Soundpost: Letters to the Editor June 2020

LIKE FATHER, LIKE DAUGHTER?

The article on the bows of the Ouchard family (‘Like fathers, like sons’, December 2019) reminded me of a bow I came across a few years ago (above) that gives the lie to that headline. Although it shows features of the Mirecourt workshop of Ouchard c.1930-40. there are unusual stylistic features and it bears an unknown brand: MDLE OUCHARD À PARIS.

The model of the head, with its square back, follows the style of Émile François, possibly in collaboration with his son Émile Auguste (E.A.). The pernambuco resembles the father’s choice: rather open-structured but strong. The frog shows signs of collaboration (or early E.A.) but is fixed on the bow in the Hill manner. Only E.A. uses the Hill underslide, but in those cases he also uses a different model for the head, and uses screws for fixing the liner. In this bow there are pins.