NICOLAS MALIN: BOWMAKER AND ENTREPRENEUR

Children, brothers, nephews, grandparents, the Malines are really a multitude and almost everyone, had to do with a plane!

Cello bow by Nicolas Maline

As already announced, I have no of photos of bows made by this founder of French bowmaking and unfortunately this week you can enjoy only some images taken from the network.

Nicolas Maline, was born in Mirecourt, the city where he spent most of his life, on February 28, 1822 by Guillaume Maline and Thérèse Ruffiére, within what will become the classic Mirecourt prototype of company/family.

His grandfather Nicolas was an organ builder, his father Guillaume, with whom he has been confused for more than a century, was a violin maker, four brothers of Nicolas were either luthierds or violinmakers, four out of five siblings from his father's second marriage were luthiers or bowmakers. The fifth one, an exception being a woman , but having married Nicolas Constant Morizot, she had a a son who gave way to another endless progeny of bowmakers : Louis Joseph Morizot, aka Morizot Père.

Being born in such a a family our Nicolas did not have many choices in front of him, frankly speaking , he had just two: violins or bows?

He chooses bowmaking and began to attend his father's workshop at an early age, but sensing the limits he tries to attend more labeled workshops such as Pajeot's , for whom he will work for a certain period , and where he will meet and tighten his friendship with another Great one ; Nicolas Rémy Maire who will be his witness at his wedding.

Although he never lived in Paris, in 1840 at the age of eighteen, he begins his collaboration with J.B. Vuillaume. In this period he refined both hands and styles approaching those of Peccatte , the God, who was a leader at those time.

It is probably the first one to build bows with the a circular frog support and not an octagonal one , called " Vuillaume support "(see photo), and he was so esteemed by this latter one that he allowed him to use his own style on the bows built for Him.

On August 18, 1849 he received the rank of Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur for his military service as "Voltigeur, " an elite of the light infantry, whose task was to lead the battle. The bows built in this period are easily datable, because after having received this recognition, he begins to stamp them with a Cross of the Legion of Honor, often omitting his name.

After having achieved a good reputation and stability, he marries Anne Marie Grandcolas on April 24, 1850, who will give him a son: Nicolas Auguste Eugène; obviously a bowmaker.

In the early fifties he ends his collaboration with Vuillaume and the business is so good that he is forced to recruit some staff to meet the many requests. He builds bows in iron wood, snake wood and amourette, all mounted in alpacca , in addition to those in pernambuco, mounted in silver.

In 1870 his son joined him an assistant, and even if he builds by himself he stamp them with his father's name.

Nicolas Maline dies on April 28, 1877 at the age of fifty-five, and his work apart from being a gift for musicians who can afford it, has been a source of inspiration for many of his successors.

The character

The main peculiarity of Maline, especially the aerly one , is characterized by lightness. Less refined than J.P.M. Persoit, he owns a simpler and linear, but pleasant , serenity .
Both heads and frogs are inspired by DominiquePeccatte throughout his career; the head "Col de Cygne" of the bow in he photo is a good example, the harmony of the shape is however, less aggressive.

The frog has a throat mainly more inspired by Simon, even if the length of the ring and plate resembles more to Peccatte, let's say a a mix between the two.

He keeps these shapes until about 1860, after that he tries to follow the tastes of the ever-changing period , he slightly lowers the profile of the head and round the throat of the frog. Or more likely, given his precarious health conditions and the large number of craftmen who worked for him, at some point it is not the style that changed , but rather the builder's hand . But this cannot be said and I have not said it .

Nicolas Maline is one of those craftsmen who have given a huge contribution to bowmaking, both for the bows he left us ,as I have never been disappointed seeing one. and for the many young talents he trained : Martin and Cuniot just to name two known examples.

So long

Paolo