Bone Violin Bow
date: label: date made
content: ca 1944
name: label: maker
content: Bone, A. R.
notes: label: Description
content: <p>This bow was made by Arnold R. Bone in Framingham, Massachusetts, about 1944. It is a violin bow, with a Pernambuco stick, German made ebony frog with pearl eyes, ebony button with 2 nickel silver rings.</p>
label: Description
content: <p>The story goes, this bow was possibly the first bow Bone made which he showed to Ouchard and Wurlitzer in New York. Ouchard commented that the bow was a cheap German bow since it had a German-made frog. After that meeting, Bone started making his own frogs.</p>
label: Description
content: <p>Arnold R. Bone (July 26, 1913 - August 9, 2001) was an engineer, inventor, gunsmith, string instrument bowmaker. He grew up in South Ryegate, Vermont, and graduated from Wentworth Institute in 1935. After graduation, Bone worked at Irwin Auger Bit Company in Wilmington, Ohio before returning to Wentworth to teach Navy machinist mates during World War II until 1944. The final part of his career, Bone worked at Dennison Mfg. Company in Framingham (now Avery Dennison) when he retired in 2000.</p>
label: Description
content: <p>Arnold R. Bone held numerous patents at Dennison, including several for the Swiftacher, the device for attaching tags to clothing with a nylon filament. His ubiquitous fasteners are still used today. Bone applied his engineering and master craftsman skills to making string instrument bows, and also became one of the world's most respected experts on repair and restoration of fine bows. His customers ranged from young students to members of professional ensembles such as the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and bows were shipped to him from all over the world.</p>
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Massachusetts, Framingham
setName: label: See more items in
content: Culture and the Arts: Musical Instruments
label: See more items in
content: Music & Musical Instruments
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Leona M. Bone Trust
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2002.0167.04
label: accession number
content: 2002.0167
label: catalog number
content: 2002.0167.04
objectType: label: Object Name
content: bow
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: pernambuco (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: ebony (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: nickel silver (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: horsehair (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 5/8 in x 29 3/8 in x 1 1/8 in; 1.5875 cm x 74.6125 cm x 2.8575 cm