François Nicolas Voirin

One of the most important bowmakers of the 19th century French school, Voirin was born in Mirecourt in 1833. A cousin of J.B.Vuillaume and elder brother of the bow maker Joseph Voirin, he was apprenticed to Pierre Simon before joining Vuillaume in Paris in 1855. Taking over from Nicolas Maline, he made many advances in method and style before he left in 1870 to open his own atelier at 3 rue du Bouloi. He was responsible for most of Vuillaume’s ‘picture’ bows, in which a tiny portrait photograph of Vuillaume can be seen through a lens incorporated into the eye of the frog. His lasting influence spread through his pupils and assistants Charles Peccatte, Joseph Lamy, Charles Bazin, Charles Husson I, and Louis and Claude Thomassin. Claude Thomassin continued the workshop after Voirin’s death in 1885. His bows are relatively delicate, and most frequently carry the Vuillaume brand, although much work was done for Sébastien Deroux and Gand Frères, and some also supplied to Chanot in London. His own brand reads F.N.Voirin à Paris.