John Dodd (bow maker) facts for kids

John Dodd (born in London in 1752 – died in Richmond, Surrey in 1839) was a very talented British bowmaker. Many people thought he was the best English bowmaker until James Tubbs came along much later.

John Dodd started his career in a different way. First, he worked with gunlocks, which are parts of guns. Then, he made scales for weighing money. After that, he decided to become a bowmaker.

A Special Bowmaker

John Dodd lived and worked in London at the same time as a famous French bowmaker named François Tourte. It's amazing because Dodd came up with a very similar bow design to Tourte's, even though they worked completely on their own and didn't copy each other.

The Quality of Dodd's Bows

Bows made by John Dodd are known for being very good quality. However, the bows he made weren't always exactly the same size or shape over the years. For example, some of his bows were a bit shorter than what was usually expected.

His later bows are thought to be especially fine, even if they were a little short. A famous viola player from the 1900s, Lillian Fuchs, owned a wonderful viola bow made by Dodd. This bow was sold in May 2014 for $22,800 at Tarisio Auctions.

Dodd's Secret Techniques

Even though Dodd often didn't have much money, he was very secretive about how he made his bows. People say he once turned down a huge offer of 1,000 pounds just to share his special bow pattern. He also refused to teach anyone else his skills for the same reason.

Dodd used two main shapes for the top part of his bows, called the head. One was a slim, elegant shape called the "swan" type. The other was a shorter, wider shape called the "hammer"-head type, which was more common in Italy and France.

The Wood He Used

John Dodd had access to excellent Pernambuco wood, which is perfect for making bows. A lot of this wood came to England inside barrels. This is why you might sometimes see small nail holes running through the wooden sticks of his bows!

An Interesting Detail

According to Pierre Baillot, a musician named Viotti might have used a Dodd bow that was about 2½ cm shorter than the bows made by Tourte. This shows how Dodd's bows sometimes had unique measurements.

Dodd's Innovative Idea

John Dodd had a very clever and new idea for making bows. Instead of heating a straight piece of wood and bending it into the right curve, he used special double saws. These saws could cut the curve of the bow directly out of a flat piece of wood.

While this method created bows that made a beautiful sound, they didn't bounce off the strings as well as bows made with the older, classical bending method.

His Later Life

John Dodd died in extreme poverty in a workhouse in Richmond on October 4, 1839.

Sources

• Bows and Bowmakers - W.C. Retford 1964
• W.E. Hill & Sons (A Tribute)- Richard Sadler 1996 ISBN: 0-9504357-2-4
• Dictionnaire Universel del Luthiers - Rene Vannes 1951,1972, 1985 (vol.3)
• Universal Dictionary of Violin & Bow Makers - William Henley 1970