Violin bow

In 1875, the Szczecin luthier and trumpet maker August Geipel (18..-1916) launched his workshop and instrument depot in Szczecin, at Grosse Wollweberstrasse 25 (now ul. Tkacka). After his death in 1916, the workshop passed into the hands of August's three sons and at the same time apprentices: Georg, Edmund and Alwin, who managed the company until 1945. August Geipel was primarily an expert in making brass instruments, but his studio also manufactured stringed instruments. The collection of the National Museum in Szczecin features a violin made at Geipel's workshop around 1900. Together with the violin, the collection includes a protective cloth cover with an embroidered trademark in the form of a lyre with floral ornamentation, as well as the featured bow, which is the only item in the set to be unsigned by the maker, although the quality of the materials used in its construction does not fall short of the strictest standards. The bows, which elicit string vibrations from many instruments, combine a stick made of durable precious woods such as Pernambuco or Wenge, a pad, hair and a frog. Degreased hair from a horse's tail is used as hair, although nowadays synthetic fibres are also widely found. To increase its grip on the strings, it is lubricated with rosin, a soft resin of natural origin. The frogs, on the other hand, are made of good quality wood such as ebony or another durable material, such as ivory, or - as is the case today - plastic. Małgorzata Peszko