VUILLAUME'S FACTS--THE FERRULE AND SLIDE--JOHN DODD.
Another example of bow, remarkable not only for its ornamentation,
but also as having a well defined _cambre_ together with a nut and
screw, is Fig. 30.
[Illustration: FIG. 30.]
This is a Cremonese bow of the seventeenth century. It is fluted in
alternate sections, or panels, the lower third having a slight extra
complication of the design "thrown in." Truly these grand old
craftsmen were not afraid of work. The screw-nut is as perfect as one
could wish, saving, only, in the meagre allowance of hair provided
for.
These early bows with screw-nuts quite dispel the generally accepted
theory that this mechanical contrivance for regulating the tension
and preserving the elasticity of the stick was the invention of the
elder Tourte. The majority of writers on the history of the violin,
and, incidentally, the bow, are content to take their data from that
much quoted historian and scientist, Fetis. He appears to have made
most of his more important statements on the authority of Vuillaume.
How Vuillaume became so versed in the history of his craft does not
appear. His talent in the way of producing "genuine" Cremonese and
other masterpieces is well known, the most stupendous example being
the Duiffoprugcar instruments with which he imposed on the violin
world so successfully. May we infer that he had equal facility in the
fabrication of historical "facts"? _De mortuis nil nisi bonum_, but
at all cost our history must be made accurate. Better no facts at all
than spurious ones.
Having disposed of the screw attachment, the next important points in
the development of the bow is the ferrule, which preserves the
ribbon-like appearance of the hair, and the slide, which serves as an
ornamental cover for the mortice in which the hair is fixed. These
additions are commonly attributed to Francois Tourte, but in Fig. 31
I give a drawing of a typical nut by John Dodd, having both these
improvements.
[Illustration: FIG. 31.]
Dodd and Tourte were contemporaries, Tourte's birth having taken
place only five years before that of Dodd in 1752. When I come to
speak more particularly of Tourte I shall show my reasons for
thinking it unlikely that Dodd copied Tourte in this respect. The
whole matter is shrouded in mystery. In other branches of science,
art, etc., we find brilliant thinkers arriving simultaneously at
identical results,[1] and I can quite believe that the idea of the
ferrule and slide (obvious contrivances when one considers the
requirements of a good bow) could have occurred to more than one of
the workers then striving after perfection.
[Footnote 1: As a noteworthy example, take the simultaneous discovery
by deduction of the invisible planet Neptune, by Adams and
Leverrier.]
The characteristic feature I wish to call attention to in the heel
shown above (Fig. 31) is the great size of the slide in proportion to
the whole lower surface of the nut. It leaves such a very small
margin compared with that of other makers. This will be found in
nearly every genuine specimen. Unfortunately nuts wear out and become
replaced with new ones, so that it is not always possible to obtain a
bow that is original in all its parts. Dodd occasionally decorated
the face of his bows with mother-of-pearl, as in the example shown in
Fig. 31. He invariably stamped the name DODD in large, plain letters
both on the side of the nut and on the stick. I have seen some that
are stamped J. Dodd, but not many. Fig. 32 shows (actual size) a very
early Dodd head, than which nothing, I think, could be more
distressingly ugly. It is remarkable that such a caricature should
have emanated from the same man who produced those shown in Plates
III. and IV. Plate III. consists of photographs (actual size) of two
violin bows, and one tenor bow, Plate IV. giving one tenor bow and
one 'cello bow by this maker. It would be quite impossible to give
representations of all Dodd's characteristics, as his work varies so
very much. I have therefore chosen a few only of the best types.
These are all exceptionally well finished. In the second and third is
to be seen the tendency to arch in the neck of the bow so frequent in
Dodds; in the others the sweep of the stick up to the head is
perfect. His 'cello bows are his best work, and compare favourably
with the greatest Continental makers. The one I have selected is of
the finest period. The first of the two tenor bows (third on Plate
III.) is the type of head most frequently seen, some have the head
drawn backward at a very ungainly angle, and others, again, slope
forwards, to an extent greater even than that of the 'cello bow in
Plate IV.
[Illustration: FIG. 32.]
[Illustration: PLATE III.]
[Illustration: PLATE IV.]
Owing to the extreme elegance of Dodd's bows, and the beautiful
workmanship of his finest specimens, he has been dubbed the "English
Tourte," and amongst the majority of English amateurs the name of
Dodd is held in the highest possible estimation. But as a matter of
fact very few Dodd bows are worthy of this regard. His best bows,
such as he sold for a pound or thirty shillings, are fine, although
few of the violin bows are such as an artist would make much use of.
The slenderness is frequently carried to excess, and the narrowness
of the head prevents a sufficient "spread" being given to the hair in
many cases, and a great number are much too short.
It must be remembered that Dodd worked before foreign importation
annihilated the English violin and bow making industries, and he
turned out a large number of bows at prices ranging from a few
shillings a dozen upwards. Thus it will be readily understood that
there are many genuine Dodds in existence that are not worth looking
at. His tenor bows are often excellent, and, as I said above, his
'cello bows represent him the best.