Dodd bows

[Ronald Callahan]

Does anyone know anything about Dodd bows as far as history,
quality, values and so forth?

I am borrowing a friend's violin; the violin itself is not
worth much, but he included a very nice bow in the case. It
is stamped 'DODD', has a one piece eye and button, but some
very nice mother of pearl on the bottom of the frog. Weight
and response are nice, and there are no noticeable warps in
the bow.

I have seen Dodd bows in auctions with asking prices up to
$2000 or more. Could this bow be worth that much?

I realize that I should make a visit to a reputable violin
shop for an estimate, but I was curious as to whether there
was only 1 'Dodd' or whether there were a lot of copies or
'workshop' bows that may be worth less.

Thanks in advance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ron Callahan
Miamisburg, Ohio

[Robert L. Stoskopf]

Prices I have from 1980 indicate it was not uncommon for bows to bring
the following:
Edward Dodd (1705-1810..not a misprint) - $3,000-4,000
Thomas Dodd (c.1760-c.1820) - $3,000-4,000
John Dodd (1752-1839 - the best known/regarded) - $4,000-5,000
By the time you put another 18 years of increased value/inflation,
etc., on these bows, you may find some truly eye-popping prices if the
above numbers didn't do that already.

On 6 Jul 1998 19:48:32 GMT, uca...@hotmail.com (Ronald Callahan)
wrote:

Robert Stoskopf
Atlanta, Georgia USA
ICQ #4326633
"Often wrong, but never in doubt."

[Sheri]

On July 6, 1998, Robert L. Stoskopf wrote:

> Prices I have from 1980 indicate it was not uncommon for bows to bring
> the following:
> Edward Dodd (1705-1810..not a misprint) - $3,000-4,000
> Thomas Dodd (c.1760-c.1820) - $3,000-4,000
> John Dodd (1752-1839 - the best known/regarded) - $4,000-5,000
> By the time you put another 18 years of increased value/inflation,
> etc., on these bows, you may find some truly eye-popping prices if the
> above numbers didn't do that already.

Robert, you are exactly right. I have a John Dodd bow, certified
authenticity, with a most unusual frog. It actually looks like a cello
frog. And yes, the prices on a John Dodd bow are very high now.

But, it is the most exquisite bow, and without a doubt the best purchase
I ever made. It is heavy (63 grams), but the response from frog to tip
on it is amazing. I purchased it from my college violin professor,
Alvaro Gomez, who was one of David Oistrach's last students.

Sheri Margrave

***************************************
CrossRoads String Quartet
http://members.tripod.com/~CRSQtet

Jazz-L Juke Joint
http://www.geocities.com/BourbonStreet/3420

[Charles Noble & Heather Blackburn]

Robert L. Stoskopf wrote:
>
> Prices I have from 1980 indicate it was not uncommon for bows to bring
> the following:
> Edward Dodd (1705-1810..not a misprint) - $3,000-4,000
> Thomas Dodd (c.1760-c.1820) - $3,000-4,000
> John Dodd (1752-1839 - the best known/regarded) - $4,000-5,000
> By the time you put another 18 years of increased value/inflation,
> etc., on these bows, you may find some truly eye-popping prices if the
> above numbers didn't do that already.
>
>

> Robert Stoskopf
> Atlanta, Georgia USA
> ICQ #4326633
> "Often wrong, but never in doubt."

I agree. I recently ran into a James Tubbs bow here in Portland (which was
later bought by the principal violist of the LA PHil) which commanded a $14K
asking price. Since then I've seen prices for Sartory bows in the upper $10K
range, with a few over $20K. For my (limited) money I'd go for a modern stick
from a reputable maker. There is a very good enclave of makers up in the
Pacific Northwest, Washington in particular, Port Townsend to be exact.
Charles Espey, Keith Peck, and Morgan Anderson are three great bowmakers.

Charles Noble
Portland, OR

[Robert L. Stoskopf]

It almost embarasses me that the two bows I have were so
inexpensive. The first,a Jac Fluck, bought from Wm Moennig, cost the
princely sum of $40 and has a nice whalebone grip. My "best" bow, a
Jos. O Paulus, cost the outrageous sum of $75...also from Moennig.
I tried a wonderful bow a few years ago, for which the store was
asking $4,000. It was, indeed, wonderful, but I couldn't justify the
expense with the limited amount of playing I do these days. My El
Cheapos do just fine.

[George Gregory]

It is really a crime the way the prices of
bows have gone up over the years. Back
in 1960 I bought a HR Pfretzschner violin
bow for $75. I bought a beautiful gold
mounted Henry for the high price
o $400. I remember in those days
Wm Salchow offered to make a bow
to order for me for $75 -100. If I had
to buy any of these bows today, I
would cry. Just only fifteen years ago
I bought a Knopf for $225. Just look
at the prices today. That is just for
bows. How about the prices for
violins today. The violins I have now
I bought many many years ago. These
same violins, had I bought them today
at today's prices I would surely have
to go to the Poor House. My advice to
all, if you have a good violin and bow,
hold on to them. They will surely go up
in price.
G Gregory

[Roland Herrera]

Here's a history of bowmakers including Dodd :
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~leonid/bmakers.htm

Charles Dancla String School