Violin Bow by W. E. Hill (Arthur John Barnes), London - Tortoise Shell Frog

The London-based firm W.E. Hill & Sons dominated the fine instrument and bow market in the late 19th – early 20th centuries. Its far-sighted approach to restoration preserved many important classical Italian instruments and the Hill name became a byword for expertise. The Hill workshop also employed many fine makers in the manufacture of instruments and cases, but their speciality was bows. Among the firm’s most celebrated bow makers are James Tubbs, Samuel Allen, William Charles Retford and Albert Leeson. Alfred Hill instituted an established style for the firm’s bows based on the Tourte violin bow and Voirin cello bow, uniting individual makers’ work into a distinctly British product of uniformly high quality.