French Violin bow by Morizot freres, silver mounted ebony

The five sons of prolific and successful Mirecourt bowmaker Louis Morizot père all trained with their father and worked in partnership. They each specialized in different types of bows or aspects of the bow making process, enabling them to produce an impressive number of bows with assembly-line efficiency. Louis Gabriel was responsible for bass bows and frogs, Marcel roughed out sticks, and Georges did the finishing. André Auguste dedicated himself to the highest quality gold and silver mounted models and the cambering of sticks, while Paul Charles concentrated on the frogs. The bows range in quality depending partly on the materials used. Output declined steadily after 1955 with the gradual departure of the brothers, and finally petered out in the 1970s. The workshop trained a number of great makers who bridged the transition between the traditional and contemporary French schools, including Jean-Jacques and Bernard Millant. Their stamp, like their father’s, reads “L. Morizot.”