Double Bass German bows

[Mr Ralph]

Can Anyone tell me anything about these bows. I am helping a friend clean out his shop. They are probably at least 20 yrs old. They are all stamped Germany.
They are 29 1/2” long. They weigh from 127 Grams to 147Grams. They all have similar marking under the frog on the stick. Some look new some do not. All the pads or thumb leather are actually leather and look unused.
Fair sale prices? I can take more pictures if needed.

 

[LouisF]

They all look like good school workshop bows; can you friend say if they are Brazilwood or Pernambucco? That would make a difference in the price. Depending on the would, I would guess (emph. guess!) $200-500 range.

 

[Mr Ralph]

I will check with him. Do the markings on the stick under the frog mean anything?
Thanks for responding.

 

[Mr Ralph]

There is one octagon stick not pictured that is Brazil Wood. He believes the rest are Pernambucco.
He said the markings on the stick match the markings on the underside of the frog. That way the guy who made the bows and fit the frogs knew which bow went with which frog.

 

[LouisF]

That makes sense.

 

[bengreen]

The topic comes up on maestronet occasionally.

Here's a link to one discussion (relating to all bows, not specifically bass):

Roman numeral on workshop bow

Some interesting quotes:

"I remember reading in Klaus Grunke's book on German Bowmaking that in one year, I think 1870, Markneukirchen produced 36,000 dozen bows!!!!! That's 432,000 bows in a year!!!! Only 1,500 dozen were pernambuco. The others were Brazilwood, Snakewood and Beech."

"It's interesting that Bruce quotes German factory output in terms of dozens because one rarely sees a factory stick with a Roman number greater than XX1111 or XX1V suggesting that the unit of production was either a dozen or two dozen."

 

[Mr Ralph]

Thanks, interesting, so I would be safe to say these came out of a shop in Germany, could not tell the size of the shop but they are certainly not made in China and finished in Germany. No way to truly verify the type of wood
but they are probably a quality Bow. I know they are over 30yrs old, need a re hair and I do not think most were ever used. Does. $225 per bow seem like a fair price? Most have a retail price written in pencil on the tip of $650 or higher.