Charles Jean-Baptiste Collin-Mézin is famous for his violins, and for the highly successful small workshop he set up in Mirecourt, once his personal instruments had achieved prize-winning success. Neither he nor his luthiers were bow makers, so, to complement his instrument sales, he purchased good-quality bows from his archetier colleagues in Mirecourt, which he then marketed with his own stamp – a not-uncommon practice at the time. This elegantly-finished, silver-mounted violin bow, with its fine-grained, selected pernambuco and handsome Parisian eyes, has a smooth, full, warm sound and a crisp, clean spiccato and articulation. With its true maker unidentified, this is an opportunity for an advanced or advancing player to own a good French bow at a very reasonable price.