Nikolaus Kittel
Nikolai Ferdinandovich Kittel (1805/6 - 18 April 1868) was a Russian violin and bow maker who is often still mistakenly considered as of German origin, and was known as the "Russian Tourte". According to the latest findings, his full name was Nikolai Ferdinandovich Kittel and that he was of Austrian origin as stated in his marriage certificate. Kittel always signed letters and invoices with the name Nikolai Kittel. In all German and French documents, he was named Nikolai, and not Nikolaus. Background. Kittel was an enigmatic figure (who worked in St. Petersburg 1825-1868). He is known to have  employed some of the leading makers, (as did his great Parisian contemporary Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume), including Russian, Vladimir Ivanoff, and German makers such as Heinrich Knopf (and Ludwig Bausch ?), to make his bows. In Czarist Russia, Kittel served as violinmaker to the court, making superb violins which were considered the best made in Russia, and produced bows of unsurpassed quality, often using beautiful highly flamed wood. The design of Kittel bows is also derived from an advanced Tourte model although this interpretation of Tourte is distinctly different from the French interpretations. His bows are rare and highly prized by soloists . Kittel bows are nearly always quite light and flexible. Despite their flexibility, Kittel bows have extremely quick playing characteristics alongside a unique beauty of tone. Kittel died on April 18, 1868 at the age of 63. His obituary stated: 'Thus, in the realm of the bow, the curtain was drawn on a career of memorable achievement'. "Henri Vieuxtemps preferred Kittel bows even to those of F.X. Tourte. Since then, Kittel's bows have been used by the greatest soloists, among them Henryk Wieniawski, Jascha Heifetz, Mischa Elman, Toscha Seidel, Leopold Auer, Isaac Stern, Paul Kochanski, Aaron Rosand, Erica Morini, Efrem  Zimbalist, Leonid Kogan, Yehudi Menuhin, and Vadim Repin. Kittel bows are extremely rare. In 1999, a gold and tortoiseshell-mounted violin bow made in St Petersburg in the mid 19th century by Kittel and from the Yehudi Menuhin Collection, fetched £51,000 (Sotheby's auction, London : £58,650 / US$94,837 with buyers premium) more than three times the high pre-sale estimate (est: £10,000-15,000)." - Filimonov Fine Violins - 2007 References. ^ Strad magazine - "Nikolaus Ferder Kittel: The Russian Tourte" by Harvey and Georgeanna Whistler Jump up ^ The Bows of Nikolai Kittel- Klaus Grünke, Josef P. Gabriel, Yung Chin  in co-operation with Darling Publications Andy Lim Cologne, 2011 Jump up ^ Yung Chin fine bows of the violin family Jump up ^ Strad - 'Favorite Bow' - article by Joseph Gold (recollection of Jasha Heifetz and his Kittel bow) Jump up ^ Moscow, Russian Federation archives Jump up ^ Filimonov Fine Violins Jump up ^ Moscow, Russian Federation archives Jump up ^ An Interview with Herbert Axelrod", VSA Proceedings, Vol. IV, No. 1, Winter, 1977/78, 1977. Jump up ^ The Bows of Nikolai Kittel- Klaus Grünke, Josef P. Gabriel, Yung Chin and Andy Lim in co-operation with Darling Publications  Andy Lim Cologne, 2011 Jump up ^ Nikolai Kittel- Violoncello, St. Petersburg, 1833, ed. Andy Lim, Darling Publications Andy Lim Cologne, 2011