Vuillaume, or Martin?

[Violinnut]

A bow by Vuillaume or is it by Martin for Vuillaume? 

[Blank face]

Or a Martin for Thibouville Lamy.

There seems to be a very worn out (or deliberately scratched out) brand, but I can't tell how it reads.

[Violinnut]

1 hour ago, Blank face said:

Or a Martin for Thibouville Lamy.

There seems to be a very worn out (or deliberately scratched out) brand, but I can't tell how it reads.

Quite wornned out, it says Vuillaume a paris. Barely readable. It was not scached out, just worn out from been played. 

[Blank face]

It has no Vuillaume slide, though sometimes this seems to be possible. OTOH Vuillaume is one of the most imitated brands at bows. Other members here might know more.

[Violinnut]

On 9/18/2025 at 8:01 PM, Blank face said:

It has no Vuillaume slide, though sometimes this seems to be possible. OTOH Vuillaume is one of the most imitated brands at bows. Other members here might know more.

Thanks, when and if I get a chance I might take it to an expert around here.

[Brad Dorsey]

On 9/18/2025 at 2:01 PM, Blank face said:

It has no Vuillaume slide...

What slide is it lacking?  If you mean the pearl slide -- that side of the frog is not shown, so it's impossible to tell if it has one or not.  If you mean the frog's metal underslide at the stick-mounting surface -- it appears to have one.  Perhaps, by "Vuillaume slide," you mean something else.

It's unfortunate that the frog's thumb projection has been carved away.

[Richf]

Blank Face is referring to the rounded “track” on this bow:  

I thought the term “Vuillaume slide” for that feature was common.

[Blank face]

1 hour ago, Richf said:

Blank Face is referring to the rounded “track” on this bow:  

I thought the term “Vuillaume slide” for that feature was common.

Yes, it’s both the rounded metal slide and the matching counterpart at the stick. I thought that earlier bows by the Vuillaume shop are missing it, but the later should have it.

Hard to tell about the frog, how it might have looked like at the beginning. Actually it has more the appearance of a sort of Bazin or the like.

[Violinnut]

17 hours ago, Brad Dorsey said:

 

It's unfortunate that the frog's thumb projection has been carved away.

I am not so sure that it was carved, I thought more like it was used down by years of professional playing. I will take a good look next time I have the bow in my hands.

[fiddlecollector]

3 hours ago, Violinnut said:

I am not so sure that it was carved, I thought more like it was used down by years of professional playing. I will take a good look next time I have the bow in my hands.

Looks filed down which was a common practice ,very frowned upon. You can tell by how even the wear isonboth sides on the thumb projection.

Im not sure its a Martin but he was the only one that seemed to make frogs with a mixture of Vuillaume type styles. You see them with a Vuillaume style frog with a normal seating like yours , also  a half round Vuillaume type underslide seating with a normal frog and of course with both.

I have one with a half round seating and the rest normal at the moment.

I think these variations are mainly from after he left the Vuillaume shop but not certain.

The head on your bow looks quite nice.

The camber on your stick looks like the later style more Voirin,Lamy .sartory style so if its Martin it would be 1880-1900 or thereabouts. Cant exxplain the Vuillaume stamp  so may be slightly earlier or added later or its a well made copy by someone else. It does look French though.

 

[Violinnut]

Thanks @fiddlecollector, very clear explanation. This really makes me curious to learn more. Not only about this bow.