Comments for G.B. Hembree

Comment on Hill Bows by Emma Collingham

Emma Collingham — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 17:22:42 +0000

The W.E.H&S cello bow I have has the two dots on the silver tip under the hair, and also the letter “A” stamped on the stick under the slide, and on the metal slide also. The tip mark I would take to be of William Richard Retford, but there is no number or code on it anywhere, just the A’s. I don’t know if this helps at all, but thought I’d just add it! If there is any more knowledge out there, I’d be really interested to hear about my bow and possibly what the A’s mean?

Comment on “The Rebecca” – A Strad Is Born by Daniel Hembree

Daniel Hembree — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 22:25:24 +0000

Barry, it’s sound is amazing.Good vibrant notes all up and down the scale. She seems to have no trouble finding and bowing the notes. Great work. Even I can hear and appreciate the high end. I’m sure she could make me cry with a ballad on the low end.

Comment on Hill Bows by uwe kinderdick

uwe kinderdick — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 04:35:01 +0000

I think a lot of these informations are fakes without any knowledge about the biographical dates of these bowmakers,for example:
William C.Retford(b.1876):W.C.Retford started to work for hill much later,the praxice of stamping the hillbows with codes at the tip started around 1900.
William Watson:b.1930!Watson started his career in the
hill-firm as a bowmaker(last pupil of W.C.Retford) in the mid-fifties.

Comment on Hill Bows by Andrew Bellis

Andrew Bellis — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 11:49:00 +0000

As an English bow maker/repairer of some 30 years experience and trained by Arthur Bultitude I have some observations of your notes on Hill bows. 1. Not all Hill bows are date stamped – not before WW1 or much after WW2. 2. I have never heard of any ‘registration marks’ and would suggest that a ‘Hill’ bow with them is a fake. 3. There are no makers marks on the nut (‘frog’), only on the head face of the stick, it is impossible for anyone not in the workshops or closely acquainted with them to tell who made the nuts. I can’t. But there are assembly (usually letter) marks on the lining (‘slide’) to keep nut and stick together once they have been mated. 3.There are some Hill bows with ivory faces from new. Your listing of head face marks originally came from Arthur Bultitude but it opened the door to fakery. I have seen a third – in my experience – fake Hill bow earlier this year, and out of London, that’s a lot. Let me know if you need any more information. The (relatively) new book “Arthur Bultituce and the Hill tradition” by Richard Sadler is worth reading.