighs 58 grams. I had the grip rewound and new hair put on. My luthier said it was definately pernambuco. My question is if anyone knows anything about the maker. I don't know if it was Knut Reindahl or not. Please let me know if I need to post pics.

 

Thanks,

 

Mike

[GlennYorkPA]

I came across a nice violin bow with the name K. Reindahl on it. No other markings that I can see. It weighs 58 grams. I had the grip rewound and new hair put on. My luthier said it was definately pernambuco. My question is if anyone knows anything about the maker. I don't know if it was Knut Reindahl or not. Please let me know if I need to post pics.

 

Thanks,

 

Mike

 

Mike,

Our resident expert on Knute Reindahl is Ron Humphrey who runs the Reindahl registry.

I've never heard of Reindahl making bows but I have notified Ron of your post so let's see if he chips in with a comment. In any case, I'm sure I'm not the only one that would appreciate seeing pictures so please share.

Thanks

Glenn

[Brad Dorsey]

I had a bow stamped K REINDAHL a few years ago.  I can't imagine that it would have been made by anyone other than Knute.  He is pretty well known as a violin maker and wood carver but not as a bow maker, although he apparently did make a few.  Here's a website with a brief biography:

 

http://vanhise.lss.wisc.edu/nafmp/?q=knute_reindahl

[Ron1]

Knute Reindahl definitely made a number of violin bows- I don't know how many, but based on those I am aware of, I would guess maybe 50-100 or so. I have one that came with one of his violins; the violin is dated 1907. Mine & the others I've seen have an apparently original reddish-colored leather wrapping and, at least on mine, his K REINDAHL stamp is quite large. I'm clueless regarding bows (and most other subjects), but players that have tried this one have said it is a very good bow.

[Yucca]

Glenn, I would like to upload photos but can't figure out how. I see where there is an image button in the posting tools but it only allows pointing to a URL. My images are on my computer.

 

Mike

 

 

[Yucca]

Ron, Thanks for the info. The K REINDAHL stamp is also quite large om mine as well. I would like to upload pics but no luck yet. If anyone knows how???

 

Mike

[Ron1]

I think a certain minimum number of posts are required before a member is allowed to post pics.  I'll also try to get some decent pics of mine posted.

[Yucca]

I think a certain minimum number of posts are required before a member is allowed to post pics.  I'll also try to get some decent pics of mine posted.

I thought that might be the case.

 

Mike

[Ron1]

Here's some pics of my bow for comparison (I'd also appreciate any comments from the 'bow folks'.

[Brad Dorsey]

The head is neatly done and distinctively individualistic.  It does not conform to any standard bowmaking tradition.

 

I would guess that he made the silver-mounted frog.  I can't tell if it has a Hill-style mounting on the stick (sitting on three flat facets that close in narrower than the main facets of the butt) or a Vuillaume-style mounting (sitting on a rounded seat).  The top and bottom edges of the frog are noticably out-of-parrallel; i.e., the frog is higher off the stick at the ferrule than it is at the heel plate.

 

The button looks standard, so perhaps he bought it.

 

The stamp is the same as what I remember being on the bow that I had.

[Ron1]

Thanks much for the comments Brad.  It's nice to have that information from someone as familiar with bows as yourself.  Regarding the non-conformity- it's something that is evidenced in all of his work- admirable in some ways, but in others, may have proved to be detrimental.

[Jeff White]

Yucca, I think you have enough posts to put pics up (10).  Hit the "more reply options" button on the lower right and you will see "add images".  You can then find them on your computer and upload them.  jeff

[Yucca]

Photos at last! Here they are of my Reindahl bow.  Mike

 

[Yucca]

Here's some pics of my bow for comparison (I'd also appreciate any comments from the 'bow folks'.

Ron, there are differences between our bows. I noticed that the stamp on yours is "upside down". However the screws look almost identical. The frog is pretty well worn on mine. Your bow looks to be in quite good shape.

 

Mine came with a badly abused Czech fiddle that I traded a $45 amp for. The bow itself was in bad shape but my luthier told me it was well worth restoring and he was right. I guess I would wonder if mine is genuine, a copy/knock off, or maybe one that Reindahl had made by someone else to go with his violins?? Judging by the frog it seems to have some age on it.

 

Mike

[Yucca]

Yucca, I think you have enough posts to put pics up (10).  Hit the "more reply options" button on the lower right and you will see "add images".  You can then find them on your computer and upload them.  jeff

Thanks Jeff. Worked well. Next time I will compress them better though. They are pretty big.

 

Mike

[fiddlecollector]

The frog and button on Rons bow looks like a typical german vuillaume style frog ,i suspect he made the stick and fitted the frog button which he had bought from a supplier. Unusual head. The only bows i remember seeing with a flat instead of a ridge on the head  is Eury.Maybe he saw one and based it loosely on something like that.

I saw a Fetique a few years back with an unusual treatment to the head. As in the photo.

The OP`s bow looks like decent quality German- Knopf style ,a better looking bow altogether.

[GlennYorkPA]

The frog and button on Rons bow looks like a typical german vuillaume style frog ,i suspect he made the stick and fitted the frog button which he had bought from a supplier. Unusual head. The only bows i remember seeing with a flat instead of a ridge on the head  is Eury.Maybe he saw one and based it loosely on something like that.

I saw a Fetique a few years back with an unusual treatment to the head. As in the photo.

The OP`s bow looks like decent quality German- Knopf style ,a better looking bow altogether.

 

FC

Do you believe that scoop treatment to the head of the Fetique could possibly be original? It looks very odd and very unFrench.

By contrast, I could believe that the chamfer on the front of Ron's bow (also curious) was done by Reindahl because everything he did was quirky.

 

Ron, correct me if I'm wrong but am I correct in thinking KR never made the same item twice? All the violins seem different so maybe we shouldn't expect too much similarity between the OP's bow and Rons.

 

I must say that I like the brand stamp on the OP's bow better than Ron's 

 

Glenn

[Brad Dorsey]

Comparing the two bows:

 

Ron's head is strikingly individualistic.  Yucca's head looks a lot closer to some standard type of head, but still a little different.

 

Both frogs are out of parallel in that one end of the upper side of the frog is closer to the stick than the other end, but the direction of taper of the two frogs are opposite to each other.  The rounded top edge and the rounded heel end of Ron's frog make it more individualistic than Yucca's.  The thumb projection of Yucca's frog has been mostly carved away.

 

Yucca's button has the U-shaped German-style collar, while Ron's button has the sharply-incised double French-style collar.

[Will L]

I hope we can find out much more about Reindahl.  From the few pictures he seems to have been as masterful as he wanted to be.  Henley gave him a full page and raves about true genius.  That's often grounds for suspicion, of course.  But he made over 600 violins, violas, and 'cellos, yet in the auction guide (1980-1997) only one Reindahl lot was listed and it sold for a dismal $935.  What gives?  Was he just TOO individualistic or what?

 

I see there is a Reindahl violin listed at Ifshin in the $10,000-$20,000 range.

 

http://www.google.com/search?q=knute+reindahl+violin&client=safari&rls=en&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=eOiIUtDxO6KDiwLlwoG4Ag&ved=0CCsQsAQ&biw=1038&bih=710#imgdii=_

[Jeff White]

Will, aren't you in SF?  Sounds like a day trip and report back   jeff

[jacobsaunders]

Many violin makers of that period here bought their bows, either from a wholesaler like G. A. Pfretschner, or from a particular Markneukirchen workshop (eg. Voigt in Vienna from Nürnberger) and stamped them with their personal shop stamp, and subsequently sold them as their “in house” bow. Doesn’t it rather strech credibility to suppose anything else happened here?

[Will L]

Will, aren't you in SF?  Sounds like a day trip and report back   jeff

 

Hi Jeff,

Not close enough...but if it's still around in January.  I can't believe that in all my years of looking at violins I never saw one, or if I did no Reindahl instrument made an impression.  The picture of the one at Ifshin has a certain charm without looking great.  I'm wondering if Reindahl wasn't more known for his incredible carvings and inlays.

[Ron1]

Ron, there are differences between our bows. I noticed that the stamp on yours is "upside down". However the screws look almost identical. The frog is pretty well worn on mine. Your bow looks to be in quite good shape.

 

Mine came with a badly abused Czech fiddle that I traded a $45 amp for. The bow itself was in bad shape but my luthier told me it was well worth restoring and he was right. I guess I would wonder if mine is genuine, a copy/knock off, or maybe one that Reindahl had made by someone else to go with his violins?? Judging by the frog it seems to have some age on it.

 

Mike

Mike- Yes, definitely some differences.  Yours has the large stamp, which I mistakenly thought mine had too, but I was apparently remembering another one that I had seen.

[Yucca]

Mike- Yes, definitely some differences.  Yours has the large stamp, which I mistakenly thought mine had too, but I was apparently remembering another one that I had seen.

The good thing is that we both have good bows that may be fairly rare. I do know that mine is not for a heavy hand. It is very responsive. It scares me to remember how close I came to junking it! Thanks so much for posting the pics and the info.

 

Mike

[Ron1]

 

I'm wondering if Reindahl wasn't more known for his incredible carvings and inlays.

 

Will-  He garnered attention early with his carved heads and artistically adorned instruments, however these were actually a very small part of his out-put (about 12 or 15 instruments out of more than 600).  Because of his gregarious nature, he was quite successful in obtaining (as was & is common practice for makers) favorable reviews from well-known players and other prominent music-world figures- solicited, of course, but that's how it was & is done.  That said, there were a number of notables that did own and play his instruments, including Lenora Jackson, Ephraim Zimbalist, Prof. E.B. Gordon, Emile Sauret, Jaroslav Kocian, Frederick MacMurray, Franz von Vecsey, Fritz Kreisler, and a couple of others that don't come to mind at the moment.  In fairness, I should point out that the Sauret, Kocian, von Vecsey, & Kreisler instruments were gifts to the players.