Violin Bow by Thomas Gray, London, c.1970

This is a lovely English Thomas Gray violin bow. The bow is silver-mounted and octagonal, with a length of 747mm and a weight of 61.9g. The handle is stamped “THos GRAY (LONDON)”

According to a source – Thomas Gray (c.1910-1990) for the first part of his life was a professional violinist. He moved to the USA to play in East Coast orchestras. The source says he was possibly helped in learning bowmaking by a leading bowmaker of that time, Paul Siefried. His English bow production started c.1970 as this was when he returned to the UK. His bows were sold by personal recommendation, having not been involved with dealers.

Thomas was influenced by the esteemed English maker James Tubbs, which you can see in the frog’s silverwork. This frog in particular also shows stylistic similarities to Vuillaume and Hill bows, due to it’s rounded profile and the way the frog carefully sits into the handle. Very nice pernambuco has been used for this bow, and I’m quite a fan of the head shaping and the clean octagonal facets of the stick.

The bow is in excellent condition, having been well-looked after by a professional musician over a few decades. There are no repairs. The frog has been given a new silver winding and thumb leather.

Information for Thomas Gray here
View more bows for sale here