Here is a first class early bow by this great master made around 1890.
His bows are a real delight to use, his output are highly desirable simply because they work so well, the tone they produce is also pliant and luxurious.
To the right is the only known photograph of J A Lamy ‘pere’.
It is important to be aware that when he made this bow he was in his mid to late thirties when he won the silver prize at the 1889 Paris exhibition.
He subsequently went on to win the gold prize in 1900. So this bow comes from one of the very best makers at his zenith. He had just set up on his own account at 34 Rue Poissonniere after the death of F.N.Voirin.
His workshop was far from ideal situated on the first floor and poorly lit. Nevertheless this is where he created some of his finest work. At this time Eugene Sartory was also often a visitor having chosen early on in his bow making career to leave the Charles Peccatte workshop (he began here in 1889 but left for Lamy’s workshop very soon afterwards).
The stamp is the first of the two he used being slightly shorter than his second and with a slight pull up towards the end around the ‘s’ area. As you can see the handle is in beautiful condition.
The bow suffered damage in the middle of the stick in America about twenty years ago, see below. Interestingly it has the number 1629 just at the end of the lapping, so at one time it was stock from William Lewis and sons Chicago.
Then it was taken to Switzerland by a dealer interested in restoring it. Then we bought it simply because it is one of the most beautiful Lamy pere bows left. It has a long diamond shaped repair to the centre of the stick, this cannot be seen unless very close inspection is done under strong sunlight. The beauty of this kind of repair is the large amount of surface for the glue to adhere, it is the kind of repair you can just forget about. The condition of this bow is fabulous, these Lamy bows are often very worn, this one is close to mint condition.
Indeed Sartory’s eventual model is a more masculine version of the Lamy pere model. Having said that this bow is fabulous full 59.1g, the ideal weight.The head is poetry in motion, just sublime, no wonder having seen this work a teenage Sartory wanted to study with the great master.
This bow comes with a certificate from Michael Taylor, the u.k.’s foremost maker, restorer and bow expert.
The frog and button are high quality replica fittings copied from the original that had suffered damage and could not be restored. These first class fitting are identical in all details are made by the exceptional Michael Taylor. The top Swiss dealer is also happy to vouch its provenance.
Here below is a close up of the repaired area which is 122mm long, This kind of internal diamond repair is very strong due to the great amount of surface area for glue, it has been used on a number of fine bow restorations here. Notably on Persoit, Sartory, Richaume and now Lamy pere.