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Making Matters: Examining a rare James Dodd II bow

2026-06-12T08:40:00

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Philip Kass looks at a rare 1839 bow that exhibits all the hallmarks and idiosyncrasies of its maker, James Dodd II

In February 2001 The Strad published an essay I wrote regarding an early performance competition in London, one of the earliest such events documented in England. It took place at the Argyll Rooms on 6 July 1839, and The Times described it thus: ‘A contest, common in France, but rare in this country, took place on Saturday morning at the Argyll-rooms. Messrs Purday and Fendt had offered a violin, and Mr Dodd a bow, both made for the occasion, as prizes to the best and second best players of a concerto on the violin.’…

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